a colorful 10 minute increment

Command Central..

 My husband and I moved to Las Vegas January 31st of this year to help on a project near and dear to my heart. Since then, I’ve been working about 80-90 hours a week- 30 or so to earn a living and 50 or so to fulfill my dream of helping my church and several non-profits forward their goals and purposes. Since then, I’ve found that life has been lived in about 10-30 minute increments of compressed and concentrated units of time.

People have asked me, “Why are you doing this?” “It’s nuts, you’ll wear yourself out!” And, “ What about your art?, What about your family and friends?”, “How can you leave where you were living and just change directions like that?…. What about your BLOGS!!??”

Well.., yes the blogs, shops and forums and groups have been a bit neglected, and the brushes and paints are still for the most part unpacked. My daily art fix right now consists mostly of viewing and sharing the wide array of beautiful art that my dear, dear art friends on facebook display each day. Have I told them how much I appreciate their work? Not enough. I love my fellow artists, so that is another a service I can help do for now.

I have never been a conservative, middle class girl. I came from a large family grounded in community service and willing to take the show on the road. The kids are grown now and I am able to serve. So this ocean and tropical loving “girl” asked her husband of 33 years to pack up the house, leave my beloved California and move it all to the desert- Sin City Central in fact- Las Vegas, Nevada. I joined a movement that specifically focuses on helping artists of all mediums, music, film, paint, photography etc. There are people here to help and for the moment that is enough.

A group of us from around the country converged on Vegas in fact. All with a common purpose to help this project and get it off the ground. I have found old friends and new, all working every bit as hard as I am. My daily routine at the moment would make most people cringe to say the least- and sometimes it makes ME cry! Up at 6 0r 7, eat, dress, and then 35 minute drive to the office, work through lunch, 35 minute drive back to the house, eat a very quick meal for a few minutes, 35 minute drive again and work till 11 PM., and oh- did I say that I work 15-16 hours a day on the week-ends? Okay, so I take the odd day off like today once in awhile to wash clothes, pay the bills and write to all of you. My new blackberry phone for the most part is command central for emails, calls, and texts.

But I have some wonderful 10 minute increments all the time. 10 minutes admiring a beautiful painting or photograph here and there. 10 minutes listening to the happiness of a parishioner who just finished a service. 10 minutes of listening to some new music performed by an auditioning musician, 10 minutes of laughing with a co-worker while washing the dishes after an event, 10 minutes of helping someone do better, 10 minutes of listening to an 11 year old soloist who knocked my socks off, 10 minutes of sharing a meal with someone I really love, 10 minutes of listening to the story of someone who helped someone else handle a lifelong situation and do better……. Oh yes, there are a lot of 10 minute increments that are wonderfully compressed in with the 10 minute increments of- “Oh my! I haven’t eaten all day!” or “OMG, I really need a pedicure- who has time for such things!” or “Oops, I better pay the electric bill- Geesh!”

The car is dusty and cluttered, the dishes aren’t washed and would someone please put the whites in the dryer so I can have some clean underwear!! Oh, right, too much information.

Well, I still stop and turn the car around when the sunset or the mountains are looking particularly spectacular- and yes, I might take 10 minutes just to sit and admire it. I still squint to see the large shapes in the landscape (careful not to crash the car) and ponder and decide how best to paint them. I still walk outside and look at the colors of the clouds and the different way the light is here in the desert- the full moons are particularly wonderful. I still stand and figure out how best to mix my palette for a particular color scheme and I still rush to snap a shot of a particularly interesting or beautiful face. My camera is always near to hand and I shoot happily gathering content for the paintings I know I will still do.

Okay, so life in 10 minute increments can be pretty darned crazy- but when you have a purpose and worthwhile work, it is not only doable but full of wonderful instances of human and spiritual, artistic contact and upliftment. It certainly is an adventure! So….. I’ll try to keep you posted on how it’s all coming along, and maybe soon, I’ll work my way up to more frequent 20 minute increments!

Love you all-
Michele Ross
©2010 MA Ross

My empty easel awaits patiently

Well, everyone else but those of us here in Southern California seems to have been buried in snow recenlty. So I was in the mood for a snow scene and had to dig through old pictures to find something. Here’s a little study of a high mountain hunter’s cottage.

When art get’s the raves, too often artists aren’t always thought of as well as their art.

Well, I am in love with my fellow artists, every one of you.

No matter your chosen medium, crafters, in paint, light, sound, words, stone, wood, metal..all, you are near and dear to my heart, and I thank you for your continued enrichment of my life. I really do. A day without art for me is a day most barren and desolate, not just as a creator of art, but as a receiver of the art of others.

You are a most courageous lot, daring to be there and communicate. Did you know that is the worst crime in the universe?, daring to just be there and communicate?

Yet you continue to improve and apply your skill and send your messages out like spacecraft into the void seeking exploration and destination, not always knowing what and where that will be. Bravo!

Courageous? Absolutely! – like Mark Twain said, “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear.” So don’t you dare lose your nerve, don’t you dare! Stumble perhaps, but get up again, continue.

You are extremely important, even vital! When a culture fades, who and what is remembered and who shapes the thoughts and ideas of the new? Art and artists. What do we know and remember most of history and ancient cultures? The products of artists! The words, sculpture, paintings, music, crafts, and ideas created with such skill, beauty and impact. The images of a culture are those created by artists, and artists dream the dreams that science runs hard to catch up to and make a reality.

History has tried to make you crazy or just seem crazy and unimportant because you haven’t always agreed with “the norm” but choose instead to forge new territory, or because the products of your vision and labor don’t seem to be “necessary” to the living of life.

That is a lie. You are necessary, and you are some of the most valuable beings on the planet as far as I am concerned. Art has brought hope to and seen many individuals through the toughest of times. Some individuals are threatened by artists because you have the power to influence ideas, vision, direction, and inspire and capture men’s souls. Artists and art can completely alter lives for better or worse. Really, what those who try to make less of you are trying to do is enslave you knowing you wield such power- hoping they will somehow get that power for their own (usually not good) use.

You are also ambassadors from one culture to another which is a very powerful thing indeed. You and your art can cut right through the barriers of customs, language, religion, and location and appeal directly to the essence of one being to another.
But perhaps you already know this, but in case you don’t…

Yes, you are very powerful, so never disparage your own power. You have the power to make someone ecstatic or plummet them into despair. You make people smile, laugh, weep, hope, and believe in their own power and worth faster than any other group I know. You command people’s attention and emotions and take them to places they never dreamed of or thought possible! I know you do for me.

So lift each other up and don’t invalidate yourselves. There’s enough invalidation available out there already should we choose to listen and agree to it. Creating art can be a solitary activity, alone in our studios facing the next blank canvas, or sitting at the piano wrestling with notes, or facing a blank page and trying to create just the right impact with your words, origination can be an awfully lonely, solitary activity and must to a large part remain so at that stage. Art is about making our own, individual communication after all. Even a director is there to coordinate the individual efforts of the actors to result in one overall single communication.

However, in making our art known, and our community known, I believe we can be even more powerful as a group, or working in groups, and thus I work to find ways to enhance and broaden that aspect of our lives because I do believe in the incredible value of art and artists to all of mankind.

Meanwhile dear artist, know this:

I see you or hear you and know that you are there.
I see or hear your work and I appreciate what you do.
You and your work are very worthwhile to me and I am honored to know you and call you friend and fellow artist.
You greatly enhance, and enrich my life, and I am grateful to you for that.

Please continue.

Have a Wonderful Holiday and a most art filled New Year and beyond!

My Very Best,

Michele “Mikala” Ross

TAHITIAN CHILDREN

http://www.michelerossfineartist.com/detail/61.html

Well, locals fondly refer to this place as “A Bay”. I guess because the name is too long even for them. It’s a beautiful spot on the Kohala Coast on Hawaii Island where the palms throw shadows across the white sands and the swimming is very nice.

Watercolor

Dear fellow artists, please take my 2nd survey by clicking on the link at right.

Question 1
Is belonging to a group of artists with a common purpose…
10 answered GOOD
0 answered BAD
16 answered VALUABLE or somewhat valuable
9 answered WORTHWHILE
0 answered UNWANTED

Question 2
A group of artists banded together to make positive change for mankind is…
11 answered GOOD
0 answered BAD
13 answered VALUABLE or somewhat valuable
12 answered WORTHWHILE
1 answered UNWANTED

Question 3
A way to pool resources for the betterment of others and yourself is…
15 answered GOOD
0 answered BAD
15 answered VALUABLE or somewhat valuable
11 answered WORTHWHILE
0 answered UNWANTED

Question 4
Getting your art into fast moving markets is…
13 answered GOOD
0 answered BAD
22 answered VALUABLE or somewhat valuable
4 answered WORTHWHILE
1 answered UNWANTED

Question 5
The concept of belonging to a guild to promote and protect quality artists is…
15 answered GOOD
0 answered BAD
14 answered VALUABLE or somewhat valuable
10 answered WORTHWHILE
1 answered UNWANTED

On, “Which of the above is most valuable?”
#1 had 8
#2 had 9
#3 had 6
#4 had 7
#5 had 11

On, “Which of the above is the least valuable?”
#1 had 5
#2 had 6
#3 had 2
#4 had 14
#5 had 10

On, “If a guild as stated above started, would you want to be notified?”
25 said YES
4 said NO
The rest didn’t answer

Observations:
The first thing I discovered is that there is both confusion and hostility to the term and concept of a guild. This was new to me. Some have had the experience that guilds are in the business of regulating and evaluating artistic output, both type and quality and this is very much unwanted (understandable). Some experienced guilds that acted more like unions or exclusive clubs and weren’t really there on behalf of the artists in general.

The other observation I have on this is that mostly artists would like to help each other more, but often don’t really know how best to go about it, and being individualists by nature, don’t understand how best to align their efforts for mutual results.

My own purpose for this research is not to in any way get into the artistic/ creative output side of things which is up to every individual artist. My research has to do with coming up with some new and innovative ways that artist can group together to assist in marketing, promotion and selling more of everyone’s art.

With that, I’d like to ask you all (if you are an artist) to take my next survey by clicking on the link on the upper right of this page. It is to be taken anonymously- unless you want to provide me with your info.