on my nightstand...

I am in the middle of reading 3-4 books right now.

1) Art and Fear by David Bayles & Ted Orland.
I think this is actually a textbook for college art programs. It is very inspiring. They say art is about starting over again and again, not quitting. Your work is your guides, (more works = more guides). I like this quote by Ansell Adams they included, “ The perfect is the enemy of the good.” This can be true in all aspects of life; marriage, jobs, relationships. This book is not just for college students but anyone who is creative- every single person if you ask me they may just not realize it yet.

2) Writing Down the Bones- Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg
She is a writer with some great advice for other writers to help open up that door to you. She gives some great exercises, like sit down and write for 20min or whatever time. Just write, don’t edit or think or worry about what anyone will think. “Like grating a carrot, give paper the coleslaw of your consciousness.” She says you have to collect experiences and let them “compost” for awhile and turn into rich soils. It is hard to write in the moment. And again, like the other book, she says you have to practice, practice practice like a runner or dancer.

3) Elegance by Kathleen Tessaro
Just started this one but easy to get into. It comes highly recommended from several friends. Unhappy with her looks, her life, and her empty marriage, Louise needs help -- and she finds it in a secondhand bookstore. A forty-year-old encyclopedia of style titled Elegance promises to transform even the plainest of women into creatures of poise and grace. However she's about to find out that there's more to every life than what appears on the surface ... and that everything, even elegance, has its price.

4) The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
I haven’t quite started this one but it also come highly recommended and it is sitting on my nightstand. Everyone says you can’t put it down.

What are you reading right now? I love a good recommendation!

Picts

Im saving up for a new camera. I am decided to not get a SLR that I really want because I want to actually use it and take it places. Im afraid the SLR would sit at home wrapped in velvet, locked in the safe alongside its thousand dollar lens. Anywho, here is some recent pictures with the old bity. (lens smudge and all)

Holiday

I think my creative muse takes a holiday in the summertime. My energy comes out in more active ways like hiking a mountain or biking an old railroad line.
There is something about the winter- the darkness and cold, having layers of wool sweaters on, sipping a hot beverage. I am forced to create something then when I have no other options. (Sounds like an Ingmar Bergman film)
I am giving myself this excuse for not finishing or starting any projects lately. How about you? Got anything cookin?

"End of the Spear"

We just met a new neighbor who happens to be a film producer. He lent us a copy of one of his films, called "End of the Spear." It is a true story I had never heard before but many have.

It is about an indigenous tribe in Ecuador who are senselessly killing each other off. A group of missionaries goes to them and tries to teach them about God, but end up getting killed. The families of the missionaries eventually go back to the tribe and live with them converting them all to Christianity. You can read about the real story online, Steve Saint is the son of one of the missionaries and wrote the story. This was one of the most powerful movies I have seen and I cried a good portion. I just cant say enough about this great film. See it!

T

Baby Rabbits

While doing some landscaping in our yard we disturbed a rabbits nest with newborn baby rabbits. We left it alone but the mother did not come back (and one of the 3 died) We had to rescue the other two baby rabbits and are now nursing them ourselfs with kitten milk. They havnt even opened there eyes yet and are only about 2.5 inches long. They are the cutest things ever. We are planning to release them as soon as they can eat greens and run away from us. What should we name them?

change of scenery

Hey gang,
I changed my blog to have more artistic freedom and less adds. (Here is the link to my old site http://tkpost.spaces.live.com/ )