Tis the season to focus on Gratitude. Gratitude is definitely something to cultivate. Often times, though, it's easy to be grateful for some things and more challenging to be grateful for others. It's more challenging to be grateful for stuff when you are going through a really tough time. It's more challenging to be grateful when you don't know the answers or what to do next. It's more challenging to be grateful when someone you love is really sick. It's more challenging to be grateful when things aren't going your way at all. It's more challenging to be grateful when you are having to work really hard for something and it looks like no fruit will come from all of your toil. A story from my Art School days...I am grateful to have had the joy of studying at a variety of places throughout my Art School days. I got to work with some really amazing artists who were my professors. I learned unique things from each of them that I carry with me each day in my art practice. Some of those lessons were not always easy to learn. One of my professors told me point blank once, "Court, you are not the most talented student I have. You're not even the most gifted in this class. But you are really creative and I can see that you want this, so you are going to have to work." It was a hard thing to hear. It was a true thing to hear. I did want to be an artist so badly, with everything in me, I wanted to make visual art. I didn't want to do anything else! Blargh! How could I want to do something that I am not good at? I took the words to heart and put myself to work. I realized that I had so much to learn and I had to focus and really see differently, train my hands, train my eyes, learn techniques, and study. It's hard to be grateful for a piece of truth that hits |
I also had the privilege of speaking at The Underground Art Initiative hosted by Shana LaFore, in Madison, WI! |
And I also spent a lot of time hanging out with a wild mustang horse that I accidentally fell in love with...perhaps more on that later!
To be super frank with you, this year also included some serious personal challenges for me and also some of the best opportunities for growth and learning.
Tell me again why that stuff just can't be easy? Maybe it can...we'll see!
But what kept me going through all the fun stuff, the tough stuff, the planning, the waiting, the unknowing, the struggles, and the ease was my creativity.
You see, I kept having to figure out how to bounce and move forward and keep going and stay focused on my dreams and vision for Art Nurture and where it would go.
That is all thanks to you!
Creativity is more than the art you make, it is how you navigate.
My heart is to serve you and guide you to igniting that creative fire you already have inside of you.
I love, love, LOVE seeing you on fire and growing and cultivating your creative practice and creating a life that is a full work of art.
So thanks for hanging with me over this last year, as I navigate my own way, and find more ways to reach out through this medium of Art Nurture, of writing, of connecting...
... I thank you for sharing with me, for giving me honest feedback, for partnering up with me, for being the reason why Art Nurture The Book came to be...for all of it, THANK YOU!
I am also looking for new ways of doing this more effectively with a deeper impact and I want to hear from you!
What is your deepest need when it comes to your creativity?
With your help, I hope to grow Art Nurture to continue to serve you and your creative growth needs. I want to hear from you, so please do share with me in the comments below, or send me a message and let me know what you and your creativity are seriously craving.
Thanks so much, in advance, for sharing your thoughts. And thanks for making this last year incredibly special.
Art Nurture is about being fully alive and living life with the soul of an artist. A life filled with passion, intention, and purpose. Thanks so much for your time and your presence.
Cultivate & Nurture,
Court McCracken
p.s. I've got something special I'm working on for you for the one year anniversary of Art Nurture: The Simple Guide to Cultivating Your Creativity so make certain to jump on the newsletter list to receive it!
A few days ago, I returned from Spain.
Art Nurture's first Andalusian Adventure was more beautiful than I could have ever conceived. The women whom I had the privilege of traveling with were exceptional.
In the past few days since my return, I have been dealing with the typical jet lag that occurs when you throw your body into a new time zone and routine outside of your norm. The jet lag has been a kind of strange gift, leaving me in this slower moving dream like state in which to process my adventures and re-enter life back home.
Truthfully, I'm not very different on the outside, maybe a bit more tan & a few extra pounds from the delicious bread, but mostly I am still Court.
The beautiful thing though, about stepping away, is noticing the small ways things shift, change, crack open, reveal, fade away, grow anew.
Truth is, they were happening all along, just too slowly to realize. But stepping away, opening your eyes, experiencing anew...all of that breaks you open to the new changes occurring. Slowly, organically, with intention.
Those things were in motion all along. Most changes don't happen over night. Most changes are not big & dramatic. Most changes are more about deliberate microscopic movements.
Experiences, both new & familiar, integrate and become a part of the person perceiving and processing them. Then we make choices. Then we make choices again...each day.
Then the culmination of that cumulative effort becomes our life and becomes where we are at in the present moment. That is also how art is made. Process. Process. Process.
Be gentle with yourself. Be kind. You are human. Perfection is an illusion. Movement and change are real and natural. They are slow, they are deliberate. The cracking open wide of the creative process can happen if you allow it. Don't let it scare you too much, it doesn't happen all at once. It really shouldn't. For it to stick and be a real change, let it unfold. Allow it to reveal mysteries. Don't choke it, don't control it. Be present in the beauty of each moment. Each imperfect, perfectly beautiful moment.
That's what I like about painting. That's what I like about horse whispering. That's what I enjoy most about working with children and art. That's what I love about travel. There's just no where else to be than in that sloppy, delicious, perfectly unpredictable moment. It's just gorgeous there.
Thanks for hanging with me on my dream like, jet lag, pondering meanderings here on Art Nurture.
When have you noticed the cracking open of your creative process; in life, in art, in anything? Please share below, I'd really love to hear from you. This is a conversation, by the way, and you are a part of it!
Wanna know what's happening this month for Art Nurture?
Tonight: Monday August 11th 6:30-8:00pm I will be speaking at Malaprops book store in Downtown Asheville, NC as a part of the Small Press & Self-Published Authors evening. Come on down and say 'hello' and get a signed copy of Art Nurture: The Simple Guide to Cultivating Your Creativity
August 21st-August 24th The Underground Art Initiative LIVE in Madison, WI. Only 3 spaces remain to attend this amazing retreat for creative professionals! I will be speaking and attending and I cannot wait to connect with each person there! If you want one of the remaining spots, contact Shana LaFore, Founder of the Underground Art Intiative via her site and let her know I sent ya!
September 2nd-December 10th: Art Nurture's Cultivators Community BETA
Make sure to jump on the Art Nurture e-mail list to receive up to date Art Nurture goodness directly to your inbox.
Art Nurture is about being fully alive and living life with the soul of an artist. A life filled with passion, intention, and purpose. Thanks so much for your time and your presence.
Cultivate & Nurture,
Court McCracken
Art Nurture's first Andalusian Adventure was more beautiful than I could have ever conceived. The women whom I had the privilege of traveling with were exceptional.
In the past few days since my return, I have been dealing with the typical jet lag that occurs when you throw your body into a new time zone and routine outside of your norm. The jet lag has been a kind of strange gift, leaving me in this slower moving dream like state in which to process my adventures and re-enter life back home.
Truthfully, I'm not very different on the outside, maybe a bit more tan & a few extra pounds from the delicious bread, but mostly I am still Court.
The beautiful thing though, about stepping away, is noticing the small ways things shift, change, crack open, reveal, fade away, grow anew.
Truth is, they were happening all along, just too slowly to realize. But stepping away, opening your eyes, experiencing anew...all of that breaks you open to the new changes occurring. Slowly, organically, with intention.
Those things were in motion all along. Most changes don't happen over night. Most changes are not big & dramatic. Most changes are more about deliberate microscopic movements.
Experiences, both new & familiar, integrate and become a part of the person perceiving and processing them. Then we make choices. Then we make choices again...each day.
Then the culmination of that cumulative effort becomes our life and becomes where we are at in the present moment. That is also how art is made. Process. Process. Process.
Be gentle with yourself. Be kind. You are human. Perfection is an illusion. Movement and change are real and natural. They are slow, they are deliberate. The cracking open wide of the creative process can happen if you allow it. Don't let it scare you too much, it doesn't happen all at once. It really shouldn't. For it to stick and be a real change, let it unfold. Allow it to reveal mysteries. Don't choke it, don't control it. Be present in the beauty of each moment. Each imperfect, perfectly beautiful moment.
That's what I like about painting. That's what I like about horse whispering. That's what I enjoy most about working with children and art. That's what I love about travel. There's just no where else to be than in that sloppy, delicious, perfectly unpredictable moment. It's just gorgeous there.
Thanks for hanging with me on my dream like, jet lag, pondering meanderings here on Art Nurture.
When have you noticed the cracking open of your creative process; in life, in art, in anything? Please share below, I'd really love to hear from you. This is a conversation, by the way, and you are a part of it!
Wanna know what's happening this month for Art Nurture?
Tonight: Monday August 11th 6:30-8:00pm I will be speaking at Malaprops book store in Downtown Asheville, NC as a part of the Small Press & Self-Published Authors evening. Come on down and say 'hello' and get a signed copy of Art Nurture: The Simple Guide to Cultivating Your Creativity
August 21st-August 24th The Underground Art Initiative LIVE in Madison, WI. Only 3 spaces remain to attend this amazing retreat for creative professionals! I will be speaking and attending and I cannot wait to connect with each person there! If you want one of the remaining spots, contact Shana LaFore, Founder of the Underground Art Intiative via her site and let her know I sent ya!
September 2nd-December 10th: Art Nurture's Cultivators Community BETA
Make sure to jump on the Art Nurture e-mail list to receive up to date Art Nurture goodness directly to your inbox.
Art Nurture is about being fully alive and living life with the soul of an artist. A life filled with passion, intention, and purpose. Thanks so much for your time and your presence.
Cultivate & Nurture,
Court McCracken
In this video, I share with you what I've been working on in my creative cave and how I would love to hear from you and have you be a part of it!
Check it out and let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Check it out and let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Check out the details here if you would like to learn more about
Art Nurture's Cultivators Community, please check it out and join if you want to be a part of the BETA run beginning soon!
You can live life with the soul of an artist; a life of passion, intention, and purpose.
Cultivate & Nurture,
Court McCracken
Make sure to jump on the Art Nurture e-mail list to receive up to date Art Nurture goodness directly to your inbox.
Art Nurture's Cultivators Community, please check it out and join if you want to be a part of the BETA run beginning soon!
You can live life with the soul of an artist; a life of passion, intention, and purpose.
Cultivate & Nurture,
Court McCracken
Make sure to jump on the Art Nurture e-mail list to receive up to date Art Nurture goodness directly to your inbox.
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Court McCracken,
Creativity Cultivator
Kind Words
"Court has a knack for supporting others in tuning into the artist within..."
-Rebecca Stares
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