PEONIES… PEONIES… PEONIES…

Friday, May 31, 2013

PEONIES… PEONIES… PEONIES…

…….were the wondrous subject in class at the Huntington & in the studio this month! This was inspired by my seeing them at Trader Joe’s. They are here for such a short time & I so hope you are able to get some.

Diana Jeong was experimenting in one of the studio classes and about to throw this away. Well, you know how I feel about that!!! She posted it on Facebook with this comment…”All blobs until Nan Rae helped me with her magic.” Actually we just combined our Ch’i and here’s the lovely result.

I loved Kathy Wong’s amazing work!

Here it is close up….exquisite!

Monday mom came over for Memorial Day & I made grilled cheese sandwiches.

And here they are. Oh boy………………….

We got coleslaw from Kentucky Fried & also a chocolate cake (with ice cream) just in case we didn’t consume enough calories.

Nikka has taught Kita to do a high five.

Mom & Kita have a special thing going on!

She’s such a good girl……

Tuesday Laurie & I went to see Star Wars (I loved it) and then dinner at Katsuya.

Wednesday I was in Beverly Hills hoping to finally get my Mont Blanc fountain pen……it had gone to Texas twice for cleaning and adjustments. This time, the sales girl was kind enough to tell me it was the nib that needed to be exchanged because I’m a lefty…..so back to Texas it went & now I have to wait some more. I miss my pen!

Then it was time to see beautiful Mary and meet Danny. We had a great lunch at 208 Rodeo and talked forever. I mentioned how I loved the new Star Wars so off they went to see it!

Mary is the International Development Officer for Cross International/Cross Catholic Outreach a non-profit serving the “poorest of the poor” all over the world with just a 5% overhead. www.crossinternational.org Mary just returned from a trip to Haiti where she visited over 100 mission locations and found it to be a life changing experience!.

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Introduction

There is no avoiding the pull of the internet, the blogs, the YouTube imaginings. It's as if we're all 'On the Road' with Jack Kerouac each in our own world of meanderings. When we tell someone to 'get a life' it might be a bit difficult when you're dragged into other people's 24/7.

I've come to realize two foundational principals, there are no accidents and everyone has a purpose. More and more I'm desiring everyone to come into a full realization of their purpose as we all find our way on this little jewel of a planet.

For me, as a professional 'Western style artist', I stumbled into Chinese Brush Painting after a trip in 1980 to Monet's home/garden. Seeing all of his collection of Japanese woodblock prints was an ahh haa moment for me and when I returned to the States I started painting in the Chinese manner and never looked back. The first year was extremely painful for me as I felt that I should be able to master the technique since I was a 'trained' artist. Not a chance ... that just gets in your way.

Now, after teaching close to 3,000 students and having my book 'The Ch'i of the Brush' published by Watson Guptill, I can say that every one of my students does better their first day than I did my first year! Why? Because I insist that they leave their critical parent outside and just enjoy the journey, respecting the work that they do. I never let anyone throw anything away because that just ingrains frustration and defeat.

We really only begin to learn when we stop and figure out how to 'save' a painting. It works every time.I am so proud of my students, their receptivity and eagerness to express themselves is a continuing blessing for me.So, back to finding your purpose. Perhaps it starts with realizing 'it's not about me'. It so easy to want our needs met and to filter everything thru this attitude. When we realize that we're here to be of benefit to every life that we touch the universe really provides the ways and means.

The best part is that it's really exciting to not have yourself on your mind all the time!I'm re-reading a wonderful book about authenticity and in my next meandering I'll tell you about it. In the meantime I'd love to hear about your journey and am here to answer any and all questions about Chinese Brush Painting.