Monthly Archives: July 2010

Creative Spirit and the Heart of Playfulness: Hunter Dan’s Big Day

Posted on July 31, 2010 by Elaine

My son Alistair and I had fun one afternoon making a film, using one of his action figures: Being playful is the best way to unlock creative flow. It’s summer time, and I thought of how I felt when I’d … Continue reading →

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David and Goliath: The Weak King to Be

Posted on July 30, 2010 by Elaine

I’ve been thinking of David and Goliath. David was small and young, Goliath a hulking Philistine machine of war. When Goliath insulted David by saying the Israelites were weak and their God was, too, David’s determination to stand up to … Continue reading →

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Shame-Based Television

Posted on July 29, 2010 by Elaine

This is a page from my first published book, PUP IN SCHOOL (Crown Books for Young Readers). I created this book because when I was teaching at the wonderful Atrium School in Boston, I noticed that when I wanted to … Continue reading →

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Spirit of the Imagination: Overcoming Writer’s Block

Posted on July 28, 2010 by Elaine

It interests me how our thoughts are like holograms in our minds, or movies, just a few actions away from becoming “real”. One decision can pull the holographic idea from mid air, into your hands. It’s that decision which drives … Continue reading →

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Babies Know EVERYTHING!

Posted on July 26, 2010 by Elaine

Babies are no fools. They sense and see and feel exactly what is going on around them. They’re innocent, though, too, in that they are vulnerable and subject to our actions and choices. And, they’re learning how to deal with … Continue reading →

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Walls of Water: Impending Danger

Posted on July 24, 2010 by Elaine

Dreamed of a pool in an interior space, right on the shore. An enormous surprise wave came, followed by another, with the sea crashing into the pool area. The second wave became a wall of water, and stayed that way … Continue reading →

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Life Study and Being in Heaven: At School of Visual Arts

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Elaine

My entire childhood, during school, I was secretly studying people visually, how they looked, how they moved, how light and shadow defined their features, what the space around them looked like. I pretended to go along with the teacher’s agenda, … Continue reading →

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Automatic Drawing, the Stream of Ink

Posted on July 20, 2010 by Elaine

Automatic drawing, drawing in a trance-like stream 0f consciousness, is fun and surprising. My sketchbooks are full of such drawing meditations. You don’t know who will come visit you on the paper.  I go with the feeling, the flow of … Continue reading →

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Westport Sketchbook: Compo Beach Reading

Posted on July 18, 2010 by Elaine

At the start of summer, I was at Compo Beach and saw a nice elderly gentleman reading a book. His hat was floppy (I liked that about him). H got up and ran into the water for a dip, and … Continue reading →

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Horses and Children

Posted on July 15, 2010 by Elaine

This is a study of a child rider, one of the many I made before writing and illustrating A BLUE RIBBON FOR SUGAR. There is nothing more wonderful than studying the movements and linear grace of children, but drawing horses … Continue reading →

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