I'm usually torn between being inspired and discouraged. When I was a kid, my mother believed in being honest. Perhaps her own mother didn't outright lie, but she certainly wasn't forthcoming. And after the divorce my mom did her best not to speak ill of my dad, but she did in a moment of anger …
I've been reading articles about why women become witches (two of them being Women Are Invoking the Witch and What Turns Women into Witches). I've loved witches since childhood, and when one article mentioned the draw witchiness has for those feeling powerless, I had to admit this much is true. Children don't have power anyway, …
Things are changing in our house. (Though life is change, so when are things not changing?) I'll be starting my second job (losing time I've spent writing and making things) and our teen has started college. Then there are the outside forces, the Delta variant and the changes to our climate and whatever-in-the-all-the-levels-of-hell our rage-filled, …
My mom told me I learned my color wheel before I learned my ABCs. It surprises me now how I struggle to use color in my work now. In a high school art class, we had to draw a scene and then paint it. I loved my pencil drawing. It was of my best friend …
Someone else already came up with the challenge for being creative every day. So now I'm going to join in. I've had too many days in a row of just doing housework, schoolwork, or napping, and important as those things are, they can't be all that fill my days. Certainly teaching takes creativity. And I …
My hometown has a community center complete with two swimming pools (for competitions and high diving), game rooms, classrooms, theatre, and art gallery. (I'm sure it's changed over the years, but that's how I remember it.) My great-aunt volunteered there for the art exhibits, and my grandmother sent me there some summers for pottery classes …
It's here! My first event since the pandemic descended. The pandemic is still with us, of course. This is an outdoor event with half the number of artist than there could otherwise be, and we'll be wearing masks. I wouldn't do this at all if it were an indoor event, even though I am vaccinated. …
In the early days of the pandemic, when the city was shut down and the weather here was lovely, I'd find messages written on the sidewalks. I haven't been for a walk in quite some time. At the moment, it's 23 degrees in my corner of the world, and we are not used to it. …
I prefer to read fiction over non-fiction, and I prefer to watch documentaries over movies. That seems contradictory, doesn't it. Recently, my husband and I thought we were going to watch the hand-painted aniamted movie about Vincent van Gogh, but what we clicked on turned out to be a documentary on the making of the …
Welcome to the New Year and all shining promises. Here in the northern hemisphere, its winter, of course, and while the days may be getting incrementally longer, there remains a lot of dark. It's a time for resolution and reflection, even if you try to ignore that sort of thing. It's a time to look …
Marta Pelrine-Bacon 