We'll be back after these brief messages....

I took a brief, unexpected hiatus from my computer this month. Firstly, to get ready for Christmas and secondly, to show my dad the sights, sounds, and people that I write with. He was impressed. He wishes he had a similar group in Alberta to work with but says no one seems interested. Yet he tells me about people he records and works with in the music industry.

Sometimes it seems like we sail through life alone in a little wooden boat full of termites. Once in a while we find others just like us who are sailing through life in other little boats that seem to be made of sturdier stuff. They've just learned how to have a harder shell and endure the storms. Criticism can be a hard thing to take. I've heard it my entire life. So has everyone else. Sometimes criticism can shipwreck us.
Most of the time we weather the storm and sail on.

I plan to make 2010 a year of sailing on and weathering the storms.
I've joined the local Art Group. I'm still with the writing group.
And I'm making my novels stronger than ever. I'm also working on my dad's memoirs.
All I have to do is get them out of his hands!
All the best to you in 2010. May you be strong and weather the storms as never before.

Diane

A Romantic Life

I always find Christmas to be a dreamy, romantic time of year. Put aside the hustle and bustle and what you have left are moony eyed children making dreams and counting on magic to make the season bright. Friends and loved ones draw closer through force of nature and good will. We all try to be a little nicer to each other this time of year. Well, some of us do.

Romance is not for the faint of heart. Granted, I speak not of the heart-pounding, pulse-racing lust of a new relationship. I think of Romance as fulfilling your dreams and following your life's quest with Passion. Many of us have a less "practical" side that allows us to be dreamers and moony eyed children all year long. The Romantics are those of us who pursue their dreams with fervor.

I consider myself to be a Romantic. I am an artist, a lyricist, and a writer and I do each of these with passion. Passion ebbs and flows like the tides. It's easy to either ride the waves or get caught in the undertow. Lately, I've been in the undertow. Actually, that's were I was for many years. Denying my creative side and shoving the moony eyed child in the closet for safe keeping so she didn't get hurt by criticism and disappointment.

My moony eyed child is stronger than that. She fought back and developed a tougher shell. She smacked me across the head when I whine about not having time, energy, or focus.

Just write. Just paint. Just create. The Passion will follow.

When it rains it pours.

Okay, so December didn't roar into town with cold and snow. It blew into town bearing colds, pneumonia, and cabin fever. It was bad enough one of my little Creative Blocks got pneumonia now I have it. The world comes to a stand still in our house when Mom is sick. The good news is all the laundry and cleaning can wait until I'm well. Except for the matter of my Art Show this weekend.

I still have to clean like a madwoman for that. I figure if I do it one bit at a time and only do what I NEED to do I can get it done. Of course, there is something to be said for slowing down and not being able to run around. I got Christmas cards written, gifts wrapped (well, the ones I've already bought), and a gift painted. All from the comfort of my couch. As you can guess, I'm not the kind of person who sits still a lot except to read.

I have a follow-up x-ray tomorrow so I'll have a better idea if I need to cancel my show or not. I'm going with NOT! I've been looking forward to this for too long!
I'll keep you posted!

Let it snow, let it snow . . .

We woke up to a blanket of snow and more barking from up the hall. Another day, another sick kid. Seems our family is notorious for the barking coughs around here. I can think of much better things to be famous for!

I had a sudden abundance of broccoli today. No, it didn't appear out of the snowbank, it was from the snack program at school. Can you believe they were going to throw it in the compost? Yikes! I used my creative skills to create two masterpieces: Broccoli Soup and Potato-Carrot Soup. Oh, and some biscotti for my party. I was going to bake buns tonight but my energy is waning. Cooking certainly is a creative endeavor - especially looking at the mess I make of it. At least it turns out edible 99% of the time!

Still doing some edits on Take The Money and Run, my first novel, so that I can start to submit it all over the place again. My lovely editor Laura has both my other books to edit, critique, tear to shreds, etc. Hope she goes easy on me, it is nearly Christmas after all.

Had a lovely evening last night at a book launch for a fellow Headwaters Writers' Guild writer named Clare McCarthy. He published his novel The Hurleyville Taxi: Two thousand pounds of Bacon and Bone. Book Lore hosted a book signing and the place was packed! Congratulations, Clare! You can find out more at www.northwordbound.ca.

We also discovered another of our writers Harry Posner's book Word Bird. Harry graciously showed us his book and posed for pictures. It's on my list for Christmas!

My LIttle Creative Blocks...

No word of a lie. I have been creatively blocked for two weeks now. First one block came down with pneumonia and had to see a doctor. (Can you say clingy?) Just as he is getting over it, the second one came down with a cough that sounds like a cross between a trained seal and a vacuum cleaner. Makes it hard to concentrate on much of anything. But I am making a comeback!

Glad to report though I am hosting a Christmas Tea and Art Show for my nearest and dearest friends on Dec 11. They will be subjected to all of the paintings I can hang on my walls as well as my decadent Christmas treats. I'm looking forward to it. I hope they are as well!

What Colour is your Palette Part Three

Not many art workshops will wring you out like a sponge then fill you back up to bursting. I found that to be the case with Claudia's. A lot of us had more than one afternoon filled with frustration only to be elated to hear the rest of the class ooh and aah over some amazing masterpiece that fled our brushes to appear magically on canvas.

The most common comment about the whole week was the fact that we learned to mix colours we'd only ever seen before in bottles or tubes. My favourite color for the week became a warm black (black mixed with magenta). You can see it on most of my paintings which I will post later. I've had some issues with getting good lighting to take pictures in!

I'm very excited this week for three friends of mine who all have new books released.
Clare McCarthy with The Hurleyville Taxi: Two Thousand Pounds of Bacon and Bone
Anouska Fry with Sebastian and the Spider King
Alyxandra Harvey with Hearts at Stake
Congratulations to you all!

Now that the week of painting and fun has ended, what is next for me? A little Christmas tea and show for friends and more work on writing and submitting novels. And maybe a bit more painting. Christmas is coming after all....

What Colour is Your Palette Day 3

I have to say it's been an exhausting week! I'm not even sure how many canvases I've created but the colours I've learned to make this week are astounding! I have to say I never thought I'd be painting on a black canvas. I have worked from different backgrounds but never black. What an eye popper I made today but you can't see it. Sorry. It's going to be a gift for someone who might see it!

It's so easy to get frustrated when you try to force something to appear on your canvas that just isn't meant to be there. I should know that lesson from writing and from previous paintings but sometimes . . . sometimes you just want something to be perfect that isn't meant to be. Its funny how many incredible paintings have occured when we're not even trying! Many thanks to Claudia for having a great sense of humour and compassion!

Our wonderful Chef Monti is keeping us fed well and a gem to point out all the items on the menu with wheat so I don't make myself ill without intention! Kudos to his gluten free chocolate cake.

Two more days to go. I will really miss this when it is done.