bright colors

Check out these two wonderful books about color that might inspire your new house:

Buy them at Alison Pickering's website.

Michele Cassou

"If you do not listen to your intuition, it will stop talking to you.  Your intuition is like a sensitive friend.  If you question it, censor it, judge it, it gets hurt and becomes silent."

— Michele Cassou

French Artist, Teacher

You have to train yourself to listen to your intuition because your rational mind is very strong and often discards your intuition immediately.  In fact, it sometimes happens so fast that what you think is your intuition is actually your second on third thought.  The rational mind can move very quickly to override intuition.  Train yourself to grab hold of your intuition and not let go.  Learn to trust your feelings and first thoughts.  

And in the beginning you will often misunderstand your intuition.  Be patient.  It is okay to make mistakes.  The problem is not that your intuition is wrong, but that your interpretation is not accurate.  Sometimes it will take years to perfect listening to your intuition.  Trust your heart.  

Octavio Paz

"I don't believe that there are dangerous writers: the danger of certain books is not in the books themselves but in the passions of their readers."

Octavio Paz

Mexican Poet

1914 - 1998

Speakers are often evaluated and rated by their audiences.  While 90% of the audience may enjoy the presentation, there is often 10% who didn't like it.  Usually the problem does not lie with the speaker, but rather the audience member.  Either the person is angry at his boss who make him come or he is upset about something that is happening in his life.  

When people label books or paintings as dangerous, corrupt or incendiary, the problem lies not with the books or paintings.  The problem is in the passions of the audience member doing the labeling.  When a person is afraid of his own desires, he blames that which is outside himself instead of blaming himself.  Sometimes when someone condemns something too loudly, he is hiding his own desires.  

Don't let the negativity of others bring you down.  The problem rests with them, not with you.  Stand up for yourself and your creative work.  Believe in what you create.

Here is a poem by Octavio Paz.

Last Dawn

Your hair is lost in the forest,

your feet touching mine.

Asleep you are bigger than the night,

but your dream fits within this room.

How much we are who are so little!

Outside a taxi passes

with its load of ghosts.

The river that runs by

is always

running back.

Will tomorrow be another day?

Hermann Hesse

"Without words, without writing and without books, there would be no history, there could be no concept of humanity.







— Hermann Hesse

German Poet, Novelist and Painter

1877 - 1962

We often take for granted the words we speak and the words we write.  We are so busy with our lives that we fail to give thanks for one of the most important things that human beings share — language.  Without language, communication would be much more difficult and we probably would not have achieved many of inventions that have been created.  And at the heart of language are the words we speak and write.  Writers understand the power of words and the importance of choosing the perfect word for the moment.  The  wrong word used at the wrong time has destroyed lives.  

Ticino Landscape
(1920)

And words have such power that we have made some words off limits.  Polite society does not say certain words.  And many today strive to be political correct and when our TV and radio personalities cross the line, they are fired or forced to resign for saying certain words.  The old saying that sticks and stones will hurt my bones but words will never harm is simply not true.  We all have stored in our memory banks words that were said by some authority figure like a parent or teacher that have emotionally harmed us for years and decades.

It is time to celebrate the power of words and language.  It is time we give writers their due.  They spend a lifetime working with words — seeking to understand and communicate that which is best in each of us.  It is time to believe in the great gift we have been given — language.

Heinrich Heine

Painting of Heine
by Moritz Daniel Oppenheim

Wherever they burn books they will also, in the end, burn human beings."

— Heinrich Heine

German Poet

1797 - 1856

When a nation or society has no respect for its artists, writers and musicians, it is a nation in danger of losing its humanity.  I find it very sad that in this country where liberty is held in high esteem that there are people who choose to burn books.  When my daughter was in high school, she knew teenagers who participated in the burning of books with members of their church.  How ignorant these people must be.  Books are our connection to the world beyond our immediate home.  But it is not just in this country and it is not just books.  In 2001 when the Taliban were in power in Afghanistan, they destroyed two 1700 year-old Buddha statues carved in a cliff in the Hindu Kush mountains.  Other cultures have destroyed paintings.  And governments and societies have tried to control the type of art works that are created.  Both Hitler and Stalin restricted the type of art that could be created.

Artists, writers and musicians are one of the greatest treasures that a society has and yet people continue to treat them with contempt — telling them to get a real job.  In fact, the way we know about the past is through the artists, writers and the musicians.  We would know very little about ancient Rome or Greece if it were not for books and paintings.  Future societies will know us primarily through the writers and painters of today.  Our legacy is past down through our art.  

Here is a poem by Heinrich Heine.

WHY THE ROSES ARE SO PALE

by: Heinrich Heine (1799-1856)

 DEAREST, canst thou tell me why




The rose should be so pale?




And why the azure violet




Should wither in the vale?




 




And why the lark should in the cloud




So sorrowfully sing?




And why from loveliest balsam-buds




A scent of death should spring?




 




And why the sun upon the mead




So chillingly should frown?




And why the earth should, like a grave,




Be moldering and brown?




 




And why it is that I myself




So languishing should be?




And why it is, my heart of hearts,




That thou forsakest me?

This English translation of "Why the Roses are so Pale" was composed by Richard Garnett (1835-1906).

Robin Moore

"To truly own a story, you must fashion it and shape it, as you would a garment, to fit your frame."

— Robin Moore

American Storyteller, Writer

1950 - 

 

Do you own the stories you tell with your art?  Do the stories you tell touch your heart?  Do they bring tears to your eyes?  Art is about communicating emotion through the stories we tell.  Reach deep inside your soul and touch the power of who you are.  Show us the love you feel.

During the last thirty years there has been a rebirth of oral storytelling in the United States.  Robin Moore has been one of the leaders of this storytelling movement.  For me, there is a lot to be said about the oral tradition.  Prior to the invention of the printing press, storytelling was how people shared information and entertained each other.  And while I love the printed word and average reading about two books a month, I find something exciting about listening to a well told story that makes me laugh and cry.

In the final analysis when we look back across our lives all we have are our memories and our stories.  The jobs we hold and the money we make have little value when our days on the planet are coming to a close.  As a creative leader, you should mine your experiences for stories to share in your paintings, your poetry and your novels. 

Here is Robin Moore talking about story and community.

Vincent Van Gogh

Self-Portrait

(1887)

"I have a more or less irresistible passion for books and the constant need to improve my mind, to study if you like, just as I have a need to eat bread."

— Vincent Van Gogh

Dutch Painter

1853 - 1890

Do you have a passion for learning?  Have you read a book in the last month?  Or are you, as some people tell me, too busy to find time to read?  If you read one book a month you are in the top one percent of the population.  Van Gogh was a lifelong learner.  If you are interested in seeing some of the 29 books I have read in 2010, check out my list on Goodreads.com.   

http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/2103162-harley?shelf=read-2010

Learning does not just come from books.  You can learn a lot listening to the people you come in contact with.  In the last couple of airplane flights I have had the privilege to engage in conversation with two interesting people.  One was a minister who has spent 15 years in Japan.  We shared a love of Japanese culture.  The other was a recent college graduate who found a job within a month of graduating which given the state of the economy was an amazing feat.  People from other walks of life can teach you a lot.  Do you limit yourself to communicating only with people you know?  Or do you seek out interesting people and learn from them?

Don't limit yourself to just learning about your field of interest.  Explore new topics.  If you are an artist, you should know everything you can about art, but you should also explore other areas of interest.  Take seminars and workshops.  Listen to audio books.

Here is one of my favorite Van Gogh paintings.  

Potato Eaters
(1885)

In one of his letters, Van Gogh described this painting:  "I have tried to make it clear how those people, eating their potatoes under the lamplight, have dug the earth with those very hands they put in their dish, and so it speaks of manual labor, and how they have honestly earned their food."

Robert Henri

Self-Portrait
(1903)

"Let a student enter the school with this advice:  No matter how good the school is, his education is in his own hands.  All education must be self-education."

— Robert Henri

American Painter

1865 - 1929

I believe that each of us is in charge of our own education.  We choose what we want to learn and what we don't want to learn.  Even in the best of schools, students fail because they don't apply themselves.  And in the worst of schools, students still graduate and go on to accomplish great things.  Yes, a teacher can inspire you and mentor you, but in the end you are responsible for your own education.

And I believe learning is a life-long process.  When a person stops learning, he stops living.  What are you doing to further your education in your chosen field?  What are you exploring outside your field of expertise?  When was the last time your read a new book?  Or talked to a stranger?  Or developed a new habit?

Tam Gan
(1914)

This week while traveling, I met a minister who had lived for fifteen years in Japan.  I learned about his life as a minister and living in Japan.  He shared how he had witnessed the cremation of a dead person.  The Japanese custom is to wash the body and then have it cremated.  The family gathers at the crematory to witness the burning of the body.  Then the family is given a portion of the ashes and bones in a small box and the remainder are buried in the ground.  I learned something new by listening and asking questions.  And who knows, maybe some day the material will appear in a short story. 

Creative leaders need to be constantly learning new things.  What have you learned recently that you can incorporate into your writing or painting or acting?  

Marcus Tullius Cicero

"A room without books is like a body without a soul."

— Marcus Tullius Cicero

Roman Philosopher and Author

106 BC - 43 BC

Creative leaders are lifelong learners.  Learning helps to fill the subconscious with fodder for creative thinking.  One important source of learning is books.  Creative leaders spend time reading even if it is only 10 or 15 minutes a day.  I encourage creative leaders to read novels, poetry, biographies, memoirs and history.  The more you read, the more you know.  I usually average about one book a month and I usually read 15 - 20 minutes a day.  I also listen to recorded books while I drive.  Listening to books is a powerful way to learn.  

If you are not a reader, it is never to late to start.  Develop the habit of reading daily.  Set a goal for how many books you will read in 2011 and keep track of the books you read on goodreads.com, a great online method for keeping track of books you read.  And you also will meet other people who read.  If you are looking for some novels to read, I highly recommend the novels I have listed on this blog.

Georgia O'Keefe

"Imagination makes you see all sorts of things."

Georgia O'Keefe

American Artist

1887 - 1986

Imagination is essential and necessary for the creative leader — writers, artists, poets, storytellers, musicians.  And in my experience we have very little control over it.  It appears when it wants to.  Have you ever struggled with a problem and could not find the answer and suddenly it appeared out of nowhere.  A few weeks ago, I was struggling with a project and during my morning walk at 5 am, the answer popped into my head.  Take good care of your imagination.  Encourage it.  Feed it.  Stretch it.  Trust it.  And believe in it.  Imagination is one of the best gifts that you have been given.

Do you know what it means to feed your imagination?  Give it large doses of information.  The creative mind needs information to be able to connect the dots between the strange and the obscure.  Read books on all kinds of topics.  Listen to people tell their stories.  Observe and study nature.  

Paul Gauguin

"Color!  What a deep and mysterious language, the language of dreams."

— Paul Gauguin

French Artist

1848 - 1903

As a writer, I have lived in a black and white world.  The pages of books are black and white.  The page I write on is black and white.  I have come to color only slowly when I took up the study of art about a decade ago.  The complexity of color is hard to understand.  Since the impressionists, color has been celebrated and let free.  The old Dutch masters were darker, deeper.  What is the color of your life?  Bright?  Sparkling?  Deep?  Dank?  Dark?  Autumn is coming — my favorite season.  A time of reflection.  The colors shift and darken.  The greens fade from the world.  We see yellows, reds and browns.  Then winter will be here and we are back to black and white, waiting for spring to sprout.

George Sheehan

"Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be."

— George Sheehan

American Writer

1918 - 1993

People define success in different ways.  Some define it by the size of their bank account or the house they own or the number of cars they drive.  Some people define success by the number of college degrees they have or the places they have traveled or the friends they have.  Artists often define success by the amount of money they receive for a piece of work or the number of paintings they produce.  Writers define success by the fact that a publisher has published their book or that they made it on the Best Sellers list.  I believe Sheehan gets it right in this quote.  Success does not come from what we do, but from what we become.  Are you the person you are meant to be?

Ben Franklin

"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest."

— Ben Franklin

1706 - 1790

For many people learning stops after graduating from high school or college.  They stop investing in themselves.  While education will not cure all the world's problems, it will help us understand them and give us the skills to find the answers.  If you read a book a month, you are in the top one percent of the intellectuals in the United States.  When was the last time you learned a new skill?  When was the last time you invested in yourself?