How to stay creative

The Artdog Quote of the Week

Angelou had good reason to know this truth. Like love, like generosity, like any attitude, discipline, or craft that you practice, the more you practice it, the richer your store.

IMAGE: Many thanks to Brain Pickings, via The Fox is Black, for this image and Maya Angelou quote, featuring artwork by Lisa Congdon.

Remembered at the end of the day

The Artdog Quote of the Week

On Saturday I made the point that "whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, The Winter Solstice, Brumalia, Yule, Kwanzaa, Festivus, Boxing Day, or anything else, it's likely you're [giving] presents in December." Gift-giving is at the heart of many cultural traditions in December, and (partially, but) not only because a large segment of our economy depends on it.

Even the best material gifts are only the outward symptom of an inner state, or they are meaningless. When the inner joy is stripped away, all we have left is an ugly exercise in greed.

Gordon Gekko was wrong. There's a reason why greed is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, and it's because ultimately it is bad for us: bad in fundamental ways that wisdom instinctively knows, but we often do our best to ignore. Listen to the voice of the wisdom within you. Hold it close to your heart this holiday season, if you want to seek the truest joys. 

IMAGE: Many thanks to Suzi Istvan, on the Splendidly Curious blog.

Threads of the Tapestry

The Artdog Image of Interest 

Our "strength in diversity" month is coming to a close--and what a strange, challenging month it has been. The temptation is always before us, to retreat back into our own short-focused tribes, build up the barricades, and glare out from behind them with suspicion.

But as Maya Angelou and Nate Williams remind us in today's image, there's another, better way to look at the world. As long as we fail to see and value the tapestry, we'll keep unraveling.

IMAGE: Many thanks to Zachary Cole Design for this image.

Artdog Quote of the Week: How do you make people Feel?

A word for all Artists (whatever your medium); for that matter, for ALL of us:

IMAGE CREDIT: This image has been floating around on Facebook. I found it on Word Porn's page.