tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35096189664263415762012-01-28T14:01:52.337-08:00Imagine Joy ArtA blog convergence of art, joy, imagination, spirit, love, peace, transformation, poetry, metaphor, connection and conversation.Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.comBlogger5751100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-7472920324322482392012-01-27T19:37:00.000-08:002012-01-28T14:01:52.349-08:00Art Marketing Case Study: Drew BrophyWhen we think about marketing our art, it's easy to get lost in generalities. Today I found an artist who offers an excellent example of many principles of art marketing.
I was introduced to Drew Brophy by his wife Maria Brophy, who is part of the SmArtist TeleSummit. I was intrigued when I heard that he painted on surfboards so I went to his website and found an artist passionate about Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-60716527633436248222012-01-26T17:05:00.000-08:002012-01-26T17:05:44.557-08:00Steampunk Art
My friend Vivian turned me onto this video about the Steampunk exhibition at the Museum of the History of Science, University of Oxford from 2010. Steampunk focuses on Victorian science, real and fantasy. The art doesn't really ring my chimes so I was hesitant to watch the video. What delighted me was the creativity and passion. It really is worth watching.
Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-16321399143297765542012-01-26T14:33:00.000-08:002012-01-26T14:33:23.076-08:00Opting Out Of The Fear Cycle
Recently I was in a conversation with an extremely smart man and he was telling me his version of the Apocalypse, in this case it was financial and included the demise of our monetary system, hyperinflation and high-level collusion, all leading to a Mad Max world. It seems like I'm hearing a lot of strange tales these days ... chemicals being dumped on our heads as part of what we think are Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-92210979027970305842012-01-25T17:28:00.000-08:002012-01-25T17:28:26.436-08:00Joy after the Fire: It's a book!
It's a book!!
The past five years have been an amazing journey, even though it was not one I would have chosen. The story of this journey is now available in my book "Joy after the Fire, when grief, despair and loss become the seeds of new joy and growth" available for iPads from iBookstore and as a downloadable pdf by clicking the BUY NOW button on the right.
Loss comes to each of us, andJoyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-44386603877166384512012-01-25T07:25:00.000-08:002012-01-25T07:25:46.262-08:00Focus or Fail!
Focus
What do carrier pigeons have to teach you about reaching your goals? A lot, according to artist and writer Jack White in his fascinating post for Fine Art Views.
White begins with John James Audubon who reports seeing the sun eclipsed by a flight of millions of pigeons and continues into the tales of heroic carrier pigeons and their amazing ability to find home under extreme Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-85602037066414127272012-01-24T19:58:00.000-08:002012-01-25T07:21:29.380-08:00Gallery at Marina Square, Morro Bay, CAIf you're ever in Morro Bay ... stop by!
Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-4001642575170060152012-01-23T14:07:00.000-08:002012-01-23T14:08:42.622-08:00Dragon Year: The Adventure Begins
Year of the Dragon
Today is the first day of the Year of the Dragon. The dragon, considered the most auspicious Zodiac sign in Chinese culture, is often associated with good fortune and intelligence and is believed to be the sign of those destined for success. According to Chinese astrologers, the year of the dragon ushers in a time of optimism and hope ... and change.
2012 is a year of Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-54428247240766210082012-01-21T16:22:00.000-08:002012-01-21T16:22:00.757-08:00The Importance of Beauty
The Dance of Beauty
In 1990, I accompanied a bunch of American teenagers to Moscow as part of an international SuperCamp. an organization that creates incredible accelerated learning experiences. It turned out to be a water-shed experience for me.
I am basically a practical person so I was going because I wanted to know more about the remarkable learning processes SuperCamp uses and to Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-68043189375358079242012-01-20T13:31:00.000-08:002012-01-20T13:32:09.354-08:00Pinterest: A New Addiction
Two Pinterest boards I've created so far.
It's Annie's fault. She told me about it ... actually she raved about it. And, as usual I didn't get it but decided to try it.
It's not that easy ... you have to be invited ... what's that all about? But, an artist friend sent me an invitation so I stuck my toe in and a whirlwind sucked me in and still hasn't let go.
Pinterest is billed as an Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-64712034840997971562012-01-19T15:25:00.000-08:002012-01-19T15:25:09.265-08:00In a Grain of Sand
William Blake opens his poem "Auguries of Innocence" with these famous lines:
To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower Hold infinity in the palms of your hand and eternity in an hour.
I've always thought of those lines as a metaphor until I saw the incredible photography of Professor Gary Greenberg who has a PhD in biomedical research from University College London. NowJoyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-67051959831030044462012-01-17T07:00:00.000-08:002012-01-17T07:00:04.826-08:00Cookies and Art
I grew up in a tiny town in Kansas, population 266, and went to an even tinier church which had an even tinier flow of cash into the coffers. One weekend we had a bake sale and lined tables up in front of the church on the main street. It was a feast of cakes, cookies and pies and the tables were womaned by eager and friendly church members. Who stood there. Traffic down main street was Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-60099826053136119412012-01-16T07:57:00.000-08:002012-01-16T14:18:09.033-08:00Martin Luther King, Jr.
Every year I post this poem honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.
in gratitude for all that he gave us and in hopes that
we live up to his words.
Twenty-six he was when destiny crooked its finger,
beckoning the still-green minister-scholar into the world.
Forty-two she was when she pounded on the door
Theoretically opened ninety-four years before.
It was the first of December, 1955, when Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-71815990344050854172012-01-16T06:00:00.000-08:002012-01-16T06:00:00.269-08:00Artist Statements - An Evaluation
How do the pieces all come together?
Emily Dickinson once said, "Tell all the truth but tell it slant." She makes it sound so simple.
I've been picking up artist statements mainly done in the form of "rack cards" (generally 4"x9" although they varied somewhat in size). One of the hardest things artists are called on to do is write about ourselves and our work. "We're artists not writers, Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-64595069636115612942012-01-14T07:00:00.000-08:002012-01-14T07:00:04.629-08:00Artist Statements: Ridiculous to SublimeYou know you need one, but you're an artist not a writer. How do you write one that that isn't boring, dull and stupid? Think about that as you watch these short videos which range from ridiculous to sublime and something in between.
Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-41365183282654206582012-01-12T19:46:00.000-08:002012-01-12T19:46:25.057-08:00Tick ... Tick ... Tick!It's almost here.
After months of toil and trouble, it looked like it would be here in August.
But, things take time ... September, October and November dropped off the calendar like fall leaves.
December got sidetracked by holidays and bureaucracy.
Now, it's 2012 and it's almost here.
Patience is a virtue.
Virtue is getting thinner.
Maybe tomorrow.
Maybe.
Maybe???
Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-91229609595695815352012-01-12T06:00:00.000-08:002012-01-12T06:00:11.420-08:00Free Art SuppliesWhile schools continue to cut back art programs and the availability of art supplies, Lisa Ambler started a non-profit organization in Denver that has given art supplies to over 100,000 children in 80 countries. She inspires me.
Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-86146854892849157552012-01-11T08:36:00.000-08:002012-01-11T08:38:21.863-08:00I Dream - Two Years Ago ChallengeHere's a challenge for all you bloggers ... find your post from two years ago and repost it. Think about where you were then in connection to where you are now.
This was my post on January 11, 2010 ... a poem that came after a hike into the Rockies with a friend. This image of life struggling forth from hard rock moved me. My life felt like that back then ... like little was supporting my Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-1249256361170471442012-01-10T20:37:00.000-08:002012-01-10T20:37:42.971-08:00Unexpected Gifts
One part of my annual review process is looking at last year's intentions to see what happened and what didn't. It reminds me of the psychic predictions that used to be part of the tabloids (and may be still). I used to always buy the beginning-of-the-year-prediction issue and save it till the following year to see how many "hits" there were. As you might guess, there were darn few.
It Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-61580173560939986942012-01-09T07:54:00.000-08:002012-01-09T07:54:46.411-08:00Doing Changes Things
A new year is like a magical chest filled with things unseen and, in a quantum physics way, affected by our thoughts about it and our processes of observing each day as it slips through the measured opening. I love the abundance of this time of the year as it always seems so pregnant with possibilities.
My annual ritual of planning is underway ... choosing my words for the year (check), Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-18228361529096325052012-01-05T10:54:00.000-08:002012-01-05T10:54:22.402-08:00Happy Birthday Sid Parnes and George Washington CarverWhat a day of creativity this is! Two great creative souls were born on this day
Dr. Sidney J. Parnes (born 90 years ago today) is a retired professor at Buffalo State College (located in Buffalo, New York) and the co-founder of the International Center for Studies in Creativity. The Center is housed within [[Buffalo State College], one of the only places in the world that offers a Masters ofJoyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-77556029767784213102012-01-02T11:57:00.000-08:002012-01-02T11:57:57.891-08:00Words for the Year
Every year I pick a word (sometimes two) as my talisman for the year. I decorate a plain, black 9"x12" journal with the words and as much glitter glue and paint as I can pile on it. It's a tradition started years ago when I lived in Santa Barbara and discovered my first word while driving through a residential area. When I spotted an old, rusted RV with the word "Jubilation" painted across Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-2210459294566874512011-12-29T07:57:00.000-08:002011-12-29T08:01:10.843-08:00Calling All Women Who Have "Been There"
It's time to "circle the herd," one of our members is wounded and needs our protection while the wolves circle and the winds howl.
A woman, a blogger who gives greatly to our community, is in trouble. It's a common story ... wounded man, caring woman, disastrous results. (Note: the genders could easily be reversed ... wounds always seem to call to the healers within us.) In this case, Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-85691076443284009752011-12-27T18:48:00.000-08:002011-12-27T18:48:33.067-08:00What Leap Will You Make in 2012?
It's only one extra day, but there is something special about a leap year. It seems so full of possibility.
Last leap year, I took advantage of the Sadie Hawkins' tradition and proposed to a man who didn't say "Yes." At the time, I thought it was devastating, not knowing that the Universe had a totally different leap in mind for me. It makes me a little hesitant about trying to plan or Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-58491000908434164002011-12-23T19:28:00.000-08:002011-12-23T19:28:14.083-08:00Jim Denevan: Master of ImpermanenceMaureen at Writing without Paper introduced me to Jim Denevan in a way that made me want to know more. There is something about him that is so completely at odds with my own nature that it draws me like a polar opposite.
Denevan is a chef with no restaurant; an artist with no canvas ... both facts true and, at the same time, false. He creates experiences ... gourmet dinners using only locally Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-68578496781756313432011-12-21T07:22:00.000-08:002011-12-21T07:28:17.298-08:00Squidoo to You, Too
No matter where you are, there is always something to learn, especially in the internet world. Artist and art marketing coach, Sue Favinger Smith (author - Ancient Artist: Developing an Art Career after 50) sent me an invitation to her new Squidoo "lens," and I said "what?"
So, off I went to Squidoo and discovered something new, useful and fun ... that's a great combination. Squidoo, forJoyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-60662245257365996372011-12-16T17:37:00.000-08:002011-12-19T20:08:08.377-08:00A New Gallery - the E3 Way
This is my new wall at the
gallery ... I will take more
pieces and cards there soon.
Years ago, I studied with Dr. Michael Ray, author of Creativity in Business and professor at Stanford. One of the things he taught was E3 ... when things are in "flow," they are easy, effortless and enjoyable. That's what happened today.
I visited the Gallery at Marina Square in Morro Bay a few weeks ago Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-46749830093990648322011-12-12T08:34:00.000-08:002011-12-19T20:09:37.824-08:00Veni, Vidi, No Vici
My side of the booth
It was KPFA's 41st arts and crafts show ... my first. Since it's a juried show, it was an honor to be accepted into it and I didn't realize how much until I got there last Friday and began to see and meet the other artists at the show. The creativity and craftsmanship were like Taiko drums beating throughout the Concourse, you could see, hear and feel them pulsing Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-59942877112661747322011-12-08T06:00:00.000-08:002011-12-08T06:00:10.223-08:0010 Top Reasons for Buying Art
These are hot off the press of the International Institute for Research into the Art Buying Habits of People on the Planet Earth:
10 Top Reasons to Buy Art
10. It gives you a reason to get rid of the black velvet Elvis you inherited from Aunt LulaFaye.
9. It makes your friends and neighbors think you've got class.
8. The art dealer said the artist was 98 and it was a sure bet that it Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-58694025265364995302011-12-07T08:07:00.001-08:002011-12-07T15:48:49.703-08:00Easy Care 1-2-3
I am now printing all my art on metal because I love the luminous look of it. However, it has a couple of other benefits ... it can be cleaned easily and it should last forever. So, on the back of each piece, along with the title and signature, I put these instructions:
Easy Care 1-2-3
1) Avoid direct sunlight
2) Clean with a soft cloth
3) Enjoy forever!
As I was writing these this Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-1141970702682945452011-12-04T20:52:00.001-08:002011-12-05T07:40:19.295-08:00Toenail Cell Peace
I was thinking about my toes this morning ... more specifically the cells in my big toenail. Our bodies are made up of 50 TRILLION cells, give or take a few, and no one seems to know what holds them all together or makes them act in concert with each other.
Think about it ... 50 trillion individuals with no obvious glue that holds them together and no police force to make them do their jobs.Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-27591311774885379792011-12-04T08:08:00.001-08:002011-12-04T08:10:38.633-08:00Think Different!This is my all-time favorite ad narrated by one of my favorite actors, Richard Dreyfuss.
"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify and vilify them. About the only thing you Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-31143456676486129552011-12-03T13:05:00.001-08:002011-12-03T13:18:09.314-08:00Choice & Time
Louise at Recover Your Joy posted a video on choice this morning. The timing was perfect because I am in the midst of making a choice and already feel all the anxiety and loss related to making it.
This video helped me clarify the difficulty by reminding me that every choice involves a loss ... we cannot have one and also have the other, so, in our minds, we are losing one or the other. I Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-23508217980994569572011-11-30T11:34:00.001-08:002011-12-01T15:13:35.236-08:00Introducing "Gems" at the KPFA Craft & Arts Show
The 41st annual KPFA Craft & Arts Show will be held the weekend of December 10th & 11th and I will be there sharing a booth with Julie Mitchell, the incredible spirit doll artist. I have FREE tickets ... if you're going, let me know and I'll share them with you.
I will be introducing a new series of small artworks, 8"x8" squares ideal for small spaces and arrangements. Priced at $79, the Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-44597854462995883642011-11-28T19:07:00.001-08:002011-12-01T15:14:11.810-08:00Buying Non-Visible Art
As I was winding my way through the halls of google trying to find the answer to why people buy art, I fell down a rabbit hole into the Museum of Non-Visible Art (MONA).
It makes sense if you look at it in just the right way, with the left eye closed and the right eye at a left angle. It is a museum of ideas, art ideas, concepts that excite the imagination and create a "glow," as the Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-75707692748823086532011-11-28T08:56:00.001-08:002011-12-01T15:14:37.920-08:00Why Do People Buy Art?
This past weekend, Timberline Gallery held it's first-ever-in-its-26-years sale. Most of the 31 artists were selling all or part of their work at 50% off. Throughout the weekend, artists were in the gallery chatting with visitors, telling stories about their art, giving mini-demonstrations. And, of course, there were the requisite cookies and snacks. From most perspectives, it was a Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-72625167611376942542011-11-24T06:00:00.000-08:002011-12-01T15:14:59.637-08:00Celebrating GratitudeOh my God! We have one more precious day. This beautiful video is the perfect reminder that each day is a gift. May you enjoy every second of this one.
Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-65919888390095279392011-11-23T08:14:00.001-08:002011-12-01T15:15:28.894-08:00Winner of the Art Supplies Contest: Jack Sanders
There's an old Woody Allen saying that states 80% of success is showing up. Jack Sanders showed up. He won.
Jack wrote an interesting, precisely-37-word story. We'll never know how his story might have compared with other budding writers ... because his was the ONLY entry. There are probably many reasons why others might not have shown up but we'll never know what they were. But Jack Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-89197050059996293572011-11-21T08:10:00.001-08:002011-11-21T09:32:34.370-08:00Money Dolls Work!
A few months ago I met a woman who told me about "money dolls" and swore that she received unexpected money after paying special attention to her money doll. Julie Mitchell, an incredible spirit doll artist, was at the same event and she went home and created her own money doll and began honoring her. She also started receiving unexpected money so I started badgering her to do a money doll Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-793602017358502182011-11-19T11:11:00.001-08:002011-11-19T12:05:47.715-08:00Facebook CheeriosMany of my friends are not Facebook fans. They say things like, "I'm not interested in what people have for breakfast."
This morning as I read the FB "news," I learn about the state of life in the Ukraine from a visiting journalism professor, see one of the funniest and brightest guys I know make fun of himself and the entire male gender, read an article about spiral learning, enjoy a few newJoyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-11944319511674165732011-11-19T07:08:00.000-08:002011-11-19T07:08:00.200-08:00The World Will Long RememberOn this anniversary of Lincoln's Gettysburg address, there is much to remember and honor.
Gettysburg Address from Adam Gault on Vimeo.Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-64138494722787765842011-11-17T17:02:00.001-08:002011-11-17T17:21:39.049-08:00Creativity Cleanse: Day 10 Painting Granola
What a title! What image does it conjure in your mind? Mine saw: purple raisins, pink almonds and sweet lime green clusters dancing with yellow M&Ms. When this blog title popped up on my blogroll from Jill Berry's blog, I couldn't resist it. Curiosity demanded that I stop what I was doing and find out.
However, I should have known, coming from Jill, that it would be deeper and more Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-84821750404884216402011-11-15T15:14:00.001-08:002011-11-15T15:19:34.383-08:00Creativity Cleanse: Day 8/21 OP Cliches
Last night I spent several delightful hours working on my photographs, titling, keywording, organizing. It's one of my favorite activities and almost always inspires a new piece of work. Earlier this summer I had photographed a rusted hull of a truck in a weedy field. It's a common picture, probably falls in the cliche category. I passed it by but it kept calling me back so I went back Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-85711322217798380462011-11-14T11:13:00.000-08:002011-11-14T11:13:20.603-08:00Creativity Cleanse: Day 7/21 Personal Expression
This year began in failure. I decided to enter the "Top Self-Help Book Contest" and did so with a certain degree of arrogance. I'm a published author with two "classic best-seller" books (books that sell 100,000 copies over a period of years) so I thought I'd make it into the final rounds at least. Ahhh, ego ... I didn't make it past round 1.
In my still-arrogant state, I went through theJoyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-3555724563009999442011-11-14T04:42:00.000-08:002011-11-14T04:42:00.432-08:00Milton Glaser Monday: Secret #10This is #10 in reposting Barney Davey's blog post of Milton Glaser list of "10 Things I Have Learned - The Secret of Art." It is a great post but each one of the 10 items is so powerful and thought provoking by itself that I've decided to repost them one at a time, one per week at the beginning of the week. See post #1 for Davey's words about Glaser.
10 TELL THE TRUTH.
The rabbit joke is Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-1117447971396037702011-11-13T08:18:00.001-08:002011-11-13T08:23:26.255-08:00Creativity Cleanse: Day 6/21 Clearing Away
Reading in Ordinary Magic (edited by John Welwood) this morning, Chogyam Trungpa states, "Clearing away is as important as starting."
That struck me because my nature is to start things which I do much better than clearing them away. Even as I sit here I can see the residue of things I've started and not cleared away properly. It's related to yesterday's entropy discussion. But I wonder Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-52972980654919479152011-11-12T13:47:00.001-08:002011-11-12T14:11:48.834-08:00Imagine Joy Art Name Change
A little over two years ago, I launched this blog as an exercise in survival ... an attempt to fill my "empty cup" as my new blog friend Diane Walker expressed it. (If you haven't experienced her blog, Contemplative Photography, give yourself a treat ... it is always filled with beautiful images and wise words).
Anyway, at the time, I had no idea where I was going or why, so the blog name:Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-66709566855480827292011-11-12T07:27:00.001-08:002011-11-12T07:33:09.389-08:00Creativity Cleanse: Day 5/21 Entropy Affective Disorder
Entropy is a law of thermodynamics, which in its simplest terms states that energy systems tend to move from order to chaos. I see this in my environment every day ... it takes energy to keep the piles at bay. Turn my back and a corner tweets to the world: come fill me! And it does, suddenly shoes, books, magazines, empty frames, jackets and dog toys have come out of their hidey holes and Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-27529502244001146302011-11-11T11:11:00.000-08:002011-11-11T11:11:00.456-08:0011 11 11 11 11
A special moment in time ... meaningless, of course, except for the meaning that we give it.
But, then, all moments are meaningless except for the meaning we give them.
What meaning will you give this eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the eleventh year of this century?Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-3204712881043373882011-11-11T07:26:00.001-08:002011-11-11T07:32:35.701-08:00Creativity Cleanse: Day 4/21 Creativity Can Save the World
Recently I was on the receiving end of "mistreatment." It was a small act but it felt disrespectful and hurtful. It offered me the choice of being in reaction mode, and I jumped at it and started closing down, pulling back. While driving from one point to another a couple of days later, I "wrote" (in my head) a letter to those involved. I was right; they were wrong, and I wanted to tell Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-32559571561732737722011-11-10T11:47:00.001-08:002011-11-10T11:49:22.225-08:00Creativity Cleanse: Day 3/21 Artifacts
On Day 2, I recognized an unwanted belief that felt like it was a boulder tied around my ankle. Part of this Creativity Cleanse (I've decided) is using creativity to release barriers and beliefs that are not serving me. So I decided to see what would happen if I used fantasy and imagery to get rid of that belief. In the fantasy, the boulder around my ankle turned into an ankle bracelet with Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-55116409613310755882011-11-09T07:14:00.000-08:002011-11-09T07:14:38.294-08:00Creativity Cleanse: Day 2/21 It's Not Over!
Yesterday was day 2 of the Creativity Cleanse and a remarkable thing occurred. I uncovered a barrier that I never would have believed I was carrying. It's one of those things that, if a friend had expressed this belief, I would have worked hard to help her see the error of it.
But, there it was, like a small boulder attached to my ankle and I had gotten so accustomed to it, I wasn't evenJoyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-26353787982032869662011-11-08T21:59:00.001-08:002011-11-08T21:59:57.968-08:00The Results of a Successful Creativity CleanseMarco Tempest demonstrates the results of having successfully completed a Creativity Cleanse.
Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-19121294712435084472011-11-08T15:10:00.000-08:002011-11-08T15:12:14.243-08:00Creativity Cleanse: Day 2 Gift
In today's reading in Ordinary Magic (edited by John Welwood), Thich Nhat Hanh tells a story about apple juice. A little girl was given a glass of apple juice poured from the bottom of the bottle so it was cloudy with pulp. The little girl didn't like the way it looked so she left it on the table. Later she came back thirsty and asked for water but was told to drink her apple juice first. Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-14873455150527567952011-11-08T05:30:00.000-08:002011-11-08T05:30:05.101-08:00Creativity Cleanse: Day 1/21
It's day one of my creativity cleanse, early morning of day one, and already I've received an interesting lesson. My bed tends to stack up with books that I've started but not yet finished. The one I chose to be what I read on my cleanse is Ordinary Magic, Everyday Life as Spiritual Path, edited by John Welwood. My magic marker was firmly planted on page 2 of the introduction where I had Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-71644255481389041062011-11-07T17:23:00.000-08:002011-11-07T17:23:24.106-08:00Creativity Cleanse: Day 1 GiftI don't know if every day of this cleanse will produce a gift, but this one did. About 4:45 I went out to walk the dogs. I don't have a west view so I'm not keyed in to thinking about sunsets but about half way down the driveway, I looked east and almost fell over. It looked like fire fighters had dropped phosphorescent orange across the pines and oaks. They glowed ... no they were on fire. Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-11671324731980539942011-11-07T04:40:00.000-08:002011-11-07T04:40:00.818-08:00Milton Glaser Monday: Secret #9This is #9 in reposting Barney Davey's blog post of Milton Glaser list of "10 Things I Have Learned - The Secret of Art." It is a great post but each one of the 10 items is so powerful and thought provoking by itself that I've decided to repost them one at a time, one per week at the beginning of the week. See post #1 for Davey's words about Glaser.
9 ON AGING.
Last year someone gave me a Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-37620229664952053072011-11-06T20:33:00.000-08:002011-11-06T20:33:37.962-08:00Creativity Cleanse: A 21-Day Adventure
I have a touch of discontent. I'm not sure where it's coming from but I've noticed it over the past few weeks. Perhaps it's because, in a strange way, my life is so good. I've survived the past five years and have even written a book about it. (Title: Joy after the Fire, when grief, loss and despair turn into New Seeds of Joy and Growth and it is winding its way through the Apple approvalJoyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-89400230537301473702011-11-06T12:04:00.000-08:002011-11-06T12:04:59.239-08:00KPFA Crafts Fair - FREE Tickets
I am delighted to be participating in San Francisco's 41st annual KPFA Crafts Fair, December 10 &11.
Julie Mitchell (spirt dolls) and I will be sharing Booth #100. There are 220 booths of original designs in all media so please come see us!
I have 4 free tickets I'd love to share. If you are going to be there and would like a ticket, leave a comment below.Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-55890311628355653402011-11-05T11:59:00.000-07:002011-11-05T12:21:50.525-07:00The Advantages of Being an "Ancient Artist"
One of my new favorite art bloggers is Sue Favinger Smith and her blog "Ancient Artist: Developing an Art Career after 50."
Today I found an old post about the advantages of being an older artist based on research reported by Martin S. Lindauer, in his book AGING, CREATIVITY, AND ART, A Positive Perspective on Late-Life Development.
This was an interesting post for me because I have been Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-14158417319343072732011-11-03T13:48:00.000-07:002011-11-03T13:48:01.957-07:00Beauty and Steve Jobs's Last Words
It probably shouldn't be a surprise that Steve Jobs's final words to us were more of a question than an answer. Jobs's sister, Mona Simpson stated: "Steve's final words were: 'Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow.'"
As he lay dying, surrounded by his loved ones, was this a recap of his life or a glimpse of what was ahead of him? We will never know for sure but, one more time he stimulated our Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-56386608484940106092011-11-02T12:14:00.000-07:002011-11-02T12:14:17.007-07:00Everyone Is a Storyteller and StorymakerMaureen Doallas at Writing without Paper has introduced me to another wonder: Beatrice Coron, who could be called a paper cut artist but who is also a storyteller, cultural observer and commentator, and filmmaker. The foundation of her work is story and the belief that everyone has a story to tell
She states: I don't know the stories. I take image from our global imagination, from cliches, Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-13560638221586426412011-10-31T14:59:00.000-07:002011-10-31T14:59:40.917-07:00James Hillman (1926 - 2011)
Years ago I was fortunate enough to attend a depth psychology conference with James Hillman, Robert Bly and Coleman Barks as presenters. Watching and learning from any one of them was a treat but to see all of them in one place and watch their interaction with each other was truly a beautiful experience.
James Hillman, one of the foremost psychologists of our time, left this world this week Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-2096116730436510442011-10-31T04:38:00.000-07:002011-10-31T04:38:00.586-07:00Milton Glaser Monday: Secret #8This is #8 in reposting Barney Davey's blog post of Milton Glaser list of "10 Things I Have Learned - The Secret of Art." It is a great post but each one of the 10 items is so powerful and thought provoking by itself that I've decided to repost them one at a time, one per week at the beginning of the week. See post #1 for Davey's words about Glaser.
8 DOUBT IS BETTER THAN CERTAINTY.
Everyone Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-53991474720009813232011-10-30T09:44:00.000-07:002011-10-30T09:44:24.721-07:00Never Choose from Impatience
Some people don't see the value in Facebook, but this morning it delivered the absolutely perfect message for me.
"Never speak out of anger,
Never act out of fear,
Never choose from impatience,
But wait, and peace will appear."
- Guy Finley
Guy Finley is a self-realization author ... http://www.guyfinley.org/
About this Image: Star Bird
A mini Intuitive Lifescape from my recent Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-23016148824755271482011-10-28T16:29:00.000-07:002011-10-28T16:29:50.833-07:00OMG Pinkberry!One of the things about living in the country is that every time I go to the city, the world is fresh and magical. Today my friend Kathryn and I walked around Santa Barbara and happened into a Pinkberry yogurt shop. Not a very unique event and my expectations were low: a break from walking, talking and shopping and a pleasant treat.
Isn't it magical, though, when someone takes the ordinary Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-59706199896718988242011-10-27T06:00:00.000-07:002011-10-27T06:00:07.004-07:00Flower Masters: Wisdom
The Flower Masters left another message for me last night: wisdom.
Wisdom ... it's a word we throw around lightly but when I went looking for a definition, I found a certain vagueness. It's almost one of those "we know it when we see it" things. There's a general agreement that it involves understanding what is right and true and being able to act upon that understanding. But, since we Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-63679385451354325332011-10-26T08:13:00.000-07:002011-11-01T21:37:53.975-07:00Contest: $100 for School Art Supplies
I've decided it's time to stop complaining about the state of funding for art education supplies in schools and do something about it, even if it's only a nit on an elephant. So here's the deal ...
I will donate $100 for school supplies for the best 37-word story by a student related to this image ... it can be shorter but absolutely no more than 37 words. Put your story in the comment Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-90293392319781096152011-10-25T16:22:00.000-07:002011-10-25T16:22:49.110-07:00Routine: Who Knew?
My first husband once told me I had no bad habits. I was rather startled by this observation until he continued, "you have no good habits, you have no bad habits, you have no habits period." Suddenly I realized that this was not an admiring commentary on my sterling character, although I recognized the truth behind his frustration. I do have a tendency to wake up in a new world every day. Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-44837906809992709792011-10-24T09:53:00.000-07:002011-10-24T09:53:38.783-07:00Why Art Education Is Crucial: Poster
The National Art Education Association has a great poster that summarizes this issue beautifully. (The image is just the top part of it.) It is available here. This is obviously an issue a lot of us feel passionately about so please share this informative poster freely.Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-17613439380301625172011-10-24T04:36:00.000-07:002011-10-24T04:36:00.297-07:00Milton Glaser Monday: Secret #7This is #7 (don't miss this one!) in reposting Barney Davey's blog post of Milton Glaser list of "10 Things I Have Learned - The Secret of Art." It is a great post but each one of the 10 items is so powerful and thought provoking by itself that I've decided to repost them one at a time, one per week at the beginning of the week. See post #1 for Davey's words about Glaser.
7 HOW YOU LIVE Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-20207625351795561322011-10-23T07:33:00.000-07:002011-10-23T07:36:43.016-07:00Flower Masters: Abundance
Another flower was left on my pillow this morning: abundance.
The first time I saw protea was at the Farmer's Market in Santa Barbara. Their unique shape and color fascinated me but they were expensive so I never bought any. One day I was visiting a woman's house and she had a large vase filled with them and I marveled at the abundance but still I never bought any for myself.
Last yearJoyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-4004808516042774592011-10-22T13:56:00.000-07:002011-10-23T07:35:37.351-07:00Flower Masters: Freedom
Last night there was an orgy at my house. Friends from the past came to call and then barged right in shouting, "Let's party!" They started throwing around pinks and yellows, and one of them tossed purple all over the place while another blew a flute that shot green out in great billowing clouds.
They danced and sang till way past my bedtime so I finally gave up and left them cavorting Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-76167267015612871152011-10-21T09:20:00.000-07:002011-10-21T09:20:37.395-07:00Why Art Education Is Crucial: Flowers Are RedFormer teacher Peggy Broadbent has contributed some valuable information to the conversation about art education and its importance to students and to our world. Since school art programs are being eliminated across the country, this is a critical topic and I will happily pass along information that contributes to the understanding of the importance of art education, not in creating future Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-20379637260443395782011-10-20T08:20:00.000-07:002011-10-20T08:20:58.154-07:00Mary Nohl: My New HeroHere's a woman who has lived her life her way, immersed in art, in love with what she finds around her. Of course, she never had to worry about money, but, oh what a life! Enjoy this brief walk through her garden and visit with her.
Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-61457847784944489182011-10-19T07:44:00.000-07:002011-10-19T07:44:17.373-07:00What IS Beauty?
I've been prowling around the internet, watching some YouTube videos, and contemplating beauty. What IS beauty? Some say we know it when we see it. I think we know it when we feel it.
Many years ago I had an experience of beauty that changed me. I was in the USSR ... it was 1990 so it was still the USSR even though the cracks were showing. I was there as part of an international Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-67469320852957236642011-10-17T04:34:00.000-07:002011-10-17T04:34:00.557-07:00Milton Glaser Monday: Secret #6This is #6 in reposting Barney Davey's blog post of Milton Glaser list of "10 Things I Have Learned - The Secret of Art." It is a great post but each one of the 10 items is so powerful and thought provoking by itself that I've decided to repost them one at a time, one per week at the beginning of the week. See post #1 for Davey's words about Glaser.
6 STYLE IS NOT TO BE TRUSTED.
I think thisJoyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-67559092017104212522011-10-16T19:49:00.000-07:002011-10-16T19:49:21.515-07:00Political: Yin and Yang of OWS
"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function." -- F. Scott Fitzgerald
I hope Fitzgerald is right because I seem to be holding two opposing ideas about the Occupy Wall Street phenomena and it would be nice to be able to continue to function.
First, I'm proud of and inspired by the people Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-44534823541524619972011-10-16T09:24:00.000-07:002011-10-16T09:24:43.689-07:00Stimulating Creativity
I spent a lot of years studying creativity, thinking about how to encourage and support creativity and finding and developing tools that would maximize creativity in organizational environments. When I started this journey, you could easily fit all the creativity books onto one average book shelf; now you could fill libraries with all the creativity volumes. However, creativity remains a Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-91706073731797854642011-10-13T08:26:00.000-07:002011-10-13T08:26:31.482-07:00Luna in Hunter's MoonTwo nights ago, a group of us hiked up a short trail to a granite dome and watched the full moon rise over Bass Lake. It was the Hunter's Moon, also known as the blood moon or sanguine moon, a time for stockpiling food for the winter. We sat on the rock with no need to hunt or worry about food for the winter, and watched the moon's gradual appearance.
Soon, however, she was outshown by herJoyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-70591103858434082042011-10-11T18:06:00.000-07:002011-10-11T18:06:27.447-07:00So, Picasso ...
Picasso is clearly one of the most successful artists of modern times. He must have been born under an exceptional star for he was successful from his teenage years when he arrived in Paris and by his mid-20s he was avidly collected. He became the equivalent of a rock star and stayed that way until his death at 92.
Three of us went up to see the Picasso exhibit at the deYoung Museum in SanJoyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-28717581324895694322011-10-10T04:32:00.000-07:002011-10-10T04:32:00.578-07:00Milton Glaser Monday: Secret #5This is #5 in reposting Barney Davey's blog post of Milton Glaser list of "10 Things I Have Learned - The Secret of Art." It is a great post but each one of the 10 items is so powerful and thought provoking by itself that I've decided to repost them one at a time, one per week at the beginning of the week. See post #1 for Davey's words about Glaser.
5 LESS IS NOT NECESSARILY MORE.
Being a Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-13599558258599110282011-10-08T06:30:00.000-07:002011-10-08T06:30:00.577-07:00It Starts with Cookies
There's a lot of things wrong in our world right now. We just rolled over the 7 billion population number ... three times what the population was in 1950, financial uncertainty is global, and climate change is remaking the very face of the planet. It all seems overwhelming so I was happy to see AARP print a list of things we as individuals can do ... starting with: Skip the cookies!
TheirJoyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-65326420996228478312011-10-07T06:00:00.000-07:002011-10-07T06:00:04.557-07:00Lifescapes: Art from the HeartI love taking pictures of "stuff" ... those iconic treasures that hold meaning for us even when they have no extrinsic value, and more and more, I find them showing up in my digital paintings. Lately I've had some wonderful opportunities to take pictures in people's homes and studios and one day I thought, "Wouldn't it be fun to be able to create a series of paintings based on the beauty people Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-18594692871075780312011-10-06T19:36:00.000-07:002011-10-06T19:36:29.147-07:00Where Crime Begins
This quote from Roger Ebert in Salon.com was found in The Week:
"Kindness" covers all of my political beliefs. I believe that if, at the end, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do.
To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crimeJoyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-57524076443328311572011-10-05T12:51:00.000-07:002011-10-05T12:51:44.406-07:00Timberline Artist Part of Lost Mosaic Revival
Brian Kincaid is part of the revival of the fine-line grout mosaic process. I was sitting as the curator-of-the-day at Timberline Art Gallery when Brian came in and generously spent some of his time explaining the history and details of the process to a small group of visitors and me. His work had amazed me for some time because of the combination of exceptional craftsmanship and the beauty Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-73644940752375167132011-10-03T08:12:00.000-07:002011-10-03T08:12:08.167-07:00What Artists Do
Sierra Art Trails is over for this year leaving only a glow of beauty and art in its wake. One of the most unusual artists on the Trails is Wendy Denton, an artist/photographer who honors birds who have been killed on our roads. Wendy takes the birds home, scans them and transforms the scans into incredibly beautiful and luminous portraits. I met her last year on Trails and was just Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-42295561733922989432011-10-03T04:30:00.000-07:002011-10-03T04:30:03.296-07:00Milton Glaser Monday: Secret #4This is #4 in reposting Barney Davey's blog post of Milton Glaser list of "10 Things I Have Learned - The Secret of Art." It is a great post but each one of the 10 items is so powerful and thought provoking by itself that I've decided to repost them one at a time, one per week at the beginning of the week. See post #1 for Davey's words about Glaser.
4. PROFESSIONALISM IS NOT ENOUGH or THE Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-35577006359316625902011-10-02T11:23:00.000-07:002011-10-02T11:23:01.005-07:00Guardian Angel Day
Today is the feast of the Guardian Angel day, as designated by the Catholic Church which teaches "that each person is assigned an angel to help protect and guide them through life." About a year and a half ago, I embarked on a process of meeting my guardian angels in a decidedly unchurch-like fashion: I tore them out of magazines. I spent several days going through magazine images and picked Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-3699102927475061572011-10-02T08:19:00.000-07:002011-10-02T08:19:06.333-07:00Generation Waking Up This is one of the most hopeful things I've seen in a long while. It reminds me of some of the ideals and energy of the sixties. We of that generation didn't do such a good job ... maybe these young people will do better. Heaven only knows we're leaving them a messy challenge that will take all their creativity, collaboration and commitment.
It is almost heartbreaking to hear one of the young Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-51394345491988101852011-10-01T07:28:00.000-07:002011-10-01T07:28:45.329-07:00Kinetic Wave SculpturesHere is a perfect example of the artist perspective (with the talent and skill to translate his perspective into incredibly beautiful reality). Plus, he's very cute.
From the YouTube description: Reuben Margolin, a Bay Area visionary and longtime maker, creates totally singular techno-kinetic wave sculptures. Using everything from wood to cardboard to found and salvaged objects, Reubens artworkJoyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-45537606326946368192011-09-30T06:00:00.000-07:002011-09-30T06:00:14.684-07:00Why Art Education Is Crucial
Sierra Art Trails begins today and I'm delighted to be part of this annual open-studio and meet-the-artists event here in the Sierra foothills. This is my first year of participation and I decided to use it as a way to give something back to the community, so I will be collecting and contributing to a fund for school art supplies for local schools.
As I look at the artists who are part of Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-8705970882844534052011-09-29T08:37:00.000-07:002011-09-29T08:37:23.837-07:00Dakota 38Special thanks to Maureen at Writing without Paper for sharing the trailer to a documentary that tells the story of the largest mass execution carried out in our country. It is a brutal story from our past, a time when hunger for land overwhelmed our humanity, a true time of madness. It opens with the statistic that the Native American population which was once estimated at 60 million is now Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-73591671452231559602011-09-28T11:39:00.000-07:002011-09-28T11:39:50.156-07:00Artist Perspective
Not everyone is born with great talent. Not everyone is born with an artist's eye. Not everyone is born with the compulsion to translate the world into art, song, dance or theater. But, everyone can develop more of an artist's perspective.
Recently I realized how much of my time is spent actively looking for things that inspire and captivate me. My camera is always with me and I'm Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-38035959702884954342011-09-26T04:22:00.000-07:002011-09-26T04:22:00.585-07:00Milton Glaser Monday: Secret #3This is #3 (and one of my favorites) in reposting Barney Davey's blog post of Milton Glaser list of "10 Things I Have Learned - The Secret of Art." It is a great post but each one of the 10 items is so powerful and thought provoking by itself that I've decided to repost them one at a time, one per week at the beginning of the week. See post #1 for Davey's words about Glaser.
3. SOME PEOPLE Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-4749067780947656262011-09-25T13:23:00.000-07:002011-09-25T13:23:31.876-07:00Blog Post #500
500. What a number! 500 blog posts and about two years ago, I was mired in the muck of confusion and doubt, truly alone for the first time in my life and experiencing an existential pain that I did not know what to do with. A new friend told me my cup was empty. When she showed me her beautiful blog and artwork (Contemporary Photography), I didn't see words and beauty, I saw a lifeline and Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-60694403144246899472011-09-25T07:49:00.000-07:002011-09-26T08:13:00.761-07:00Spontaneous Combustion at the Yosemite Flute Festival
Sometimes live music spontaneously combusts into magic. That happened last night at the final concert of the Yosemite Flute Festival. Something about the venue, the audience, and the night enchanted the musicians and they left the realm of performance and entered the world of playful collaboration. On the small, intimate stage at the Sierra Sky Ranch, the three main performers danced in and Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-53451115360715780152011-09-23T07:30:00.000-07:002011-09-23T07:37:45.449-07:00Let Your Heart Be BrokenLast night Rafael Bejarano played didgeridoo and did a sound healing ceremony for a group gathered at the Positive Living Center. Surrounded by dozens of flutes, didgeridoos and other instruments, Rafael often looked like a one-man shamanic band. Some of the didgs he played were huge, decorated, iconic instruments and the music was at once primal and stirring. He circled the room blowing the Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-81681319600314046352011-09-19T04:28:00.000-07:002011-09-19T04:28:00.037-07:00Milton Glaser Monday: Secret #2This is #2 in reposting Barney Davey's blog post of Milton Glaser list of "10 Things I Have Learned - The Secret of Art." It is a great post but each one of the 10 items is so powerful and thought provoking by itself that I've decided to repost them one at a time, one per week at the beginning of the week. See post #1 for Davey's words about Glaser.
2. IF YOU HAVE A CHOICE NEVER HAVE A JOB.
OneJoyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-76016368617671136282011-09-17T17:42:00.000-07:002011-09-17T17:42:15.146-07:00Artist's Statements: Both/AndA friend sent me excerpts from a threaded discussion on artist's statements ... some people thought they were really important, some thought they were a waste of time. It reminded of me of my days in innovation when I often repeated the mantra: "It's never either/or but always both/and." It's not really whether to do an "Artist Statement" or not; it's about how to make a connection with a Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509618966426341576.post-68803274314438301432011-09-16T14:09:00.000-07:002011-09-16T14:09:36.230-07:00Time for Creativity
The other night I went to meditation at Judy DeRosa's Creativity Center. She was working on an art book and was surrounded by baskets of colored pencils, jars of bright paint, brushes, and bowls of brilliant embroidery thread. She lives and breathes creativity and surrounds herself with the most colorful chaos imaginable. No wonder her art is always so vibrant.
The color and shapes Joyce Wycoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03742084748092724299noreply@blogger.com3