The Learning Season

“School is one thing. Education is another. The two don’t always overlap. Whether you’re in school or not, it’s always your job to get yourself an education.

You have to be curious about the world in which you live. Look things up. Chase down every reference. Go deeper than anybody else – that’s how you’ll get ahead.

Google everything, I mean everything. Google your dreams, Google your problems. Don’t ask a question before you Google it. You’ll either find the answer or you’ll come up with a better question.

Always be reading. Go to the library. There’s magic in being surrounded by books. Get lost in the stacks. Read bibliographies. It’s not the book you start with, it’s the book that book lead you to.”

Excerpt from “Steal Like an Artist” by Austin Kleon.
Love, love, love this little book, available at your local library
or learn more about it here.

It is September once more, reminding all of us that it is the season of school, education, learning. A new season that happens every year. People everywhere: around the neighbourhood, at the park, on social media are talking about “back to school”. So are you heading on a learning journey this fall? Are you talking or thinking about “registering for class”, “trying something new”, “going in a new direction”, “discovering your creative instincts”?  Or perhaps just DOING something new? How will you choose to “learn” this season?

Let me talk about artists and learning. We artists are instinctively curious – we couldn’t do what we do if we were not. The more we learn, the more we realize that there is still more, much more, to explore, to try, to get our hands and hearts into. This September I am DOING something new, starting a new project, a new learning venture for me, and I am pleased to share it with you – this blog, which I am calling “Art Think Cafe”. You are currently reading my first official post! I have been on a steep learning curve this summer, as I researched and read and learned about web-hosting, blogging, electronic distribution, and more. I have plans and dreams (or course) for what I can make this venture into. I aspire to create a gathering place for artists and thinkers, a community, a place to share and talk and think art. A place to learn about interesting art happenings in the community, the city, the country, internationally. A learning resource for anyone who is pursuing a creative life.

So now I am putting this first blog post out there – ohhh, such a scary – but exciting thing to do – I continually think that I need to “make it better” before I publish it. But then I remind myself that if I wait until it is perfect, it will never happen. I need to “Just Do It!” My blog is in it’s infancy, and I hope to bring about growth and evolution…. quickly. Thank you for reading! I truly hope that it arrived in your inbox intact and that it brings you pleasure, and maybe something to think about? All thoughts and feedback are welcome and appreciated.

Oh yes, I also did a little painting this summer, not as much as I would have liked, but here are a few new streetcar portraits. Very new, in fact they may be heading back to the easel…. still processing.

I look forward to getting back into the classroom this fall, where I will strongly encourage all participants to “Just Do It!”

Click here for information about the upcoming Just Do It! Classes
Click here for the full class schedule for the Fall 2016.
Click here to visit my NEW website.