Tag Archives: Creativity

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Make Like a Nike: Just Do It!

I hesitated to post my ten minute doodle today for fear that the haphazard painting event was not “good enough” to share.  Then I realized that the fear of criticism or rejection of the work wasn’t the obstacle; it is my sensitivity about being compared to other artists who have had more formal training, or who are making their living full time from their creative endeavors that most often stifles me.  Then I remembered a piece of advice that Seth Godin once offered: “The act itself is more important than the output…When you keep the commitment to complete the act, the muse returns.”  And she is always welcomed here.

 Art Card Blog Post

   © 2015 Theresa Mae Funk.  All rights reserved.

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Passing Shot: Up The Creek Without a Palette

blog sketch August

“Up the Creek Without a Palette” 16″ x 14″ pencil and watercolor work-in-progress on paper.

I invited my partner to have a look at one of my sketches, and he admitted that he wasn’t quite sure what he was looking at. His reply initially hurt my fragile self-taught artist ego, but I appreciated his honesty, and forgave his lack of shared vision.  My former, less confident self might have accepted his comment as absolute truth and hastily abandoned the newborn work but instead, I allowed my intuition to confront and dispel the fear of dreaded rejection that keeps many artists from sharing their work in the first place. The truth of the matter is this: My artistic style is not going to appeal to everyone, and not everyone is going to support my creative endeavors, but that is not going to stop me from bringing my work into the world.  There is no other option because at my very core, I am an artist.

© 2015, Theresa Mae Funk. All rights reserved.

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Passing Shots: Today’s Inspiration

The morning sky reflected on the surface of Lake Jankyville was one of the first images that gave me a spark of inspiration today.  (Lake Jankyville isn’t really a lake; it is the name we’ve given to the puddle that forms on the backyard patio after a heavy rainstorm.)  As thankful as we are to be receiving days of consistent rainfall, it was nice to catch a glimpse of blue sky and clouds with silver lining.

dec 16 blog art 2

Today’s second spark of creative inspiration is captured in this passing shot taken just outside my studio door.
Brilliant red and rain soaked petals of a Shasta Daisy glistening in mid-morning sunlight makes me realize how often I have missed the opportunity to appreciate its unique beauty.   We would be wise to remind ourselves to make time to acknowledge our own unique gifts and the beauty that we are capable of sharing with the world if we will only allow ourselves to do so.

© 2014 Theresa Mae Funk. All rights reserved.

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4 Questions, 3 Authors, and 1 Re-Emerging Artist: The Underbelly of Invention Blog Tour

Eileen Brunetto, my dear friend and Vermont based author, recently invited me to tag along on a blog tour that her fellow Goddard College MFA classmate, Tamryn Spruill recently initiated. I’ve not yet met Tamryn but in accepting Eileen’s encouragement to participate in this tour, believe that a cosmic door has been opened, and that a personal interaction with Tamryn in the near future will likely occur. I’ll reserve my opinions and experiences with manifestation for another time. The purpose of this blog post is to answer the four questions that Tamryn is interested in having answered:

1) What are you working on?
Aside from my weekly blog posts, I’ve been writing new songs and re-working those that were recorded in 1996 with Full Moon Heart, a Vermont based acoustic quartet from the Mad River Valley. Picture Postcard Lullaby is the current working title for the collection of songs that I hope to record live at a few historic Sacramento locations for independent release in 2015.

2) How does your work differ from others’ in the same genre?
How my work differs from other writers or artists isn’t something I give much thought to because it makes me feel like I’m comparing myself to other artists. But for the sake of answering Tamryn’s question, I think that my work differs from others in the essence of the story, the authenticity in the sharing of an emotion.

3) Why do you write what you do?
I write in response to the emotions I feel in reaction to what I see, read, or have experienced.

4) How does your writing process work?
I take a walk with my dog along the American River every morning before I write or make art. There is something about physically moving through space that conjures up all sorts of ideas that I can then take back to my studio and translate into words or sketches. Other times, an idea presents itself and a song can be written in a span of 20 minutes. That is the most amazing process to experience, and I am so very grateful that I allow myself to be open enough to surrender to the muse.

Point Reyes Seashore

© 2014, Theresa Mae Funk. All rights reserved.

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The Poppy Series: On Location

The Poppy Series: On Location

Disc golf is a very popular sport here in California, and I’m thankful for having been introduced to it. In addition to reaping the health and beauty benefits that come from engaging in physical out-of-doors activity, I am creatively inspired at every turn.

This field of glorious native California wildflowers can be found on the back nine of the Rocklin California course.

© 2014 Theresa Funk, all rights reserved.

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Passing Shots: Placer County California

Passing Shots: Placer County California

I love the spontaneous wonder of nature and science that I’m able to capture with my mobile device while riding in the passenger seat of George’s car. He has excellent driving skills.

~T.
© Theresa Funk, all rights reserved

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Olly Olly Toxin Free

toxin free

In the game hide and seek, calling out “Olly Olly Oxen Free” is used to let the best hidden players know that the seeker is giving you a pass.   In our garden, insects get a free pass from pesticides.  I’d much rather deal with holes in my spinach than having toxins in my body.

© 2014 Theresa Funk, all rights reserved.

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Ellis Island: A Poem for Guitar

Ellis Island

I spent an afternoon on Ellis Island a few years ago and was deeply moved by the experience.  Millions of individuals arrived and were processed on the nearly 28 acre island between 1892 and 1954, each with a unique circumstance and history.  Truly astounding when you think about the scope of it.
The Statue of Liberty Ellis Island Foundation has a free searchable online database that you might find interesting and informative.   More remarkable is a visit to the Island.   It certainly changed my perception and attitude about feeling inconvenienced by travel delays.  Chances are, I’m going to arrive at my destination alive (many people died en-route to America) and it isn’t going to take me a month or more to get there.  Think about that the next time you feel yourself getting annoyed because your train is late, or you are stuck in traffic.

An untitled poem that I wrote in 2001 was penned as part of a writing exercise for a dream workshop I had taken at Middlebury College.   Our task was to piece something together from the collective sharing of words and phrases that we derived from the dream recitations of class participants.   I didn’t know what the poem was about or that it had a title until I stepped through the doors of the Great Hall that day in March of 2009.

Ellis Island 

© 2001 Theresa Funk

There were photographs in black and white,
and fingerprints.

Lines infused with a memory,
and I am skating through a strangers dream.

Sixteen lines,
half of them are disconnected.
But a theme was tied by the threads
of celluloid on paper.

I see you standing in a drove of noiseless people.

You are waiting on a line while
on the other side,
my skate-shoes glide.

~T.