Dear Artist, Yesterday, Carolyn H. WarmSun of Montclair, California asked, “Do you ever do telephone consultations with artists? If so, at what price and how are they arranged? I am imagining us both on the phone in front of computers…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, Katarina Vlasic dropped by to show me a carload of 12″ x 24″ paintings by her 7- and 8-year-old second grade students. Katarina is a popular art teacher who divides her time between two schools. “In this…
Dear Artist, Cory Trepanier of Caledon, Ontario, Canada is an example of an artist who goes it alone. Cory has achieved remarkable success and popularity without benefit of dealers or galleries. He’s what we like to call a rugged individualist.…
Dear Artist, Recent research, aimed at finding specific triggers that result in good ideas, better solutions and bouts of creativity, has confirmed my own favourite times when stuff happens. Here are a few: When we step away: Focusing at your…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, Jane Angell of Guildford, Surrey, UK wrote, “Painting seems so mysterious, like alchemy. The whole practical side of managing the substances leaves me confused. With pencils I feel more in control of a tip I can sharpen.…
Dear Artist, After my Spinoza letter last week, a number of readers wrote directly — most of them “got it” and a few didn’t. Thanks so much for extending this friendship. I’m deeply honoured. One of Spinoza’s noted ideas is…
Dear Artist, You might wonder what a 17th century Dutch-Jewish philosopher has to do with art. For me it all started in Philosophy 101 at Victoria College. Roger Bishop, our prof, had brilliantly taken us through Plato, Aristotle, St. Thomas…
Dear Artist, A fellow I know, whose name will go unmentioned here because he doesn’t want to be seen hanging out in lousy company, lives alone in a sunless forest. He’s a regular latter-day Thoreau, and he’s been at it…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, Dick Quis, co-author of Thinking Anew, wrote, “In the middle of my book-marketing campaign, your recent question, ‘What is passion,’ stuck in my head. What is it?” Thanks, Dick. If all the creativity coaches put their heads…
Dear Artist, MOOC stands for Massive Open Online Courses. Respectable institutions like Harvard, Stanford and MIT have signed on. The benefits of traditional classrooms are being sacrificed, say some educators, and many in academia don’t like the MOOC’s profit motives. This…