Author: Jamie

April 13, 2017

Find Inspiration: Quick, Draw

Quick, Draw is a Google A.I. experiment that is a ton of fun. Here’s how Google describes it:

“This is a game built with machine learning. You draw, and a neural network tries to guess what you’re drawing. Of course, it doesn’t always work. But the more you play with it, the more it will learn. It’s just one example of how you can use machine learning in fun ways.”

Your drawing attempts help teach the network plus I found that playing helps me hone in on the core aspects of visual meaning making. What must be present in a doodle to transmit “bear” or “pizza” or “moon”? (I totally failed with broccoli!)

Give it a try here.

This month many of the regular offerings at the studio are on hold, particularly the BTS and Creative Living with Jamie. We’re between seasons and I am tinkering away in the studio, working on classes and offerings for the season ahead. While I am at work on spring/summer, I thought I would fill the studio with inspiration for your creative heart!

April 12, 2017

Find Inspiration: 20 Feet from Stardom

“My life has been all about trying to make a success of the gift that I have.” Darlene Love

Every two weeks I get together with my sisters, Suzie and Shannon, for Art & Netflix. We grab a sketchbook or our watercolours, some crochet or knitting, something to create while we dig in and watch a movie together. This week we watched 20 Feet from Stardom and it rocked my creative heart and mind. This Oscar-winning documentary shines the light on the gifts and struggles of backup singers who have contributed so much to the world of music. This film invites us to explore many significant creative questions, from the nature of talent-driven industries to what it means to stick with your passion, no matter what.

I was moved by the extraordinary gifts and fortitude of these women and struck by the complexities of each of their stories. Go on a journey with these amazing women. See what their music, their passion, their truth have to teach you about living a creative life.

“I felt like if I just gave my heart to what I was doing, I would automatically be a star.” Merry Clayton

“I reject the notion that the job you excel at is somehow not enough to aspire to, that there has to be something more. I love supporting other artists.” She added: “Some people will do anything to be famous. I just wanted to sing.” Lisa Fischer

This month many of the regular offerings at the studio are on hold, particularly the BTS and Creative Living with Jamie. This is the time between seasons when I am tinkering away in the studio, working on classes and offerings for the season ahead. While I am hard at work working on spring/summer nourishment for your creative life, I thought I would fill the studio with inspiration for your creative heart!

April 11, 2017

Find Inspiration: The Conscious Booksmith Podcast

Christine Mason Miller has been inspiring me for over a decade, from the blogging days of Swirly Girl to her recent compelling memoir, Moving Water. Since then I have had pleasure of calling her friend, the privilege of contributing to her book Desire to Inspire and the delight to have Christine as a guest on Creative Living with Jamie.

Recently, I have felt like I have had the pleasure of hanging out with Christine daily as I binge listened to her new podcast, The Conscious Booksmith Podcast. Here’s how she describes it:

Inspired by The Conscious Booksmith – Christine’s online course for aspiring authors – and the experience of writing Moving Water, her memoir, The Conscious Booksmith Podcast explores the question What does it mean to write your life story? Every week, Christine will explore a different aspect of her experience writing her memoir, a years-long journey with twists, turns and plenty of surprises. After covering the basics in The Conscious Booksmith, Christine will take an even deeper dive into one of the most daunting and fulfilling creative pursuits of her career.

If you are an established or aspiring writer, be sure to check The Conscious Booksmith podcast out. Christine shares both the practical and the philosophical aspects of her own journey writing a memoir and interviews creative gifts about their own experiences sharing their stories and finding healing through art.

Christine Mason Miller has a gift for combining vision and practice. I know she will inspire you too.

April 10, 2017

Find Inspiration: Judith Salomon

“If you really want to be a practicing artist, you are really never done.” Judith Salomon

This month many of the regular offerings at the studio are on hold, particularly the BTS and the podcast. This is the time between seasons when I am tinkering away in the studio, working on classes and offerings for the season ahead. While I am hard at work working on spring/summer nourishment for your creative life, I thought I would fill the studio with inspiration for your creative heart!

April 9, 2017

Breaking Ground

I’ve been very excited about the return of spring, especially getting back into the garden. I was thrilled to see signs of green as the week began and then shocked to see snow by Friday! I hope all of those tender shoots find their strength against the cold.

It’s a great illustration of the seasonal development from the Full Worm Moon in March to the Full Pink Moon in April.

Now is the time of transition from underground stirrings to breaking ground and braving the elements.

Our creative dreams go through this as well.

Our ideas start deep within, growing in strength until they manage to push through into the tangible world. When they do, sometimes they are met with nourishing sun and rain and sometimes with ice and snow. Our dreams and our creations must find and build their strength, bolstering themselves with love and belief when it is available so they may face rejection and judgement when necessary.

The plants and our creative ventures are leading by example: grow your strength as you brave unfurling.

We, too, go through this process as we dare to express more of our true self in the world. As we embrace our becoming, there comes a time when we must bare our vulnerable heart to the elements, whatever they may be.

Sometimes we stay underground for a very long time, sometimes hiding, sometimes readying. The unfortunate truth is that we can never be fully ready for what is to come.

We must simply be brave and break ground.

Below ground we gathered the nourishment for the first stage of our journey. We drew our power from the soil, from the damp, from the dark. But there comes a time when we must take our place in the garden, when the strength we need to grow into our beauty can only be found by reaching towards the sky. It is then that the sun can find us.

Is it time for you and your tender creative dreams to brave the elements and break ground?

I believe in you.

April 5, 2017

The Magic of the Garden

The return of open windows is one of the gifts of spring. As the kittens enjoyed the fresh air, I followed their gaze into the backyard.

While they watched for birds and squirrels, my eyes caught sight of green!

I rushed outside to free the sprouting bulbs from their protective winter covering of leaves and chicken wire.

Oh, the joy of discovery!

I love this tender stage of the garden – the sweet shapes, the fresh colours.

As if that wasn’t joy enough, the sun came out just as I freed these new shoots.

That is the magic of the garden. As I clear the way and discover new life, I feel close to myself, to the Earth and to my mom.

From a distance, it looks like a big mess and a patch of dirt.

But when you look closely, there is beauty to be found.

April 3, 2017

Creating Space around the Edges

In design, white space is what is left untouched. It is the space above, below, beside and in-between. White space gives us room to see what’s important. It provides clarity and focus. It is not an extra, something you have as and when there is room. It is an essential. It is part of the design, an element that is taken into consideration throughout the creative process.

What if we designed our lives with white space in mind?

We often fill our lives with so many commitments and activities that our schedules and to-do lists are crammed to the edges with no white space to be seen. When the unexpected happens, be it crisis or opportunity, everything is tossed into a jumble. We scramble to keep it together while we watch things fall off the grid.

With our days overstuffed, we’re often overwhelmed. The slightest thing sends our emotions reeling and we have no room for deep reflection or flexible thinking. Life is like a rush-hour commuter train where we close our eyes and try to hang on until we get to the end of our ride.

But what is the end?

Our life is the journey and the destination.

When we do a little less, we experience a lot more. We have time to see, feel, taste and hear, to touch and to be touched, to reflect and to respond. We can see with greater clarity and focus with greater depth. We can make better choices and have room to manoeuvre when that choice is change.

We are organic beings living organic lives.

White space gives us the ability to be spontaneous, to grow and to go in unexpected directions, to say yes on the fly and to dance with the moment.

This week white space allowed me to turn a work morning into a long walk with a dear friend and it held my heart open wide enough to let in deep inspiration about the next season in the studio.

Where can you create some space around the edges?

Experiment and experience it yourself. Create white space in your life and notice the impact. Play with the balance and discover how much space feels just right for you.