Friday, January 22, 2021

Why Is Art Censored In Dictatorships? Because It Is So Powerful!

"When day comes, we step out of the shade aflame and unafraid. The new dawn blooms as we free it. For there is always light. If only we’re brave enough to see it.
If only we’re brave enough to be it."
~ Amanda Gorman 

 "In case within the confines of your studio — you were wondering about the relevance of art when the world seems to be disintegrating, you needed only to watch a supernova explode before our collective eyes and ears on television on Wednesday. In the middle of the elder statesmen, bibles, bunting and marine band’s coordinated efforts to galvanize the history-in-the-making moment of the Presidential inauguration, a 22-year-old poet delivered, in her own words, the turning of an American page.

A poem, the most mysterious and delicate of artforms, was laid out before us as a soul-gift, from the soul of the future. It was as if we had all forgotten where our souls were, or were they merely battered, depleted or shriveled, having forgotten that art is not a luxury, but rather an ardent and essential longing — because it is, in fact, the universal pathway to connection and meaning."        ~ Sara Genn • The Painter's Keys 1-22-21

The Hill We Climb

When day comes we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never-ending shade? The loss we carry, a sea we must wade. We’ve braved the belly of the beast. We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace. In the norms and notions of what just is isn’t always justice.

And yet, the dawn is ours before we knew it. Somehow, we do it. Somehow, we’ve weathered and witnessed a nation that isn’t broken, but simply unfinished. We, the successors of a country and a time where a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president, only to find herself reciting for one.

And yes, we are far from polished, far from pristine, but that doesn’t mean we are striving to form a union that is perfect. We are striving to forge our union with purpose, to compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and conditions of man.

Scripture tells us to envision that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid. If we’re to live up to our own time, then victory won’t lie in the blade, but in all the bridges we’ve made. That is the promise to glade, the hill we climb if only we dare it. Because being American is more than a pride we inherit; it’s the past we step into and how we repair it. We’ve seen a forest that would shatter our nation rather than share it, would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy. And this effort very nearly succeeded.

But while democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated. In this truth, in this faith we trust, for while we have our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us. This is the era of just redemption. We feared it at its inception. We did not feel prepared to be the heirs of such a terrifying hour, but within it, we found the power to author a new chapter, to offer hope and laughter to ourselves.
So, while once we asked: “How could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?” Now we assert, “How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?”

And so, we lift our gazes not to what stands between us, but what stands before us. We close the divide because we know, to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside. We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another. We seek harm to none and harmony for all. Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true. That even as we grieved, we grew. That even as we hurt, we hoped; that even as we tired, we tried; that we’ll forever be tied together, victorious. Not because we will never again know defeat, but because we will never again sow division.

We will not march back to what was, but move to what shall be: a country that is bruised, but whole; benevolent, but bold; fierce and free. We will not be turned around or interrupted by intimidation, because we know our inaction and inertia will be the inheritance of the next generation. Our blunders become their burdens. But one thing is certain, if we merge mercy with might, and might with right, then love becomes our legacy, and change our children’s birthright.

So, let us leave behind a country better than one we were left. With every breath from my bronze-pounded chest, we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one. We will rise from the gold-limned hills of the West. We will rise from the wind-swept Northeast where our forefathers first realized revolution. We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the Midwestern states. We will rise from the sun-baked South. We will rebuild, reconcile and recover in every known nook of our nation, in every corner called our country our people diverse and beautiful will emerge battered and beautiful.

When day comes, we step out of the shade aflame and unafraid. The new dawn blooms as we free it. For there is always light. If only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it. 

Amanda Gorman, Youth Poet Laureate
2021 Presidential Inauguration

Friday, November 6, 2020

We Cannot Remain Silent

 “Totalitarian regimes hate thinking-people because the thinking-people spit on the borders created to restrict freedoms, and they cross that border without any hesitation!”
~ M. Mildan 

fascism | ˈfaSHˌizəm | (also Fascism) nounan authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization.  (in general use) extreme right-wing, authoritarian, or intolerant views or practice. The term Fascism was first used of the totalitarian right-wing nationalist regime of Mussolini in Italy (1922–43); the regimes of the Nazis in Germany and Franco in Spain were also Fascist. Fascism tends to include a belief in the supremacy of one national or ethnic group, a contempt for democracy, an insistence on obedience to a powerful leader, and a strong demagogic approach.

Friday, October 9, 2020

Tomorrow Never Comes

 "One of these days is none of these days."
~ H.G. Bohn


 

"I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will
open where you didn't know they were going to be.
If you follow your bliss, doors will open for you
that wouldn't have opened for anyone else.
"
~ Joseph Campbell

Hello Creative Art Loving Friend,

I am excited to offer my new online course,
GALAXY SKY CONNECTIONS!

Working in various mediums and in different techniques,
I almost always work in series of paintings these days.
Searching, exploring, and refining variations of the same
theme uncovers hidden nuances with layers of possibilities.
It exposes a certain depth and proficiency that
wouldn't be present in a single work or two.


Learn how to create
an art factory and produce your own
Series of Galaxy Sky Paintings
in wet-in-wet watercolor.

For Beginners, Intermediate & Advanced Artists









• All Course Videos Are Now Available •

 • Three Archived Live Zoom Classes With Related Demos •

• Access To Class Materials List


______________________________________

 

"Thank you Sandy, I loved loved loved the course! Your method of teaching and coaching along really made it a pleasure to dive into. The set up and supplies, the volumes of lists and documentation you provided really made this a breeze! I would never know what to buy without this. I'm going to do another set and watch again soon!" ~ Lisa
 
___________________________________
 

"If you want your life to be a magnificent story, then
begin by realizing that you are the author and everyday
you have the opportunity to write a new page."

M. Houlahan

_____________________________________


Supply List Downloads, Links and Videos



Come Join Our Online Community!



______________________________________


Thanks so much for Your Friendship,

Sandy@SandySandy.com

"Practice like good musician;
draw every day."

~ S. Bongart
 
"I am not a teacher
but an awakener."
~ Robert Frost
“The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are;
first, hard work;  second, stick-to-itiveness;  third, common sense.”

~   Thomas A. Edison




Sunday, September 27, 2020

Build Your Factory!

"A person who works with their hands is a laborer;
a person who works with their hands and their mind is a craftsman;
but a person who works with the hands , and the brain,
and the heart is an artist."

~ St. Thomas Aquinas

Working in various mediums, in different techniques, and on different substrates, I almost always work in series of paintings these days. Searching, exploring, and refining variations of the same subject uncovers hidden nuances with layers of undiscovered possibilities. It exposes a certain depth and proficiency that wouldn't be present in a single work or two.




"The process is not about repetition at all, but rather about being able to explore, investigate, examine or address particular ideas, themes, issues, compositions, concepts or topics in progressively deeper and more meaningful ways, and from a greater variety of perspectives than is possible by making just one or two." ~ ArtBusiness.com

• Check out my new Wet-in-Wet Watercolor Course •


"Repetition is the key to mastery."
~ Sandy Sandy
 Thanks for stopping by. Stay Safe and Happy Creating!
X ♥  O

Saturday, April 25, 2020

The Process Isn't About Repetition

"Nature is an endless combination and repetition of
a very few laws. She hums the old well-known air
through innumerable variations."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Star Gazer - Original Watercolor

Although I work in various mediums and in different techniques, I almost always work in series of paintings these days. Searching, exploring, and refining variations of the same subject uncovers hidden nuances with layers of possibilities. It exposes a certain depth and proficiency that wouldn't be present in a single work or two.

Original Galaxy and Aurora Paintings

"The process is not about repetition at all, but rather about being able to explore, investigate, examine or address particular ideas, themes, issues, compositions, concepts or topics in progressively deeper and more meaningful ways, and from a greater variety of perspectives than is possible by making just one or two. It's like looking at something under a microscope as opposed to giving it a casual passing glance. The closer you look, the more you see, and the more you see, the more fascinating your explorations get." ~ ArtBusiness.com


"Repetition is the key to mastery."
~ Sandy Sandy
 Thanks for stopping by. Stay Safe and Happy Creating!
X ♥  O