Month: July 2018

Stay Human – Michael Franti’s Creative Message

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I apologize for the late post. I was out getting a recharge at a four-day music festival during which I experienced the inspirational message of Michael Franti and Spearhead. If you haven’t heard of him, click here for a music video. I also encourage you to read his lyrics. Franti’s message is one of encouragement, kindness, and a reminder to all, especially today, to stay human.

Michael Franti BLOG

He spoke to the crowd about what motivates him. He connected with his audience on multiple levels by acknowledging different groups within society. “I have a sister who is a lesbian and a brother who is a police officer. My family covers the spectrum.”

Franti produced a film titled Stay Human. He spoke about his creative motivation being the world we are in and how we treat each other. From the website, “During these turbulent times, the feeling of hopelessness is an epidemic. In a quest to hold on to humanity in the craziness of the world we live in today, my new documentary STAY HUMAN takes us on an experiential journey through music and stories of some of the most inspiring people on the planet that I’ve met along my travels, who have chosen to overcome cynicism with optimism and hope —and remind us all what it means to STAY HUMAN.”

After his set, Franti took the time for multiple selfies and hugs, exemplifying the concept of staying human by connecting further with his audience. I personally received a lot of inspiration and one sweaty hug.

Michael Franti BLOG2

Stay Human people.

 

A Writing Guru

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I am fortunate to have many wonderful writer’s who work with me on my projects, inspire me to reach further, and encourage me to continue honing my craft. It’s a great life.

Way back during my undergrad at UConn, several writing professors had the book

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Totally geeking out about meeting Natalie Goldberg!

Writing Down The Bones on their optional reading list. Since I first purchased this classic, I have re-read it a dozen or so times. Natalie Goldberg’s classic inspires, directs, and assists writers through the process of writing.

I had the honor to meet Ms. Goldberg at The Bookstore & Get Lit Wine Bar in Lenox Massachusetts where she was promoting her latest book, Let The Whole Thundering World Come Home: A Memoir. Here she shares her cancer journey through writing and Zen. I bought her new one yet got my 1986 copy of WDTB signed.

I learned a few important things during her session. 1. When I asked a writing question, she answered, “one must just shut up and write” (she really wanted to talk about her new book) and 2. Ms. Goldberg doesn’t like cameras.

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A little more calm after she signed my book.

About WDTB from Amazon: “With insight, humor, and practicality, Natalie Goldberg inspires writers and would-be writers to take the leap into writing skillfully and creatively. She offers suggestions, encouragement, and solid advice on many aspects of the writer’s craft: on writing from “first thoughts” (keep your hand moving, don’t cross out, just get it on paper), on listening (writing is ninety percent listening; the deeper you listen, the better you write), on using verbs (verbs provide the energy of the sentence), on overcoming doubts (doubt is torture; don’t listen to it)—even on choosing a restaurant in which to write. Goldberg sees writing as a practice that helps writers comprehend the value of their lives. The advice in her book, provided in short, easy-to-read chapters with titles that reflect the author’s witty approach (“Writing Is Not a McDonald’s Hamburger,” “Man Eats Car,” “Be an Animal”), will inspire anyone who writes—or who longs to.”

Click here to visit her website. Click here to visit the The Bookstore & Get Lit Wine Bar’s website. Both links have options to order her books.

Visual Artist Sean Powers

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sean

Me and Colorado artist Sean Powers on the Boulder Mall. Thank you, Sean, for sharing your creative process!

Welcome back, folks! This week Colorado visual artist extraordinaire Sean Powers shares his creative process with us.

“The process of creating my work is sort of like a cross between narrating with imagery and watching an image spontaneously emerge through paint. I’m interested in the literal and figurative nature of an image; the way different subjects can interrelate through abstraction and representation and how the subjects’ forms communicate something literal while suggest something figurative in the mind of the viewer. The subjects I’m working with have a literal relationship to one another in the current world and an abstract relationship through their concept, function and form. I use art history, abstraction, representation, design and other techniques to bridge these different images together in a way that is equally literal and ambiguous in content.

The inspirations for my narratives are weird and diverse. I read a lot, currently I have been pouring over the works of Nietzsche, Michio Kaku, Patanjali and Joseph Campbell. My narrative pictures are rooted in the current and past traditions of human cultures and psyche, but I seek to shape the story further along and create a new picture that conveys the mystery of these subjects and their evolutionary past.”

To see more of Sean’s work check out the slide show below or visit his website.

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