Janice Mason Steeves

Last week I visited my artist friend, Rebecca Crowell  in New Mexico. Rebecca and her husband Don Ticknor have bought a property  north of Santa Fe, which Don is renovating and restoring.  Rebecca and I will be teaching a painting workshop in northern Spain in September and we needed time together to work on it. We spent part of each morning throwing ideas back and forth about the format of the workshop and came up with some creative plans. I realize that so many ideas I have come from books I've read about art and the creative process or TED talks or the podcast ON Being with Krista Tippett or simply talking to people. For example, in my workshops that take place in beautiful landscapes,  I often have my students choose a 'sit spot' outdoors, where they sit every day for 15 or 20 minutes to simply observe. This idea came from an outdoor workshop my daughter took with Jon Young, author, wildlife tracker and naturalist, who developed the daily sit spot practice to h

Walking the dog through newly fallen snow. There's silence in the world.  I don't notice it at first. Head down. Thinking of things I must do. The dog runs ahead, scooting under the low branches of cedars lining the path. Chasing rabbits. I hear the squeak of cold dry snow under my boots as I walk, the swoosh of my sleeves against my down coat. He runs over to me, wagging, then bounds back onto the path, delighting in the cold and the snow. We walk farther into the woods along a narrow path I've made over time. My pace slows. My thoughts become still. I lift my head. The sun is low, slanting through trees making long blue shadows. I stand there. In awe. Breathing in the silence. IN 2018 MAY YOU PAUSE TO SEE THE WONDER.