Ultimate Creativity

From The Robert Genn Twice Weekly Newsletter

August 7, 2007

Dear Karen,

We all have a tendency to focus on the daily progress and setbacks of our working lives. The balancing of practical matters and creative joy seem so all-involving that our art can become our main reason for living. Not that there's much wrong with this--without dedication it's pretty well impossible to thrive in the game. I've spent a bit of time in these letters trying to express the necessity of study, application and hard work. I've talked interminably of creative commitment. I've also talked about the values of family and significant life-passages. Over the years I've shared the death of my parents and other personal happenings, and I thank you for your patience.

Perhaps not often enough have I mentioned the ultimate and rather excellent form of creativity that's open to most of us. I'm talking about children. None of us asks to be born. We step out innocent to the world's wiles. We require nurture to approach our potential--to be handled before we can handle. Children are soon enough presented with a puzzling world. "Keep me away," said Kahlil Gibran, "from the wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh and the greatness which does not bow before children."

Carol and I have been blessed with three terrific kids. David, our oldest, is a musician and music producer. James, one of our twins, is a film director. Sara, our other twin, is a painter and singer-songwriter. How this den of artistry and application happened we never quite figured out. Believe me, we're not disappointed there are no lawyers or accountants in our outfit.
But I digress.

This morning at 8:21 David and his wife Tamara produced our first grandchild. Everybody's doing well. The event makes it even more clear, no matter what else might happen during a short stay on the planet, this sort of creation rises above all else in its profundity. This has been a day of wonders. How David was issued with the genes to stand by in green scrubs and cut the umbilical cord we'll never know. The glow of accomplishment and joy on Tamara's face as she held the newborn was more beautiful than any painting or sculpture could ever be. Who knows what these perfect little hands will do--and where these tiny feet will take him. Please welcome Beckett David Nathaniel Genn.

Best regards,

Robert

PS: "Your children are not your children, they are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but are not from you, and though they are with you yet they belong not to you." (Kahlil Gibran)

Esoterica: Art is life and life is art. Offspring may be the greatest art, but they are also like art. They eventually go into the world and make their own way. They flow from some source that we cannot fully know. Like art they require love and work. David and Tamara will know more of this when they check out of the hospital in a couple of days. "Work is love made visible," said Kahlil Gibran. What a work has now become visible.

Current clickback: If you would like to see selected, illustrated responses to the last letter, "I'm not going anywhere," about working in confined spaces, please go to:
http://clicks.robertgenn.com/not-going-anywhere.php
If you would like to comment or add your own opinion, information or observations to this or other letters, please do so. Just click 'reply' on this letter or write
rgenn@saraphina.com

Give the gift of the twice-weekly letters. We are currently snail-mailing a free copy of The Painter's Keys (the book) to current subscribers who go to the URL below and send us the names and email addresses of five or more of their creatively-minded friends. No strings, just a thank-you. We make it easy. We even send your friends a personal letter to let them know the twice-weekly connection is from you.
http://www.painterskeys.com/clickbacks/giftscribe.php

Go joyfully into the world! A Premium Listing in the Painter's Keys Directory is the most effective thing an artist can do to be tastefully and respectably noticed. This listing--really a mini web page--costs $100 per year--and we do all the set-up.
You can find out how well it might work for you at
http://www.painterskeys.com/art-directory.asp

Yes, please go ahead and forward this letter to a friend.

If you think a friend or fellow artist may find value in this material, please feel free to forward it. This does not mean that they will automatically be subscribed to the Twice-Weekly Letter. They have to do it voluntarily and can find out about it by going to http://www.painterskeys.com

In compliance with the welcome legislation on spamming, our
mailing address is: Painter's Keys, 12711 Beckett Rd., Surrey,
B.C., Canada, V4A 2W9.
(c) Copyright 2007 Robert Genn.

The House Fairy

I found my house-keeping hero about five years ago when I stumbled upon the home of the Fly Lady. I accepted her invitation to "come on in" and I've been visiting her daily every since. No More Living In CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome)for me!
I suppose to be fair to myself, a part of the credit goes to Fly Lady and her system, but I've also grown old enough and wise enough to realize that a lot of what I regarded as some sort of character defect on my part (dishes in the sink? lint on the rug?)was really an insane attempt to keep order in the universe and a tremendously futile waste of my time.
I still like order, just not enough to obsess over it.
Love that Fly Lady!

This morning I was visiting her home page again. (My family is planning a possible move and I'm going to need some Fly Lady back-up for that one....)While I was there I found something new and I love this too - The House Fairy. The concept was intriguing, I went to her site to take a look - well worth the trip!
Check it out (check out Fly Lady too, if you haven't already)
I'm not affilliated with either of these sites in any way -
I truly am recommending them just because, for me anyway, It Works!

Shop for Groceries Online?

This ad came in an email late last week and caught my eye.
I haven't been to Amazon myself to do any price comparisons with local grocery stores, but with free shipping...
Amazon Grocery offers over 22,000 non-perishable items including some of your favorite brands, shipped to your door, just like any other Amazon.com purchase. We've also recently introduced the Subscribe and Save program which is a great way to save money on items you use routinely. You can sign up for routine convenient delivery of products such as coffee pods, shampoos, laundry detergent or diapers and receive a 15% discount off Amazon's already low prices and free shipping on these items. The 'Subscribe and Save' option sure sounds convenient - combine it with free shipping and 15% off? I'm heading that way for a look!
(I didn't even know Amazon had groceries for sale...
this is very handy for a busy grandmother!)

Giving

Thursday is Great Grandmother's birthday. "What kind of cake do you think Great Grammy would like?"
Maya's answer was quick and sure "a Sponge Bob cake!"
Maya is obsessed with Sponge Bob. She calls everyone Sponge Bob. We have to call her Sponge Bob. If we call her Maya, she corrects us. She is Sponge Bob.
We don't know why or where this passion for Sponge Bob developed. She's never seen the TV show. Leaving aside the question of quality children's programming, she's never seen it because she's too young, it's not appropriate for a two year old.
She's in love with the Sponge Bob image.

Our project for today - a Sponge Bob cake for Great Grandmother's birthday.
We walked to the corner store in a misting rain, looking for puddles and rocks to bring home along the way. We chose a cake mix and frosting and some candies that I hoped would somehow transform themselves into Sponge Bob facial features.
We baked the cake. Measuring and mixing and stirring and spilling - the cake was in the oven.
Waiting...
waiting...
waiting...
then waiting some more while the baked cake cooled.

It was time to create Sponge Bob. We tinted the frosting just the right shade of yellow and argued a bit about not picking fingers full of cake from the dish.
The frosting was on and we pronounced it good.
Next came candy eyes and more frosting tinting for the blue centers (Sponge Bob has blue eyes and Maya has an eye for detail) Licorice was bent in the fashion of a Sponge Bob nose and mouth.

I stepped back and watched for Maya's response. We could have gone to the supermarket and bought a Sponge Bob perfectly portrayed in cake. Was that what we should have done? Is she happy with her cake?

"We did it! We made Sponge Bob! We need a candle to blow."
Tired and proud, Maya helped to cover the cake with plastic wrap and watched me put it into the cupboard to bring to Great Grammy tomorrow.
She did not ask for a piece of cake.
Her cake is a gift for Great Grammy.
She will bring it to her house tomorrow.
Then we will eat the cake.