Tag Archives: Georgia O’Keeffe

Who do you admire?

Who are the people you admire? What’s the first name that pops up?

I haven’t thought about this in a long time, but today I was listening to a recording about creative blocks. One suggestion, before getting to the actual blocks, was to be clear on what your idea of success is for you. Who are the people you admire? Used to be, that when I was asked that question, my immediate response MMead was Margaret Mead. I’m not even sure how I knew of Mead, except that I have a vague adolescent remembrance of reading something about her or by her in a magazine. Later, I could even tell you what I admired about her, even though I didn’t actually know if it was true. I admired her independence, or what I perceived as her independence.

Back to the recording–I have now added Georgia O’Keeffe to my very short list, and again, I think it is because of her independence. And again, I’m really not sure how independent she really was. To me, living in New Mexico the way she O'keeffe-DVD did, away from everything, persuing her art, seems independent, even though we know she had relationships and people visiting her in the desert.

Fact of the matter is that I really know practically nothing about either of these women. Maybe it’s time to change that–read a biography, watch a movie. I’ve put on my wishlist a DVD from Amazon about Georgia.

Who do you admire? I don’t know what it means that the first names that pop into my head are dead, but so it is.

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What’s your obsession?

Visual obsession, that is. And it’s really only a mild obsession, as obsessions go.

On Friday I took an art workshop at the Kimbell Art Museum. The title was Ode to a Cloudy Day. Clouds1
After a brief orientation about what we were going to do, docents took small groups to view several paintings of the permanent collection, with a focus on the CloudsCropped-web clouds. Then we went to tables and used acrylics to paint clouds. For me the painting was free and loose—I am not a painter—and fun. Not that there was any resemblance to a sky full of clouds! But this subject is one that has kind of obsessed me for a few years now. I say that it’s a mild obsession, but I have taken the next exit in order to stop and get a picture of what I perceive as a fascinating cloud. What a surprise, though, that there are others out there with the same obsession.

Cloud Collectors Handbook

Cloud collecting

There is a book for collecting clouds in much the same way that a  bird watcher would collect birds. There is even a website for cloud lovers called The Cloud Appreciation Society. Wow! Who knew! Then when I got home, a friend happened to comment about a Facebook page about clouds.

Several months/years ago, I found a painting about clouds that just really spoke to me. I don’t know where I found it, but it’s by John Fincher. I love the drama and varying shades of gray in these paintings.
So, with a little research, I found another one by him. Then there’s Georgia and her clouds.

Do you have an obsession?