What is a Map?

Posted on September 1, 2010 - Filed Under About me, Creative Exercises | 27 Comments

What is a map? Is it such a simple question. I am in the process of collecting diverse and wild responses. Do you have an answer? I am not going to give you examples, purposely. I just want you to find your own answer, fresh and unique, and post it here. I will pick a [...]

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Journalistic Journaling

Posted on August 26, 2010 - Filed Under 2010 Workshops, Creative Exercises | 3 Comments

On the opening night of Art Unraveled there is always a creative speaker to get the crowd going. This year it was Cindy Lewton, and her talk was called “Jumpstart Your Creativity”. She made some comments that she quoted from someone that I forget, and I took some notes in my journal. The next day [...]

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Channeling my Nana

Posted on August 11, 2010 - Filed Under Creative Exercises, My Work, Written Inspiration | Leave a Comment

My grandparents, Kelly and Glenn I spent yesterday spinning a tale, channeling the voice of my grandmother, Mildred Masterson McNeilly.  She was called Kelly. She was complex, delightful to me, and challenging. In 1954 she and my grandpa went to Paris with my mother, who was 19 at the time and engaged (Holy cow, that [...]

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Haiku Friday

Posted on July 23, 2010 - Filed Under About me, Creative Exercises | 7 Comments

Across the nightmare You guided my boy and yours Gently back to dreams Last night my mom called, past midnight. That is never good. Sam is with her in California, he has been attending golf camp near her house, and has perfected the chip. He is treating everyone around him with gentile grace. Then last [...]

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St. Patrick’s Day Limerick

Posted on March 17, 2010 - Filed Under Creative Exercises, Real Life, What I am up to | 2 Comments

There once was a dog named Teebo Who when swimming would wear a Speedo “It makes him look funky” Said a passing by monkey Teebo’s tears fell right on to his feeto. By Sydney Erin Berry, poet, child, dreamer.

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Positively Black and Spontaneous Journaling

Posted on March 5, 2010 - Filed Under 2010 Workshops, Creative Exercises | 6 Comments

I love working on black paper. In high school I had an aversion to black, and would never wear it or use it in art. Even now the only black paint I have is actually gesso. Black does not, in its absolute form, occur in nature. Dark colors do, but not black. What we call [...]

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Lust for Letters

Posted on March 4, 2010 - Filed Under 2010 Workshops, About me, Creative Exercises | Leave a Comment

I love inventing alphabets. Quirky hobby, I know, but it is fun. This is a page in my journal of Mexico Letters, which were inspired by a book I have on Pre-Hispanic Stamp Designs. This one was inspired by the work of Joan Miró. I did this in a workshop that I was not enjoying [...]

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Poppies

Posted on February 26, 2010 - Filed Under 2010 Workshops, Creative Exercises, Written Inspiration | 3 Comments

This is a piece that I did a few years ago. It is a wild on-the-floor journaling exercise that I did when I was working with Mary Oliver’s poem, Poppies. It took me about a half hour. Sometimes you just have to splash things around. Some of this you can learn at Magical Midnight Stories [...]

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Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 16, 2010 - Filed Under Creative Exercises | 1 Comment

This Valentine was made about 1916, about 45 years after the greeting card for this holiday became popular. Now it is second only to Christmas, billions of cards per year. Yesterday I received three Valentines from arty friends, this is such a huge benefit to being in the art community. Last week I also received [...]

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Magical Midnight Stories, real ones

Posted on February 6, 2010 - Filed Under 2010 Workshops, Creative Exercises, My Work | 3 Comments

My friend Nancy had a stroke last week. She is out of the coma she was in, but it seems to me that she is still not with us. It looks sort of like her, but I think she is on vacation, trying to figure it out. Her hospital room is devoid of flowers, but [...]

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