Carol Wiebe

You know that awful art work you have hidden away? The one you conceived with such excitement, and began with such high hopes? Now, it languishes, out of sight, and you feel guilty, mad, or sad any time you think of it. What artists with works like this need to face is whether their life is following the same pattern. Those early ideas, the ones that don’t feel good anymore, can be tossed. Yesterday’s map made sense at one point in the journey, but your destination has change

When I am looking for a specific object, I limit my gaze to my surroundings, usually within my hands’ reach. When I need to get to a specific place, I limit my gaze to the horizon, or perhaps the map in front of me. (Or a Garmin, which talks to me and figures out how I can get where I want to go.) But when I am searching for answers, I either close my eyes, or gaze upward, as if guidance is to be found inside myself, or out in the cosmos. Those two locations actually seem con

. I always wanted to do something significant, she said. Like what? he asked That’s the problem, I was never sure what. Still don’t know. There was a deep wistfulness to her tone. We’ve had three children, we’ve been married far longer than most. Isn’t that significant? Significant, for him, was something you could see and touch. Of course, she reassured him. But those are personal gifts to me. I wanted to give something amazing to the world. Why is that important? He was puz

In order to get clean, efficient, CHEAP energy, look to entrepreneurs like Justin Hall-Tipping. What would happen if we could generate power from our windowpanes? In this moving talk, entrepreneur Justin Hall-Tipping shows the materials that could make that possible, and how questioning our notion of ‘normal’ can lead to extraordinary breakthroughs. A man of vision and practicality . . . . brilliant. #Wecandobetterthanthis #energy #breakthroughs #science #free

The heart is on my mind these days, for very personal reasons. And so, it keeps emerging in my artwork, beating its steady beat. And, it keeps reminding me to be mindful of the fact that despite all that we might find wrong with the world, and our lives ~ if we choose to use our precious energy to pursue such thoughts ~ love persists. Stay attuned  . . . .  to your heart’s messages, to the many examples of love constantly being presented for your delectation. This is my simpl

I took the painting Suspended and made a little “value map” of it. I did it with quick, inaccurate strokes and  a light, dark and medium value. Suspended Suspended value map 1 I fiddled with it a bit. Suspended value map 2 Then I combined some multiples of version 2, and called it “Row Houses.” Row Houses I like the energy and simplicity of these 3 “maps.” I can see using them as an underpainting and exploring with other colors on top of them. Or I could translate the 3 value

Listening for the promptings of spirit, and seeking to follow them, has been my way of life for decades. In fact, I have clear memories of experiencing a sense of “the Other” as a young child. Therefore, my attention was riveted upon discovering Katherine Treffinger’s brochure, Art of Transformation. On Our Living Dream, Katherine unabashedly reveals her calling to be a mentor and healer for others: In 1980 I had a profound spiritual awakening. As a result I began seeing spir

There’s no need for me to say anything, today. Julianne has said it for me. She is an oil painter and I use acrylics. She is an art teacher, and I am “life taught.” (This seems more accurate than “self taught.”) But that feeling she describes of “just being” and an enveloping sense of oneness? I know that. Go to her site and read about how hard she is working towards her dream of becoming a full time artist. She emphasizes the term “working,” and describes those palpable symp

Jeane had us do a couple of art exercises that really pushed me over boundaries I felt absolutely justified in having. I like my artwork to include only the work of MY hand. I like to keep what I like. Can you relate? Well, I began a piece I was starting to like very much. Wait, that’s not true ~ I didn’t begin it, Patty did. It was handed to me, and I proceeded to render it completely unrecognizable because I made it my own. Did Patty’s painting have an effect on me? I would

You know that feeling of being so full of emotions that you are going to burst if you don’t give it an outlet? It’s being close to tears and laughter at the same time. It’s having an elevated sense of energy, with your whole body vibrating  and your thoughts expanding. It’s wanting with an ache you don’t know you can survive, yet you feel so very alive. The other night I couldn’t sleep. I kept getting up and writing down lines that popped into my head. Each time, I’d glance a

There are no shortcuts to producing a body of work with depth and breadth. You cannot fake or finesse this. It requires sustained, engaged attention (and intention). You simply have to keep making art, following your heart and mind, trusting that your voice and vision are going forth into the world and touching others in ways that are needed. My job is to envision, create, and envision again. I can dream, but I cannot force that dream into reality. I envision it until it beco

I have four books by Joen Wolfrom. This woman is nothing short of amazing. When she senses a lack in her knowledge of something, she completely immerses herself in the subject. She goes after information with the tenacity of a bulldog on the hunt for a bone, and then she shares the meal. Her insights provide any number of “aha” moments. Let me give you just a few inspiring quotes from each book: The Magical Effects of Color by Joen Wolfrom When creating, give color and all it

Susan Cornelis, at Susan’s Art and Sketchbook Blog, offers a very inspiring Soul Sketching Demo in her sidebar. I appreciate how she speaks so succinctly about tapping into her imagination,  then demonstrates how she “shows up at her art table” and “watches what happens as images appear on the paper and words come to mind.” Susan has a deep sense of how important it is to “play” with art: This art play gives  me immediate access to the symbolic language of the soul. She has d

Balance and prayer are self-confrontational. Behind the muscular and spiritual exertion there must be a point of effortless calm. At that point you meet yourself. (p.75) ~The Quiet Girl, by Peter Høeg This quote applies so beautifully to art. Muscles and spirit work in tandem, and exert themselves until the miracle happens and the artist reaches a point of effortless calm, where she simply knows and flows. As a child, I remember hearing the song “There is a balm in Gilead, to

It is quite a step to jump from doodles to passion, but I am inspired, for whatever strange reasons, to do so. I have a great passion for doing art. I am constantly drawn to others who exhibit this passion, who spend every spare moment, or, who “steal” moments from activities that others might consider more necessary, or even sacrosanct, in order to practice art. My thoughts seldom stray far from some aspect of it. Whenever I spend money, it is usually in service of art. I re