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It is really common for people who are making creative work to look at their work the next day and be bummed that they do not like it as well as they thought they did. Or all they can see is the mistakes and things they wish they had done differently. If this is you, does this mean you are not a real artist? I talk about it in a little more depth in this video, but in a nut shell: No. What it means is that you have a fairly sophisticated critical awareness of your chosen material, be it music, writing, visual art or whatever. You have been listening to really great music, looking at visual culture, reading books all your life. You know on a deep level what good work is, what you are turned on by. This is good -- really good. The problem is that your own skills in creation have not caught up yet to your base of understanding. Be patient. Keep working. The thing you really need to do is give yourself permission to play, to follow what is compelling to you, and to let yourself be a beginner, or exactly where you are in your process. Thank your internal critic for holding out hope for that high standard. And for being such a perceptive aid in helping you make improvements over time. You will get there if you keep going. Really. Keep going.
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 There is a deep need I have in this time for quiet, for reflection and peace, but not as an escape. It is more a way to let in what is happening in the world and be with it.
 I dropped "Persephone's Dream: A Prayer for Peace" off at Parkhill Orchard the other day. What a pleasure! Russell met me and gave me a golf cart tour of the place, (including drive by berry sampling- Yumm! I'm going to the market today to get some of those berries!), and showed me where all the sites where new pieces are going to be installed- including my own. And then we looked at the stones he had to mount her on. She is going to look great. The picture here is trying out one of the the stones, but not in its real location. I have an admission to make. I have a history of having a fear of galleries- a fear of approaching them- like they are the big bad wolf for artists. I tell you this in the off chance that you know someone who has had a similar fear. Because it has become abundantly clear to me, with experiences like meeting Russell, that my fear was ill founded, and maybe yours, or your friend's is too.  Why can't I make real art any more? Is this question familiar? It goes like this: You are frustrated because it has been forever since you have made any real art and you doubt that you still have it in you. You have always thought of yourself as an artist, but sometimes you wonder whether you can really claim that anymore. I have so been there! If you have been like me, there are things that you have done to try to be creative, and they have satisfied a certain part of you, but they go now where and end up feeling like dabbling. The feeling of really making art is like a distant memory. Art school is long since over and life kicked in- responsibilities took over and here you are 20 years later and you don’t really know who you are anymore. It’s like that old Talking Head’s song “this is not my beautiful life, how did I get here...”. You do things to get yourself grounded and centered like yoga, walks in the woods, even taking a day to clean and organize helps sometimes, but there is something missing. You know that if you could get into the art zone- if you had a sense of the creative flow- you would feel more like yourself again.First I want to acknowledge that this is not actually small. It is a big issue. You and so many others like you have been able to keep on living and taking care of the stuff of life, but underneath it all- there is this
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