Mistakes

"We don't make mistakes, just happy little accidents." -Bob Ross

Painting is easy in some ways.  Canvas, paint brushes, and paint meet and a picture is made.  What happens though when the picture in your mind and the one on the canvas don't match?  Or worse they do and then your brush grabs wrong and the color runs in the wrong way. What do you do?  Do you leave the painting as it is and give up on it?  Do you try and work with the mistake and make a new picture that is similar but incorporates the mistake, makes it beautiful?  Do you work with the mistake and make something new, something unique?

I think you know where this is going.  Mistakes happen in life just like they do in painting. What we do with them determines how we live.  Are we going to spend our lives stressed out and trying to fix so much that we never even get the chance to live?  Conversely, if we just ignore the mistakes and go on as if they never occurred, is that the correct response?  How you go on after a mistake is made often determines the size of the mistake.

Crimson is a big fan of Bob Ross.  Her Shadoe Stones product line is "Happy Trees" in his honor. Mr. Ross was a man who knew how to turn a mistake around on canvas.  Remaining calm is often a large part of the process.  I do not paint in Mr. Ross' style at all. I place emotions on canvas in an almost haphazard way.  Then came the day that I needed to form a picture to correctly carry the emotion I needed. I wanted a sky and a hill with trees. I used a watercolor paint for the first time ever, it was blue for the sky.  Then I went to put light into the sky and boom green.  Well, shit.  Yellow and blue make green.  Acrylic paint is fluid. Watercolors are "WATER" colors for a reason.  Yeah, so now we have a blob of green in the sky...how do we fix it?  Do we accept that the painting isn't going to be what it was supposed to be?  Do we try and make it fit anyway?  How do we fix this mistake? I tried fixing it. Made it worse. I then ran with it. I am uncertain how I feel about the finished product, I am not even certain, yet, that it is finished. Heck, I may use that time honored tradition of painting over. Going to need new paints for that, so it will have to wait.

We can't hit rewind in life. We live with our mistakes small and large.  It is what you do with them that makes life. I try very hard to live with no regrets. Every decision I have made right and wrong has brought me to where I am, and that is a beautiful thing.

The aforementioned painting.  I have done worse...and I have done better, a lot better!

 Love what I am doing and want to see more?  I am now on Patreon.

Procraftination

Procraftination has two meanings:

1. Crafting when you should be doing something else, i.e. knitting when you should be practicing piano (clears throat loudly).

2. Doing everything in the world BUT the crafting you are supposed to be doing.

Well, I am not the knitter in the family, so guess which one I am doing?  Procrastination or procraftination is something we all do.  When we see something that seems to be too big to tackle we attempt to go around it instead of through.  One of the hardest things to do is see the steps that make procrastination the harder path.  Everyone knows that taking it one step at a time makes a large project smaller and easier to do; it is figuring out those steps and making sure they get done in a timely manner that is hard and makes putting it off until later seem the easier thing.

There are several steps to fixing procrastination of any kind.  Often though we know those steps (as I do) it is actually applying them that is the hard part. Getting off of your ass to do something that is going to take a long time to fruition is HARD.  As mentioned, many times already in this blog, I am a poet and a painter and a photographer as well as a crafter and a writer of fiction and creator of games (I know it's bad English but it makes the point).  When I am writing poetry, painting or taking photographs my gratification is instant.  I do these things with singular focus, I even paint in watercolors and acrylics  because I hate waiting for oils to dry. Crafting, novel writing and game creation is harder.  I have to sit and think and work at it.  So often I will put it off.  I can do that later. I will get to it after I finish editing this series of photos, get off Facebook, write this blog post (you get the idea).  I actually created this blog and specifically this day on the blog to get me off my bum and get to working on "The Quilt"  and do you know what I have done on it?  NOTHING!  I got it out, photographed it and put it away. This stops now, today....after I finish writing....

Looking for some motivation?  Check out Crimson's Blogs on Motivation:  The Motivation Files:  1, 2, and 3.  Love what I am doing and want to see more?  I am now on Patreon.

Another way to sit at the computer and look like you are doing things while you do nothing:

Inspiration-Poetry (Color)

 Inspiration comes from many directions for all kinds of art.  A sunset, a toy, a person, or a conversation can all trigger the creative instinct.  The "Color Cycle" is a three poem set that began following a conversation.  The conversation was with an African American woman who had grown up as a member of the only African American family in a small town in Texas.  She had been told by family and friends that being dark was bad, having natural hair was unprofessional and basically that she was unattractive because of nothing more and nothing less than her genetics.  I wasn't shocked as much as I was saddened.  The young lady is beautiful, by the by. Hearing the hurt in her voice made me want to weep.  As a shockingly white woman raised in the Mid-West, I am no judge of the African American community and I am not trying to be.  I just wanted to help one person feel better and the words helped me feel better as well.

Color

#1

Why is nude a color?

Why is it not just an expression of who we are,

Skin tone holds no sin.

Be Proud of who and what you are.

Bathe in the beauty of you

#2

Why limit yourself to the colors of a rainbow?

Create Love and live outside the boundaries.

Let life be limitless and grow beyond your wildest dreams.

#3

All the shades of beautiful

How many crayons are in your box?

Where is your paper bag?

Do NOT limit your vision

Do NOT limit your choice.

Look at all of the shades

See all of the beauty

I am more then aware of my privileges.  I was raised well, by people who loved and celebrated me for who I was.  They wanted the best for me and that included education, food and shelter.  I have had familial support for my entire life.  Some people, of any color, do not have that support.  That support is what has given me the confidence to be who I am and be happy about it.  I could not be a creator now if it weren't for my family then.  For some it is the opposite, they created (and indeed still do) to escape their circumstances and are inspired by pain.  Most often, I find joy within my creative cycle.

Inspiration in writing, especially poetry, is like a lightning bolt for me.  It is in my head and it must get out.  It doesn't care if it is the middle of the night, middle of a conversation or the middle of another creation; it wants out now.  I have found that if I resist those impulses I lose the words. If I do it often enough and for long enough they stop coming entirely.  The first time I lost the words completely, when my head was silent, was a relief.  For about a month.  Then I was lonely.  I tried to force the words. It didn't work.  I had to live my life and wait for them to come back.  They did eventually and I am glad.  It took me actually participating in life not letting it pass me by.  Every day that I am sick I worry that they will go away again.  I can't participate the way I used to and want to so how long can the words last? I am going to be writing them down for as long as they do.

Celebration-Dawn Cowan 

If you pay attention there is beauty all around you.  Whether you write, paint, take photos, or talk recreate that beauty and share it with the world.  The world deserves more artists.  Love what I am doing and want to see more?  I am now on Patreon.

Photography-The Golden Years

When you are doing something you love, you are playing every day.

I love this series of photos because both man and dog are having the time of their lives and the dog is doing what it was bred to do. 

I call this series the golden years.  I don't think it really needs an explanation.  Fun is it's own reward! 

You are going to see a lot of water photography from me.  I am fascinated by water.  I tend to take photos of nature, but most often I am drawn to water, it is essential and everything but passive even when it is still.  

I was at this beach to get some wave shots.  The man and dog were there the entire time.  The buoy would go in, the dog would retrieve it and it would go back in.  There was simplicity in the routine but it was spiced up by the dog's barking.  If the buoy wasn't in it's mouth the dog was sharing it's joy with the world.  Sometimes even with the buoy in the mouth there was muffled sound.  It was adorable.  In the last two shots you see that he dropped the buoy to say how much fun he was having...he then turned around and brought it back to be thrown again.

Bring joy to your work and you will give joy with your work.  Boredom, anger, sadness, madness they all show in art.  Every once in a while simple joy is refreshing.

Love what I am doing and want to see more?  I am now on Patreon. Personal appearance this weekend in the Shadoe Stones booth, at the Indy Pagan Pride Day.

NaNoWriMo-Say What?

NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month.  The idea is that you will have the support and accountability to write the first draft of a new novel!  There is even a contest with some amazing writing and publishing related prizes.  All you have to do is get 50,000 words written and validated by the end of the month! Start your own and leave a comment here so I know how to make you a writing buddy!

I am going to be using this blog to work out some of my notes and ideas. The concept for the novel is simple-ish.  I am going to follow one soul through it's lives and maturation until it reaches it's full consciousness.  It is going to cover time and space, beliefs and knowledge, it is going to be what I call spiritual fiction.  There is a lesson in it, but it will be a story first and foremost.

The spiritual idea behind this concept was developed while I read "Fourteen Lessons in Yogi Philosophy" by Yogi Ramacharaka.  This is a collection of articles written by the "yogi" in the early 1900s.  While Yogi Ramacharaka didn't exist it does not affect the impact his writings can have.  If nothing else read them and be impressed by the knowledge of anatomy they had a century ago and also what they didn't have.

The book talks of 7 steps of awareness where the 7th step is spiritual awareness.  What does/would it take to even begin to achieve full awareness of the spirituality, or lack thereof, of the universe?  That is what "Live" will delve into.

I am a researcher.  I love to look for nuggets of gold in the pages of articles or books.  Those nuggets often go nowhere but into my notebook.  When they go further?  Then you know why you looked at all of that information on ancient Egypt for one short chapter.

I am also a highly spiritual person.  I do not believe in organized religion.  I do however believe that we are all connected at a base level and that there is a cosmic awareness.  I believe in science and I believe in miracles.  I do not believe that they are mutually exclusive.

I am a writer.  So I will put these things together and I will create a novel that is part me, part fiction and part unknown because it will be fun!

Stay tuned for more a "Live" and other projects!  Love what I am doing and want to see more?  I am now on Patreon. Personal appearance this weekend in the Shadoe Stones booth, at the Indy Pagan Pride Day.

The Elements and Artistry

I finished them and got photos!  Whoot!

EARTH

AIR

FIRE

WATER

I am exceptionally excited to have finished this, as it has been waiting for almost 6 months due to lack of funds.  We are still lacking in funds, but in the cleaning to find things to sell or pawn Sar found the Christmas present he had forgot he had purchased for me...so new paints!

Today we are going to talk about something on topic, but not related to these pieces specifically. 

 What makes an artist an artist?  

Short answer?  They do.  Long answer?  Fine, I'll do it.

An artist is an artist when they say (or admit-I have known several who deny it-they are normally the best, by the way) they are.  The viewer of the art can determine if they like it or not, but they shouldn't try to determine whether or not it is art.  Anything we are passionate about can be art.  Yes, anything-ask Don Juan and Casanova, better yet, ask the women they were with; whether or not they were artists.  You are a house painter, a plumber, a secretary?  You love what you do and you do it well?  Then YOU are an artist.  

That begs the question though of "do it well."  How do you determine that?  That depends on the criteria.  Secretaries should be able to type, file, search google for the boss' lunch again and many other things and they often have to be extremely flexible in what their day is going to be like (and I know secretary is passe. I don't care. I was one for years, I know what it takes).  At the top of their game there is some serious artistry involved.  There is also very little subjectivity to it.  A painter, a writer, or a poet though? Someone like me who claims to be all of the above and more?  There is a lot of subjectivity there.

So how do you know?  How do they know? This is the ephemeral part.  Art is art. Or is it?  My paintings would be considered "modern," but many people know 1st graders who could finger paint "better."  What makes one art and the other not?  Answer:  I do.  Art is the creation of work for the appreciation primarily for the appeal to the emotions or senses.  A small child creates to please yes, but seldom are they creating it as art.  An artist is expressing, sharing and giving you a part of their soul.

So I am an artist.  Are you?

Love what I am doing and want to see more?  I am now on Patreon. Personal appearance this weekend in the Shadoe Stones booth, at the Indy Pagan Pride Day.

The Forgotten Quilt

Have you ever started on a project and then put it away for whatever reason and forgotten about it?  I think any crafter has.  Mine is "the quilt." About 10 years ago I started working on a crazy quilt for my mother.  I worked on it consistently for about 6 months, especially on the weekends while I was at dog shows. Then it got so big it was dragging on the floor at the dog shows and picking up a lot of hair, so I stopped taking it to the shows.  My leisure activities starting involving my hands not just my eyes or ears, so I put it away.  I have moved at least 3 times since that initial put away and I have moved the quilt, in it's bag, with me each time, with the best of intentions to start on it again "once I got settled."

I found it again a couple of weeks ago.  I worked on it a little more and am going to use this space to keep you updated on it's progress, thus making myself accountable to keep working on it.  There is still a lot to do and I am not sure how I am going to finish it off at this time; but I want the feeling of accomplishment when I finally finish this.

The Quilt

Why is this going to take a while?  Because, I have been hand sewing it.  I do not actually know how to sew using a sewing machine.  I am going to finish this topper with hand sewing and then machine sew the batting and backing together and hand quilt this to that "pillow."  That's a lot of time and some money away however.  For now I need to get this topper to king sized.  I have about 5" around left to sew on.

I am hoping this is something I can work on when I am bed ridden.  The biggest problem is going to be when I am having ocular aspects of my migraines.  Losing sight in one eye is not conducive to sewing without hurting myself.

I will post monthly updates on the quilt until it is finished, so you can watch it grow and to guarantee I actually work on it!

Love what I am doing and want to see more?  I am now on Patreon. Personal appearance this weekend in the Shadoe Stones booth, at the Indy Pagan Pride Day.

Inspiration-Painting edition

Inspiration is an ethereal thing.  You either have it or you don't.  If you have it and you try to grasp it, it seems to slip right through your fingers. Thomas Edison said:  "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration."  Ignoring his raping of Nikola Tesla's ideas for that 1%; you have to consider how hard  it is to come by, even with all out perspiration. We have to consider when we are creative how to maintain the 1 % long enough to make the 99% worth it!

The mighty Crimson has discovered a great way to keep track of the inspiration so you can put in the perspiration later.  I want to share that with you as, if you are reading this you, Evernote is quite simply the best way to track all of the things!

Side note:  I am giving all of you these links, NOT because I am trying to get attention of these companies, but because I want to share the information with you.  Trust me if I wanted the companies to notice me they would...consider how you found this post after all.

Back to inspiration. When you want to be inspired what do you do?  Some people go for walks, some close themselves in.  I am an out and abouter personally.  I get my ideas from life.  That, actually, is one of the reasons it has been so long since I created.  I have been so ill, that I haven't had a life.  Now, I am starting to make my life out of what I am creating. I am truly creating to live.  It is somewhere between freeing and terrifying.

For paintings I am more inspired by how something makes me feel.  Angry/happy/sad whatever.  I don't paint things, I paint emotion.  I often state that I don't like most modern art and yet what I paint is modern art. Who ever said I had to be consistent.  There are days when I stare at a blank canvas with no way of knowing what I want and there are days when I am dying because I don't have a canvas to spill the excess emotion onto.  My paintings are truly the only things I create that I don't ever intend to sell.  Not that I won't sell; but that are not created with sales as the intention. I want to publish my novel, photographs and poetry some day.  My paintings?  It certainly wouldn't make me feel bad, but the painting itself is the thing not the money at the end of the day.  I have spilled my emotions out onto canvas and I feel better because of it.  When I write, I am compelled to write specific words or stories.  Certain land or water scapes make my hands itch for a camera.  I feel those things and I know they are as true a form of expression as the paintings, but I do not feel the same way when I see a photo, a poem or a chapter as I do when I finish the painting. The relief of getting it out is almost as overwhelming as the realization that I made mad/sad/joy into a visible thing.

                                                         -Black Eye, Dawn M. Cowan

Who you are, what you do, how you do it.  Are those things art?  YES!  If you put emotion into it.  If you love it, hate it, whatever; when you are inspired you make art.  Some days I am a couch potato with no inspiration and some days (like yesterday) I write a blog post, figure out something huge for my game system and finish two paintings, start 3 more and go to bed wondering what I am going to do to top it.  The answer is, simply, wake up and live again.

Love what I am doing and want to see more?  I am now on Patreon.  Personal appearance this weekend in the Shadoe Stones booth, at the Indy Pagan Pride Day.

OMG There was a sale!

I enjoy many crafts.  This post however, we are going to be talking about my Painting (remember MWF 3Ps).  Why? Because OMG THERE WAS A SALE!  We were out shopping, getting sand for bonsai trees and food for humans.  Crimson wanted to go to Sally's, Sally's is next to Michael's.  I wanted to price canvases because blogging has put a project in my head.  Crimson dropped me off and what to my wondering eyes should appear?  But a 3 for 1 sale that made my brain turn completely off and I went giddy.  I stopped thinking until we were back in the car.  You will be the beneficiaries of this as you get to see the six paintings I will make. I have three large and three small canvases and a new palette knife.  I also have two to finish.  Did I mention I am a little giddy about this?

I am currently working on and can now finish an elementals series.   Below you see "Water," when I have finished all of them I will show you the set.  The three larger pieces are going to be more mixed media then any thing else I have ever attempted.  I am quite excited to see what happens.  Here is "Water" on the wall.  You can see the bottom of "fire" and the top of "Earth."  "Earth" and "Air" are the two that need some work.

Like my other creative endeavors, I have not been working on my painting.  To the point that Sar didn't even know I painted...Whoops.  Crimson says I should sell my work after I get so many.  I say...eeek!

In photography I am looking to get something from a new perspective or to take the beautiful landscape in such a way that it has never been seen before.  Painting, though, is more like my poetry it is the process of putting my emotions on paper (or canvas).  Photography is bringing the external to the internal.  Painting and poetry are bringing the internal out to play in the external. What some see as paint smeared across canvas, I see as waves, raindrops, puddles and bath tubs.  Water isn't passive resistance it is passive insistence.  The things that do not give way to water are slowly worn down until, once again, water is getting what it wants and needs:  a place to go and gather together.  Water is joy in being while it is also strength in not giving up.

Hopefully I will have the rest of the series done next week and you can see the whole series!  Love what I am doing and want to see more?  I am now on Patreon!    Thanks for listening.

“You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write.”

That quote from Saul Bellow is why I write.  Not Saul Bellow himself, but the words.  If you have ever been driven out of bed by a thought or an idea then you know what I mean.  If you haven't you can never understand; it is neither good nor bad; and yet it is terrible and amazing.  I am both very happy for you that you can sleep peacefully and weep for you that you will never feel that impulse that keeps a writer going.

I am a writer.  I haven't done any writing in years; but I know that I am a writer.  I am even a published writer.  In the way back I wrote gaming things.  I will NOT rest on those laurels.  I have now the capability to go far beyond what I did.  However, I am a creator so my brain cannot do just one thing apparently.  Despite knowing how terribly I multi-task I am now in the middle of:  Starting this blog, creating a brand new world and gaming system AND preparing to participate in NaNoWriMo.  I have obviously gone insane.  The voices in my head at least tell good stories!

Thursdays will be dedicated to writing.  Today is Thursday so we are going to talk about writing.  Shocking how that happens isn't it?  I grew up in the 80s.  The home computer was just becoming a thing.  In the 90s, when I was writing last, most people had computers of some sort; at least at work.  I was, and still am, a pen and paper girl.  I do my best work not typing but actually writing. However, my best work isn't the book, game or poem itself.  It is the notes, outlines, and side ideas that come with each piece of work and lead to the next.  I use notebooks to create and each time I am working with a new idea I go back through those old notebooks and see where my brainstorming from past and present might lead.

As I said above I am currently working on developing a gaming system.  Not an electronic one, but a pen and paper sit down and look at people Role Playing game. I am creating a world.  This is not always easy; but the hardest part right now is making sure I don't use someone else's ideas and pretend they are mine.  Sometimes things are consistent through out a system even if it is also a specific name, having a coke or using kleenex does not always mean those specific products.  I have not been participating in gaming for two decades so the words that are specific to gaming have been lost.  Ideas like character alignment and the titles of game master or player handbook were game standards when I was playing in the 80s and 90s.  Then again there was really only one company making RPGs.  Are those words things that if I use them I will get sued?  What happens if I accidentally plagiarize game mechanics? Jungian philosopher Joseph Campbell posited that there are only so many stories to tell; it is how we tell them that differs. I want to be Shakespeare, I will be happy if I don't fall on my face!

Do you want to know more about the game system?  Let me know by commenting!  

The 3 Ps of Creativity

First things first:  Happy Birthday Lennah!  My sister is having her birthday today-Check her out at Photos by Lennah.

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday you are going to be reading about paintings, pictures or poetry.  Some days it will be just one P, some days it will be all of the Ps!  Today we are going to look at a couple of pieces of mine. This is our first day, but it shan't be the last!

All content on this blog is original and it is mine, unless otherwise noted.

Black and white are opposite ends of the spectrum; but there is so much in between.  When we are in the middle of a muddle it's hard to remember that there are so very many shades of grey.  Words are insistent.  Sometimes coming easy and sometimes hard.  They can keep you up all night or they can help you describe the indescribable.  So here are some words for you.

Black & White
Life is black and white,
Because those are opposites
Composing the spectrum
Not defining it.

White means
All colors run together
Black means
All colors run away.

Why can we not
Just join together
In those lovely
Shades of grey.

I am fascinated by black and white photography.  When film was still available I would find intricate textures and strange scenes and define different perspectives by leaching out the color.  With digital photography that is both easier and more difficult.  The starkness stays, but we loose a little bit of the soul of the photo.  Taking a photo on black and white film means that there was never any color to define it.  The black, white and shades of gray have to create the entire photo.  Shadows and highlights create interest and emotion that is lost when shot in color because all of that color is turned black for the shadow and the highlight is turned white and there are fewer shades of gray.  Ansel Adams was a master at black and white photography and in one simple and stark photo shows all of the reasons you want to shoot in it.  I do NOT claim to be Ansel Adams.

Honestly, I love both of the photos below; but it does help define what I am speaking of as a digital piece.  The color photo is intricate and quite fun, but when turned to black and white and cropped it turns spooky, but if you look closely you see detail that is lost in the shadow once drained.

                                                -The Root of The Problem, Dawn M. Cowan

Crafting Tuesday

As I said in my post yesterday, Tuesdays will be for crafting.  I have a quilt I have been hand sewing for years and this blog is the excuse I am going to use for finishing it. Heh.

I used to do quite a few craft type things and I need to get them back into my life.  I need to get a lot of things back in my life.  You see, I have been pretty much living the last two years out of my bed.  No one can really tell me what is wrong.  They have found a lot of things "not normal" with me physically, but none of those are causing the problems I have.  Everyday, at some point in the day, I get a migraine.  I am prescribed medication that sometimes makes them leave, and sometimes doesn't.  When they get bad enough I end up in the ER for pain killers to knock it out.  The constant pain has deteriorated my body and my soul in a lot of ways.  I am in a fight to get both of those back right now.  I, finally, am angry at my body and I am going to make it listen to me.  I am not going to hurt myself; but I am going to start living again-as much as I can.

Part of that is finding things I can do while I am in bed and possibly half blinded (hand sewing a quilt does not work with that last part-voice of experience here-fingers and pin cushions are different things). So macrame, crafting with words, and various and a sundry other new crafts will be explored.  You will get to see the results here first.  Today we are starting off with something that was brought into my life via Crimson-our gemstone trees.  We have made this into a great business that is expanding through the amazing jewelry and art made by Sar.  The one, the only:

Shadoe Stones

Shadoe

So today we are going to talk about Shadoe Stones.  Crimson makes the "happy trees" created to move and resemble the real thing, I have started making mini-trees and small bonsai and Sar makes the most amazing medium/large bonsai and winged ladies. Our CFO (Chief Feline Officer), is the one and only Shadoe for whom the business is named.  ALL of our trees help to plant the real thing via our corporate partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation.  One to ten dollars of every tree sold is donated to assist them with their very important work.

We work with semi-precious stones and base metals.  We use all natural products as possible.  As a family we consider this our art.  It is our belief that every piece we make is for someone in particular; and that person will find their piece when it is time.  To facilitate that we are going to as many shows as we can afford to promote the business, which started as a beautiful gift from Crimson to cheer me up and has developed into this amazing thing!

We do custom work so please feel free to check out the Facebook page above and check it out.  We are working hard and planning for a bigger, better, beautiful web presence within the next year.

A Green Brecciated Jasper  Bonsai on Tibetan Quartz (by Dawn)

Momma and Baby Tree Amethyst on Geode (by Crimson)

Pele on Amethyst Cathedral (by Sar)

I also cook.  I bake.  I do both of these things very, very well. They are by no means a hobby to me; although I am not professionally trained, but they are a craft.  I will be sharing my creations and recipes with you.  My family will especially appreciate that part as they will get to eat the experiments! 

I look forward to tomorrow and dropping some poetry and edge on you!  Maybe next week we will make my trail mix cookies!

Welcome to A Creative Mind

The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves. -Carl Jung

                                                                           -Ripple Affect, Dawn M. Cowan

Hello there!  I can't say I am surprised to see you as, well, I am not seeing you.  We shall break the fourth wall today and explain what this blog is going to be about.  I am letting my creativity come out and play. So I need somewhere to showcase that.  It is the 21st century and I am going to catch up eventually.  My lovely wife, Crimson, has her blog here (Crimson's Blog) and she is going to be much more organized and talented then my mess! I will be sharing what I do creatively with you each day.

You are going to see paintings, quilts, stories, poems, gemstone items, gaming ideas, photos and so much more (I am even thinking of picking up macrame again).  Why am I doing this?  Part of it is just for fun, I love doing those things and now I will share them with you.  But most of it has to do with the fact that I am chronically ill.  I suffer from Chronic Complicated Migraines.  This means that I have migraines 3 or more times per week with symptoms ranging from the normal terrible "headache" to seizures and paralysis.  I need some happy and some purpose back in my life.

So as I do everything I am diving into the deep end head first! Monday, Wednesday and Friday I will be covering the 3 Ps:  Painting, Photography and Poetry.  I will share some of my art with you and discuss what it means to me, how it came to be or I might just drop it and see what you think. Tuesday is going to be for crafting (quilting, macrame, and stone work).  This is the day that it is most likely you might not see a blog (see Crimson's blog above for excellent Tuesday content!).  Thursday is for writing.  I might share a piece and ask for input or discuss research.  I might talk about creating my new game system or the inherent frustration that comes with it.  This could even wander into book reviews on occasion.  Saturday and Sunday I am taking off, not like a rocket ship, more like a banker. Starting a blog with the goal of becoming a daily blogger right off the bat is crazy?  Yes, you are beginning to understand!

Come along for the ride, it should be a wild one.