Last week, during a rare lighthearted exchange in an otherwise understandably serious and sadly often contentious Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, Senator Hirono of Hawaii asked the Judge how she tended to the creative side of her life. Judge Brown Jackson, the first African-American Woman to be nominated to the Supreme Court,  replied that she had …

Supreme Court Nominee Knits to Manage Stress Click to Read Post »

Actor Seth Rogan and His Vases Actor and comedian Seth Rogen, the voice of Pumbaa the silly warthog in the latest version of the Lion King, has just taken up ceramics. After enthusiastically posting on Twitter pictures of his charming vases and ashtrays, Rogen was criticized, sometimes rather cruelly, for his lack of talent. For example, one critic said that …

I Made These! Click to Read Post »

March 2017 Rebecca’s 95 year-old aunt Joan’s tenacious creativity has inspired yet another newsletter.  A couple of years ago, we wrote about her blog, Joan’s Stones, which she started at the age of 90 to keep her creativity alive when she was becoming less mobile (to see that newsletter click here).  Joan’s “stones” were posts in which she responded with a …

Tenacious Creativity and Connection Click to Read Post »

Rebecca–Doodling Notes from Lecture Art is intimidating. Although children usually make art spontaneously, most of us stopped doing art in our early teens.   Unless you identify with being an Artist with a capital “A,” art may be something that you relegate to your talented sister, your artsy friend who is naturally creative and has an eye for color and design, …

art with a lower case “a” Click to Read Post »

Rebecca-Ripped letter in Altered Book At CWW, we often sing the virtues of getting into flow and, of course, we suggest that doing art is a natural way for people to experience it. Flow is that state we achieve when we are fully immersed and engaged in an activity that is intrinsically rewarding to us, when we are faced with …

Warming Up to Flow Click to Read Post »

Joan Sadler–Leaves Falling “All the things that I was before I aren’t any more.” Leaves by Joan Sadler from Joan’s Stones We all had to stay straight and properin our former lives on the tree;now down from that cover,it’s fun to discover how interesting we can be! Rebecca’s 92 year-old Aunt Joan said this playfully when Rebecca asked her how …

Joan’s Stones: Aging Creatively Click to Read Post »

Many of us struggle with an inner voice that chatters a low-grade stream of discouraging negativity.  In the world of creativity, this voice has been christened “The Inner Critic” but we’ve heard other much more evocative and telling names such as “The Wicked Witch” “Nagging Nelly” or “Perfect Pete” which capture the discouraging power of this “personality”. Although we may …

Name Your Inner Critic Click to Read Post »