Stephanie's Studio

I've been reading "How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day," by Michael J. Gelb. It is a wonderfully inspirational book for all creative people, and those that want to become more creative. The book isn't limited to visual artists or writers because Leonardo da Vinci did so many different things, it embraces many different disciplines and ways of thinking. One of the interesting bits of information I came across last night was about Leonardo's notebooks. He carried a notebook with him at all times. 7,000 pages are in existence, but it is believed there were many more. As a man who cultivated curiosita , (an insatiable curiosity about life, and unrelenting quest for continuous learning) notebooks were a constant source of inspiration and motivation for his creativity. Some of the ways he used the notebooks, which you might try, particularly if you are suffering through a creative block, is to ask yourself a hundred questions in the ...

For better or worse, we all have to eat. We've sought sustenance since we were born. Food and the kitchen, from which it hails, is a great way to break creative blocks. Here are some suggestions for writers: Write about your most memorable meals. Create meals for your characters, and have those meals become a catalyst in the story. Research different types of foods and then incorporate that knowledge into your work. Look into the history of food and see if that leads you to discover any story lines or characters that could accentuate your work. Asparagus with Fixins' c. 2015, Stephanie Rose Bird And, here are a few suggestions for visual artists: Collect food wrappers and packaging; use these materials to create fiber art, collage or assemblage. Paint different types of foods with textures, colors and shapes that are interesting. Study old still life works and consider some ways you could make contemporary statements with this age-old art form. Learn ...

G is for Giant Self A while back, I had a very unusual job for me, Manager of Art Security Guards. I only held the position briefly, but man, did I learn a lot in that short period of time. Where I learned the most was in its excellent training program, with a gifted teacher, I must say. This teacher swiftly transformed my work personality from quiet and laid back, by inviting me to step into my Giant Self. What if you’re handed a back pack and then there is a phone call that the bag is actually holding explosives? What would you do immediately, he’d pry. What would you do? What if someone is yielding a knife and threatening the crowd of people that have gathered? Time is of the essence. What would you do, he asked again? Tell us right now! …the questions and scenarios went on and on, all day. "Giant Self" by Stephanie Bird, 2016 What is your Giant Self? It’s that person larger than your usual self that lives inside of you. In the cloak of your Gi...

D is for Dancing Zulu Dancer So, what can you do for free, that lifts your mood by elevating endorphin levels that also helps your fitness level? Dance! As a girl, I was blessed with a unique opportunity. My mother had danced in her youth and wanted to share that experience with me. Through her encouragement, I grew to love my dance lessons and ended up studying dance about 4 nights a week and then performing on the weekends. One of my favorite activities was dancing outside. I enjoyed practicing my turns outdoors (poor grass!). So, I’d put our large speakers outside the door and then turn and turn, and turn some more, using the trees across the lake as a spotting tool. In case you’re unfamiliar spotting is a place you focus your eyes so that you don’t become dizzy. Now, some of you reading this will think this sounds crazy. Others are living in a place wherein doing something like this is not possible. I’m not suggesting you twirl outside, but hey, if you can, g...

B is for Blogging When I get stuck as a writer, one of the most helpful things for me to do is blog. Blogging is writing but a post is shorter, obviously than writing a novel. Some of my fellow bloggers write poetry, short stories, recipes, rituals, book reviews, and post photography or art projects. When I began blogging, years ago, I did quite long posts and admittedly, at times, I rambled, going all over the place. These days, I enjoy downloading my thoughts usually in a notebook or work page first, pairing the words with interesting imagery, in small parcels, and then editing it all on Blogger. Blogging reaches people, almost immediately, whereas it can take years to write a novel, often working in isolation. It is the isolation that I find to be a very difficult aspect of being an author; as a blogger though, we are a part of a community. Almost as quickly as thoughts form and congeal, they can be posted and a conversation begins. When we encounter road blocks, an ...

Manuscript page from James Joyce's Ulysses Photograph: PA Mistakes!  Who likes them? Do we need them to become better at what we do? I'd venture to say Theodore Roosevelt would answer yes, judging from this quote: "The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything."                                                            -Theodore Roosevelt I've been going in circles about mistakes with my novel writing. As a process-orientated painter I celebrate 'happy accidents'. I wondered, could they serve the same function in my writing? The editor in me thinks not. The artist disagrees with the editor. We go 'round and 'round. The issue though is when you try to write in nonstandard English things quickly go haywire. Grammar Check thinks every line contains a mistake. Editors, if not clued in, demolis...

Back in the day, hearing "You look fine," was just the type of cat call you either loved or hated (perhaps a mix of the two). Still, it was a funky affirmation. Your bell bottoms and platforms were working. You were looking good. Pinterest Board of Efrat Melter from digilander.libero.it Fine has run the gamut as a colloquialism. Now, seeing "Fine!" in a text could mean someone is pretty pissed off with you. This is fine + hissy fit. I like fine without the exclamation point. It is a way of saying all is good and right in the world. Question: "How are you? Response: "Fine." Four letters can be used to say so much. All pretty positive, unless you're using it as a cover, which many of us do. Question: "How are you? Response: "Fine," (the bottom has fallen out of my world) she said with a peevish smile. It's also not so positive when you're asked to "read the fine print" in which case, you know you...

If you don't know what IWSG stands for you'd be like me a few months ago. It stands for Insecure Writer's Support Group. We post the first Wednesday of the month. I took a few months off but am back this month to post about criticism. Before we get to that, if you would like to learn more and think this is a group that might be a good fit for you, visit the blog of its creator, Alex Cavanaugh,  here . Most artists are sensitive. It motivates us and enables us to penetrate the surface of situations, seeing the world in a unique way. Sensitivity can lend itself to vulnerability. Artistic people need constructive criticism to hone their craft. Criticism, however, particularly in the age of the internet, comes in many shapes and nameless forms. Before I was published, I noticed how actors took to their criticism. I heard, with great curiosity, how some said they never even read it. I read mine and then I don't for years, only to go back to it and read it again. My...

Magick and great ashe stems from engagement with plants. Over the years I've come to regard them as a reservoir of healing, font of wisdom and source of creativity. Healing with plants is an important facet of holistic health. Herbs are quite capable of gracing the mind, body and spirit with age-old energetic insights that lead to wellness. I've written a good handful, maybe more, of posts about gardening. Gardening as a pastime, a pleasure, a metaphor and a space for cultivating hopes and dreams. Do you remember when I shared the post  Seeding the Snow ? That was in March and I was so relieved that spring was actually going to show its face after a long, hard Chicago winter. Still, winter was unrelenting so it seemed as though you'd have to plant in the snow. The snow didn't want to make an exit. Then there was this post called  Weeding , which focuses around the activity of gardening as a form of mind/body/spirit therapy. When I wrote "Weeding" I was s...

After careful thought and a lot of deliberation, as well as conversation here in this blog space, I have decided to seek crowdfunding to publish my debut novel, "No Barren Life." As you know, it has had a difficult path to publication, as it is not an easy book to read. With an experimental style, it is a book that tackles head on, troubling topics such as child sexual, emotional and physical abuse. These are tough topics for anyone to face but they are also all too real. The book isn't a downer though--far from it. Yolanda the main character, is gifted magically and assisted by an array of characters equally gifted, and able to traverse different worlds to change her troubling situation. These characters include her tree whispering and Hoodoo practicing Grandfather, her babalayo of Santeria Uncle, and a group of powerful women who are also Aboriginal healers that she meets in Australia. Ultimately this is a coming of age story about self-determination and transforma...

This piece looks so funny to me this small. In reality it is quite monumental, especially considering the materials from which it is made. It is about 4.5' x 6.5' and it is made from humble chicken wire, newspaper and wall paper paste. Yup, you guessed it, this painting is on a papier mache base. Upcycling is a very interesting concept in terms of using materials that sounds new but really isn't. For hundreds of years artists have been taking simple materials like used paper and making it into fine art and crafts. If you are unfamiliar with the term upcycling, it means taking ordinary materials that could have been viewed as rubbish and making something unique and artistic with them. Some people use upcycling to make functional pieces for their home. It is a transformative process. I find that working with upcycling, in the form of papier mache is a spiritual. I must gather my materials, sometimes huge craft paper flour bags from bakeries or grocers, and go to the ha...

As a painter I was never overly interested in realism. I liked a few realist artist’s works and was always sure to include them in my slide lectures, in case students in my class had a preference for working that way. My first love was impressionism, followed by post-impressionism and then the fauves and abstract expressionists. I prefer contemporary surrealism, where elements of the fantastic are allowed into the picture or even classical surrealism, such as the work of Magritte.                                                  (Magritte, Oil on Canvas - The Donor) As a writer my fiction novels have never been urban realism or any other type of straight forward narrative set in our world, as people generally understand it. I remember first being moved by the work of Carlos Castaneda in art school. He was a controversial figure, particularly prolific ...

Last year I finished the manuscript for my first novel. Through the process of writing it  I had several readers and hired an editor. Things didn't work out with the editor so I trudged onward on my own. I also workshopped the book several times in professional writer's groups. I read the manuscript and re-read it, editing all the while. Finally, I was ready to send out queries. I had read that if you don't query at least 100 places, whether that is agents or publishers that allow queries from authors, that you haven't really tried hard enough. So, query and query some more, is what I did. I had highs and lows. I had a very prestigious literary agent in New York immediately request to see the whole manuscript, after receiving the first chapter. I had several niche small publishers ask to read the whole manuscript. Two of which, took months to reply back after receiving it, raising my hopes. I got some nice rejections from that effort. Saying they loved the bo...

Over the years, we have been called by so many different names. I find it interesting the phrase, “I won’t call you outside of your name,” that I hear people saying to one another. I always wonder what they mean exactly. There are many names you can call a person, and that’s just being proper. The other sorts of names…well, we won’t go there.  What’s in a name? Is it power or is it simply identification?                 You know the worse name for us. The “N” word. I heard it as a child, directed at me and my brother, when we first moved to a predominately White area. I hear it now in rap songs and on the Boondocks cartoon. It is still jarring. It still gets my attention. Inside…it still hurts. We should have never empowered that “N” word.                 We have been Negroes too, for quite a long time. Where did the Negr...

When I was in art school my main stay as an artist was oil on canvas. As I have matured as an artist, I have found myself gravitating towards mixed media. I find it fulfilling in many ways. It allows for experimentation and it is always full of surprises. This piece was created using kitchen vegetable and fruit scraps from the juicer to make handmade paper. Materials were added to make it able to achieve archival quality and to be permanent. Then twigs were added in and found paper scraps. I call this "Ghost in the Frame." This next piece was created in much the same way as the one above it but it does not have the prominent element of assemblage through twigs, instead it is more of a painted collage. It combines the same type of handmade paper and found paper with water-based paints like gouache and plaka with natural inks. It is an abstraction with landscape elements and its title is "Mixed media Landscape." I am an eclectic in my pagan, earth-based s...

I enjoy waking up and writing. Either I work on my books or I blog before anyone else is awake. I like the clean quality of this writing. It is untroubled or mussed from the day's activities. It comes from a fresh place. The art journaling and artmaking comes later in the day. I find that being sharper is more helpful to those endeavors. When I was a girl, dreams were big business. My grandmother was a prophetic dreamer and used her dreams in numerology to try to hit the numbers and often she did. Back then, people had dream books and there were number runners. Numbers were played in the streets not in stores or gas stations. People would match up the theme or prominent feature of their dream with particular numbers in the dream book and then play these in what were called The Numbers but what is now the organized Lottery. My grandmother was psychic and did really well with dreams and numbers. My mother and father, well...sometimes they got lucky and that luck fueled many more ...

  As Mother Day approaches, I reminisce about the ways my mother led me to belly dance. I still have a photograph of her in the 1950's decked out in an Egyptian costume with her sister friends.   Her belly is bare, the belly that was to become my home for nine months.   She is wearing a veil; she and her multi-hued friends look happy, peaceful, sensual and satisfied.   It is so telling, the ways our mothers can shape us—teaching things about accepting our self, in relation to others. Unlike my mother’s Egyptian influenced form, I was inspired to learn American Tribal Style (ATS) inspired by Carolena of Fat Chance Belly Dance . ATS is about feminine ascension, spirituality, strengthening from the core.  ATS has taken me back to the beginning, to a personal epoch of inner genesis. This genesis enabled the reestablishment of what I love best about the dance—spiritual engagement with music, nature, the self and most importantly, others.  I feel my wo...

Dragons, be they beasts, monsters, muses or fantasies, have been with us since the earliest of times.  Dragon lore can be found all over the world. They come from the deserts, mountains and seas. I have been conjuring dragons as a writer and as an artist for quite a while as well. Dragons are so mysterious however, they are hard to work with. Mine are shy and secretive on the one hand, yet powerful and awe-inspiring on the other. Being a water person, Ii am particularly enthralled with sea dragons. In my story “The Girl and the Goat,” for that is all it is right now, (4 chapters), dragons wreak havoc on a tiny village by the sea. As I’ve said in a previous post, Serene, the sorcerer has conjured the dragons. Serene is the main character, Sophia’s aunt. Sophia doesn’t know her aunt Serene is a sorcerer or the cause for the dragons descending on the village that she is called to save. I am working, sort of out loud here, on paper, on bringing those dragons back to ...

This morning I woke up with rejection on my mind.  As an artist and writer this is one of the most difficult things to deal with yet it is inevitable.  Why is it inevitable?  Well, if you are putting yourself out there, to multiple markets, groups, curators, publishers, whatever, you are bound to bump up with those who do not “get” your work.  For short periods of time, sometimes admittedly longer, I find rejection debilitating.  This happens when I lose objectivity.   This morning, for some reason or another, rejections I have encountered over the last couple of weeks ballooned in my mind and made me feel empty and hopeless. Then as I was driving to get gas I started to deconstruct those negative feelings.  Being rejected is not a reflection on a person it is a reflection of various people.  The thoughts of others about your creativity, is only that, thoughts and thoughts are not facts.  I ran into that particular quote for the firs...