Chookooloonks

weekend update: divali, the festival of lights, and creativity

The diya Alex decorated at her school this week.

Tonight is Divali, the Hindu "Festival of Lights." This evening, thousands of families in Trinidad will decorate the exterior of their homes with small lanterns, or diyas, as "a sign of celebration and hope for mankind" and triumph of good over evil.

Now that's a festival I can get behind.

In further celebration of this joyful day, I thought I'd share with you some of my favourite recent posts from my favourite creative bloggers:

First, from beautiful art blog woolgathering, Elizabeth shares the materials she uses to make her beautiful images. I actually used this post to put together a small kit for Marcus' birthday last month, and now he's making quick images every night. For those of you frustrated artists out there who never seem to find the time to create, these items might be just the thing to get you going.

Also, from my new favourite spirit, Jen Lemen, more inspiration on how to get creatively unstuck. For those of you who, like me, are new to the whole creative scene, these words can get you started.

And finally, if you're trying to figure out the perfect gift for someone you love, check out this beautiful gift Elspeth recently received for her fortieth birthday. Also? I love this definition of "creativity" -- it makes me want to go out and get creative right now.

With that, Happy Divali, everybody. Although we're not Hindu, we will be lighting diyas tonight on our veranda. And if you're of a mind to celebrate your hope for mankind, consider lighting a candle in your home tonight, too.

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what i believe is the start of her cubist period

A couple of weeks ago, Marcus was showing Alex how to draw faces. Since then, Alex can't stop drawing them.

Today, Alex came into my room excitedly. "Mummy! Come look!" She dragged me out of my chair, and out to the loggia, where she has a small blackboard.

She pointed proudly. "See? That's YOU!"

Frankly, I think the child shows signs of prodigious genius; the resemblance is striking. However, for those of you who may be unfamiliar with the fine arts, I thought I'd post an annotated version of her work of art, to help you identify salient features:

Galleries interested in showing her work should contact me via e-mail.

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some pretty

Alexis, who, incidentally, is from the United States of America.

Some inspirational links for your weekend pleasure:

- Via Blogging Baby, the very ambitious project by photographer Danny Goldfield: the NYChildren Photography Project, in which Goldfield is in the process of photographing a child from every country on Earth. The catch? Each child lives in New York City. Be sure to check the site out -- the kids are positively beautiful.

- Via the beautiful soul of Jen Lemen, her article on Honoring your Spiritual Life: A Beginner's Guide. I used to do many of the things she lists here, but lately I've fallen out of practice. Thanks, Jen, for the reminder.

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and just under the wire...

What's on my desk. Sadly, this was taken on a rather uncluttered day.

...Happy Independence Day, Trinis, and Happy Blog Day! With regard to Blog Day, we bloggers are tasked to present five new blogs (new to us, anyway) to share with the rest of the blogosphere at large. Since I've got about 2 minutes left, I thought I'd share a few art blogs that I've become quite fond of:

- On My Desk -- Sort of a photoblog where artists, illustrators and other creative types share images of their workspaces. It somehow feels like peeking into their creative minds, and for this, I am greatful.

- Crayon -- Created by a graphic illustrator in Finland. Great photos, journal pages and illustrations.

- Woolgathering -- Every day, Elizabeth Perry sketches something about her life, and shares it with us. Really beautiful.

- Navylane Studio -- In the author's words: "A glimpse into a mixed media artist's creative world of collage, art journals, fiber art, art cards, altered art and more."

- Solistella -- Authored by another graphic designer. I just love the vibe of her work.

Enjoy. Hope you had a wonderful day.

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