why even bother...

I have absolutely nothing to say. If you read this then you must have nothing to do. Isn't it great to have a blank mind and lots of time to enjoy it. aahhhhh.....

gifts of the spirit

A friend pointed me to this art by Irene Kordalis Pedersen which is created in the spirit. Moved by her faith in the God of Abraham, she uses scripture from the Bible as a backdrop on which she hangs words, colours and shapes as she is so moved by her God-breathed inner spirit. Otherwise known as the "Holy Spirit" or the "Rouach HaKodesh". In order to successfully do this, a person must clear the mind of any cognative thoughts, those of order, reason, evaluation, critisism and let the tools and the paint flow. I believe it is possible to connect with the creative spirit of God and let God move and direct the painting of a visual. These paintings by Irene are amazing and have some very interesting colour and symbolism that I immediately recognize and relate to. Others who have seen her work in person feel the same. This "spirit-led" work is not an isolated incidence. Musicians have attempted "spirit-led" Jazz, like my friend Jeremy Stewart. This work is large!

attendance is essential

if you are going to succeed. I repeated that phrase several times yesterday to the fresh and enthusiastic faces in my New Media Illustration class. At first it seemed like any other piece of advice offered by a knowing individual...something to quickly blow off, however, as I think about it this morning, this phrase may offer something more tangible. How many times have you gone through your day performing a series of automated responses? "Today is the same as yesterday and it will be the same for tomorrow." you might think. We are not really present in some (or all) of our daily tasks, but attendance is essential! We need to be present, in the moment while we go through our day in order to succeed. And I think this applies to everything we do whether it is bagging groceries or running the corporation. All have a dream, but none will ever succeed unless they have habitually applied discipline to whatever task they are currently engaged in! Making it a daily habit builds confidence and the ability to follow through.
Rick Bartow,an established, contemporary First Nations Artist says that it is not a matter of talent and inspiration that has given him success, but rather logging the hours in the studio. He goes every day and applies himself, whether he feels inspired to do it, or not. Marshall Arisman, Illustrator says, "Artists will never be satisfied, and anyone who tries to satisfy them is a fool." If you can substitute your name in the above statement, then all the more important is attendance for you. Know one else is responsible for your happiness and success...only you.

who are they now?

Apparently there is a 25 year high school reunion for my class this October long weekend in Stony Plain, Alberta. I went to the 10 and 20 year gatherings and really enjoyed them. All too soon the evening is over and people, reluctant to leave, begin planning the next one. I'm not sure how many graduating classes still enjoy each other's company like mine does. You would think that people would grow so far apart and differences would make trying to socialise once every 5 or 10 years uncomfortable. But for some reason, there is a large number of people from the MCHS class of '81 who still get a kick outta seeing one another. Spouses seem to come too, even though some of them get pretty bored after an hour or so and look for a hockey game to watch in the lounge next door (yes, you know who you are:) Actually, I have to hand it to them for tollerating the event at all. One can only handle so many "remember when's" if they don't relate to anything you've participated in. This time I may not be able to attend and I am truly disappointed. Perhaps I need to rethink that decision. I could use a blast from the past right now.

kaos

yes, it is the usual kaos before classes start at the College, or perhaps a bit more than usual. The New Media program has been revamped and is starting again this Sept. with new equipment and curriculum. I am teaching the Illustration course, plus I'll be team teaching a Fine Arts class "How to make a living as an Artist." I am trying to keep my own stress level down to where I can manage it, but honestly, I think the instructors get more excited than the students at the beginning of a semester. Being around several of them the last couple of days has definitely got me worked up. Classes start next week for all. My kids had a great summer and are not sure they want to back yet. Maybe they are not looking forward to waking up at 6am every morning to catch the bus. I'm sure not.

up and running

I'm glad to say that I am finally able to blog again. It was a tough decision how to upgrade my equipment, whether to get a new mac, or to switch to a PC. I have resisted switching to a PC for so many years. I love Mac's I cut my software teeth on a mac. I greive my mac. Yes, I am now working on a PC. It was less painful financially, and I sure hope the virus software can keep those destructive programs at bay. I have never had to worry about that before. Well, we'll see how long this lasts. Signing off, for now, on a PC

update

It has been a while since I made a post and so much has happened. I wanted to talk about our sweet friend Genevieve Klassen who passed away at the age of 15 this last week of an unknown illness. How sad we have all been about loosing her, and seeing her family grieve. I want to talk about the new classes I'll be teaching at the college in the fall, and the fact that I will be leaving my job at the Native Art Gallery so that I will have time to teach. There's the hot weather causing my garden to droop and die. The baptism, my son and I were baptised this last weekend, which was a birth, a new life in Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah). Our yard! We dug up the foundations of our basement and put in drain pipe and rock, and now we are smoothing out our lawn. More birth, my brother and his wife are expecting a baby in the fall. The days are passing, but who is recording them? If they are not recorded, is it as if they have not happened?

I don't want to share...

my home with the bats, birds, bees. We noticed a beautiful couple flying overhead yesterday. A pair of swallows were looking for a good nesting place. They looked our rooftop over pretty well, and decided they just love the penthouse. The penthouse was created last year by a very stubborn architect of the woodpecker family. I tried to discourage him with shouting and projectile objects, but he managed to make a hole in the eaves about the size of a baseball, and now the swallow family is moving in. Yesterday Kevin and I got this great idea to hang a plastic owl decoy right near the entrance. That discouraged the swallows yesterday, but today they have changed their mind. The space between the owl's eyes at the top of his head seems to provide an excellent perch, a lookout where they love to sit. Now the swallows are more determined than ever to nest there. What to do next? Every year we have a battle with someone over the ownership of this log building, and I don't want to share!

completion

It always feels good to complete things, and I feel good having completed another Digital Arts and Media class at College of New Caledonia. I posted my students marks yesterday. I am looking forward to teaching this class next year as they have promised me new software, and a different lab (PC, rather than Mac, but I will survive.)

searching

I searched for my own blog on the Blogger Beta search engine and each time it turn out no results. I used Art 4 Life, and some form of crayzee artest, plus my name, Kim Stewart, with no results pertaining to me. If you do a search on Kim Stewart amongst the blogs, don't be alarmed by the amount of hate blog you see. It is not about me. I definitely did not have a breast augmentation.

While child with fever lays limp and flush, I spon...

While child with fever lays limp and flush, I sponge her head. Her feet I encircle with cloth, plastic, wool...in hopes it will draw the heat.

Small loveseat waits for me. The early hours of the morning press in on my heavy eyelids. He wonders why I sleep.

Frustration, worry, tired mind, tired bones, resign me to lay upon my back. I think about days away; filled with living. The minimum takes so long. No skills to place things, to organize, to plan, to make short work long with a mind that wanders a crooked path. How difficult it feels to take time to care for myself. Guilt climbs higher with every moment spent on self. But this moment I care for someone else.

She sleeps while I look on and wonder what I've done wrong, yet he wonders why I sleep.

the busy season

I have called this the busy season. Every spring at this time, Kevin leaves to a work related conference, and every year at this time several other things happen:
the basement floods,
marking is due at the College, and
there will be some sort of sickness had by someone in the family, this year it is Kevin's mom. She usually comes and stays with me while Kevin is gone to help out with the mopping up, and general chores around the homestead. At least it sure seems like a homestead. The well needs to be dug out. Silt has fill in the reservoir. The old vehicles need work, the banisters are falling apart, did I say the basement was leaking? Oh ya, I did. There is a logging truck load of wood coming at some point in the next 2 weeks. Kevin bought it so that we would have all the wood we need for the next 2 years. I am SURE it will come when he is gone. As with everything, this will pass, but it sure seems heavy at times.

procrastination - friend or foe?

I have been wrestling with this question for years. Perhaps it is my desire to see procrastination as a friend. Indeed it can be as the stress of a short time frame stimulates my mind with a flurry of creativity. Apparently there is scientific support for this type of creative stimulation. Hormones, apparently...is it my imagination or is every sort of "stimulation" in human beings traced back to hormones? Sometimes and I contemplate the scientific explanation for my behaviour, I feel like such an animal! The side of my brain that recognizes myself...(the definition of a sentient being), would like to think otherwise. Do other animals procrastinate? It would seem so if you watched my dog. There are times when he very obviously needs to go outside to relieve himself, but because he has positioned himself on the warm furnace vent, he is reluctant to move. He's going to get a bladder infection one of these days. I tried to tell him that, as I push him towards the open door, but he doesn't care.

is it really over?

Winter has been so mild here in Prince George that yesterday I was tempted to declare winter over. Drips from melting ice made a pleasant sound as they hit pools of water on the ground, only to form ice again this morning. -21 degrees as I awoke. Yet, nature with her mood swings is still teasing us. The sun is shining brightly and the birds are defiantly signing their spring songs. Is this how it will be then? unsettled and undecided? It's funny how I come about my moods by aligning myself with the seasons.

picky eaters

I have been watching with amusement as my husband attempts to evict the rodents who are using our vehicles as a deli. I guess it would help if the kids weren't constantly snacking in the backseat wherever we go as they are providing the smorg. Evidence of these nightly parties lay along the seats, the floor mats and the console in the form of small brown things. I have been patiently cleaning them up with the shop vacumn, only to find more the following morning. We are stumped as to how the critters are getting into the new car. (The old car has many holes from rust). In frustration, Kevin set the "never needs to be baited" mouse trap. Apparently it has a chemical smell that attracts the mice. The trap has been empty for weeks and I ventured to tell Kevin that country mice are probably not attracted to chemicals like city mice are. The next time I entered the new car I see the trap set once again, but this time it is baited...with gum. (insert supression of laughter here). Somehow I don't think the mice will go for that either. Does anyone have any suggestions?