The World is Visiting Rabbit's Moon Studio

These are the countries that have visited Rabbit's Moon Studio Blog!  It is exciting to see the whole world showing up on our site.  Look at how many people all over the world love art! If you do not see your country then click on or join and you will see it soon.  Thank you all for making this such a successful site! Together in the Arts we are one world.

 United States (US)
 United Kingdom (GB)
 Spain (ES)
 Netherlands (NL)
 France (FR)
 Canada (CA
) India (IN)
 Italy (IT)
 Australia (AU)
 Bulgaria (BG)
 Germany (DE)
 Belgium (BE)
 South Africa (ZA)
 Turkey (TR)
 Singapore (SG)
 Czech Republic (CZ)
 Greece (GR)
 Taiwan (TW)
 Russian Federation (RU)
 Argentina (AR)
 Romania (RO)
 Vietnam (VN)
 Georgia (G
 Serbia (RS)
 New Zealand (NZ
 Brazil (BR)
 Finland (FI)
 Sweden (SE)
 Japan (JP)2
 United Arab Emirates (AE)2
 Pakistan (PK)
 Indonesia (ID)
 Hong Kong (HK)
 Thailand (TH)
 Israel (IL)
 Egypt (EG)
 Lebanon (LB)
 Chile (CL)
 Norway (NO)
 Cambodia (KH)
 El Salvador (SV)
 Ireland (IE)1 Philippines (PH)
 Lithuania (LT)
 Peru (PE)
 Belarus (BY)
 Denmark (DK)
 Slovakia (SK)
 Iran, Islamic Republic of (IR)
 Kuwait (KW)
 Morocco (MA)
 Cyprus (CY
 Falkland Islands (Malvinas) (FK
 Slovenia (SI)
 Croatia (HR
 Ukraine (UA)
 Mexico (MX) 
Malta (MT)
 Hungary (HU
) Luxembourg (LU)

Welcome Macedonia!!!

It is so nice to have you visit.  We look forward learning more about Macedonia and its arts!

Join Rabbit's Moon Studio blog today and learn more about art and culture from around the world, as new artist from around the world join our quest.  Alexander was a great conquerer, a young charismatic leader, and a explorer of cultures.  Macedonia we salute you for the role you have led in bringing forth culture and art!

Rabbit's Moon studio: Art Thrives on Life/Readings from the Artist's Way...

Rabbit's Moon studio: Art Thrives on Life/Readings from the Artist's Way...: Art thrives on life. Life feeds it, enriches it, enlarges it. Cloistering ourselves away from life in the name of being artists causes us t...

Art Thrives on Life/Readings from the Artist's Way

Art thrives on life.  Life feeds it, enriches it, enlarges it. Cloistering ourselves away from life in the name of being artists causes us to run the risk of doing art that is arid, artless, and yes, heartless.  For most artists there is something risky about too much unstructured time, too much freedom, to make nothing but art.  We talk about self expression, we must develop a self to express.  A self is developed not alone, but in a community.  Day jobs not only pay the rent, but help develop stamina and structure.  Artists need both.  A novel can be a vast savannah in which I wonder alone- a musical may mean six years sailing across uncharted seas. Navigators need the stars to structure their voyage.  We artists, too, need other points of reference to stay the course. 
 The Artists Way/Every Day by Julia Cameron


An addendum.  As I was including this reading for you I thought of many things.  When I retired from teaching public school art education I thought I would love the absolute freedom of unstructured time after so many years of having to be on a minute by minute schedule without variation.  But, it has not been so.  I found I need structure and I was a highly social person.  Though I love time alone and free time, it is not as productive nor as effective with too much freedom...as Julia Cameron eludes to.  Teaching Art to special needs children and to young children taught me many things that came back to my art and life.  I learned a great deal from my profoundly handicapped students about how the brain functions and how at any level the brain still wants to have preferences.  The brain doesn't function as a whole as many of us think, it functions in parts, and on various levels of filtration.  Understanding that has helped me understand how I and others approach art.  I also learned no matter how high or low the level of function a person has they still function.  I know that is an odd statement, but it is this....they exists, they make choices, they feel, they express...It has helped me understand how to teach art to students with less than a 25 IQ or 3 month old mentality and it has helped me understand how to help my 99 year old Mother who suffered a devastating stroke in the center of her brain 9 years ago.  I have questioned this 9 year battle many times and what does my Mother gain and what does our family gain from it all.  But I now understand as I go to the nursing home, in the alzheimer/dementia unit in the maze of lost worlds and frustration....there is much for me to gain and to express in the form of art back to the world.  If I don't experience this, then I have no basis of understanding to create a work of art about humanity and inhumanity, of loss, of unselfish love, of anguish and compassion. I think of Picasso and his creation of Guernica, he had to understand the horrors of war and injustice.  I think of Hemmingway and how he thought he must live life in a big fashion, so he could write huge, and he did.

  I think of Georgia O'Keefe, who had a career as an elementary art teacher, until a friend sent her work to Alfred Steiglitz.  I think of Alexander Calder making his little circus people in Paris, for other artist, that gained him fame to go on to a larger stage. I think of Van Gogh and his mental anguish and his stays in mental institutions...his bout as a preacher in Souther France...hence the Potato Eaters. 

Art is life, and life is art.  We must be fully engaged in our lives.  Retreating from them may seem comfortable and necessary at times, but it is not a place to stay...only to visit and recharge.  

What I think is good to reflect on is taking stock of where we are and where we are going....looking at the hidden value in our past and present experiences.  One thing builds on another.  How could I ever conceive  the when I stood at the door of a class for profound children as a young teacher so terribly terrified I would be learning how to cope with My Mother as a stroke victim, in which I would have greater insight into how the brain functions.  And all this leads me to want to know more about the brain, time, String theory, quantum physics and more......and it will out in my art...because I have paid attention!

Lets take a peak at Senegal

I would like to highlight each new country as they come aboard our site with a special welcome, a closer look at their art and culture.  Click on the word Senegal and it will link you to a site on the Senegalese art and culture.

The Simple Things in Life

 

I am oft reminded that it is the simple things in life that matter most. We can have lofty ideals and ambitions, we can be in a hurry to achieve or just be too busy with the stuff of living, we can amass material things, but the essence of life is the unguarded simple moments we all to often take for granted. It is common that not until someone is ill or we have a loss in our lives that we look back and think if I had just treasured that moment. When I look at old masters paintings I am amazed at how they captured and honored simple things....like a loaf of bread, a jug of wine and cheese, a hunters table with the days catch, a fallen leaf, ......these still moments make up the movie that becomes our lives.
  

But one of the gifts artist have is the ability to pay attention, to catch the glint of sunshine on a lilly pad in a peaceful pond, or looking closely at a squirrel nibbled pine cone that a snail finds roost on, or look past all the fall leaves to find the one nestled in the perfect setting, 

                                                               pine cone with snail

                           nestled fall leaf

Van Gogh's Sunflowers

Or notice how a closeup of flowers in the field could be Van Gogh whispering in our ears, look how the light touches the daisies....

Or perhaps the kitchen becomes a Vermeer still life as the afternoon sun highlights the contrast just so......





















Or the details of the simplest of things like leaf shadows making a mural on a cypress trunk or rusted metal with a turquoise patina in the French Quarter of New Orleans....

Or the love and delight of a Grandfather for his Grandchild, age looking back at youth........

Perhaps, just perhaps, these moments are the best part of what life is about and when we pay attention, when we call it others attention with our artists view, then we are saying live in the moment, appreciate even the ordinary things and honor their being.

Look who visited us this week!!!!!

Russia United Kingdom Australia Germany Turkey Canada Cyprus India Italy Mexico Senegal Taiwan

Welcome Senegal!!!

It is really wonderful to have you join us.  We look forward to learning more about Senegal and its arts!

Rabbit's Moon studio: A Blank Canvas

Rabbit's Moon studio: A Blank Canvas: The first day of a new year is like a blank canvas. There is excitement and trepidation in facing an empty canvas or a blank page, we have ...

A Blank Canvas

The first day of a new year is like a blank canvas.  There is excitement and trepidation in facing an empty canvas or a blank page, we have not yet touched the purity of the undone, so much lies before us.  There is the fear that we will make a mistake or it will not be our best work, there is the excitement that it is a new work and new beginning that can take us to new heights.  I remember when I was teaching, I would often see small children staring at a blank piece of a paper unable to make a mark. I used to play a game with them to take away the fear, you make a mark and I will add a line....it always worked, once they made the first mark they were fine.  A new year is like that, what goals will we make and what goals will we keep.  Perhaps it is the making of the mark on the paper, perhaps it is the intent and the starting that is important for no matter how much we plan life interfere with its surprises we did not plan for.  So start my friends make a mark on your blank canvas of this year, start the process of creating a brand new year of possibilities.  Who knows where it will take you.  Vision great dreams and see where they go, for even if you fall short you have gone far higher than you may have thought and what does it matter in the end?  If you shot for the moon and landed on a star, well that is pretty amazing.  So get out your canvas, and make your mark!  Happy New Year All!

Happy New Year from Rabbit's Moon Studio to you all!

I was thinking of all the New Years I have spent in different countries.  I remember celebrating with friends in Olongopo, Philippines.  I remember a Christmas and New Years spent in Singapore and then there was another Christmas and New Years spent in India and Nepal. 
 In Izmir, Turkey we brought the New Years in with wonderful Turkish friends and American Air Force servicemen stationed overseas. 
 One of my very favorite New Years was spent with friends in Scotland at the base of the Edinburg Castle in Princess Gardens celebrating Hogmanay.  It was a sight that is incomparable with the fireworks bursting directly above you and the huge metal baskets aflame as in if in some ancient battle.  I also learned Scots could drink that year as I watch the ambulances come by to pick up all the pass out revelers! 
We also welcomed in the New Year atop the Blue Ridge Mountains in Asheville where you can see the fireworks popping here and there from valley to valley.  
And here in Florida with the Gulf waters lapping at my toes, the palm breeze nuzzling my hair, I can stand on the bay and watch the celebration of a New Year reflected in the Gulf waters...a new year being born!  Where ever you are I wish you the very best of New Years and a year full of art!

Ian Darragh 
(Click on Ian's name for a link to his art)

is an artist I happened upon today as I was searching for a quote to share with you.  Nothing seemed to be catching my attention and as I looked deeper into the site I found this article about a wonderful Irish artist by the name of Ian.  His work and story touched me deeply and I thought it might have meaning for you and many others.  Ian had a life of many challenges, but his art was an ever present companion until he could no longer paint or draw.
I have known many people and had many friends who have multiple sclerosis.  It can be such a debilitating disease that robs a person of their ability to function doing the most minor of things.  The beauty of Ian's art is so delicate and fragile and yet mysterious that it draws one into his paintings deeper and deeper. I cannot help but think his disease gave him a pathway to express something about how delicate and fragile life can be in a way we could not see on our own. 
In highlighting Ian's work we highlight multiple sclerosis awareness as well and those who struggle with this disease.

Andrew Goldsworthy/Artist and Naturalist

Art of Andrew Goldsworthy

Andrew Goldsworthy is a unique and wonderful artist.  I am reminded in his work how often artist's have a  different vision and present the world to us with fresh eyes.  No matter how different you art is, you must believe in yourself.  I can imagine all the naysayers when Andy began his installations in nature. "They won't last!", "junk made of twigs and stones, how is that art?", "I could do that, take a bunch of snow and branches and call it art"....you can imagine the resistance he must have encountered.  His Father and Mother wishing he would go in to a more common sense occupation and a cousin snickering behind his back thinking to himself, "all he did in grammar school was play with sticks, see where that will get him!". People who do really visionary and new things are often ridiculed because they dare to think differently or envision something that has not existed before. But that is the world of an artist, to innovate, so in that world we must expect to meet resistance and to encounter naysayers and unbelievers.  This is the journey of the artist, part of the path we must walk.  Andy Goldsworthy walks it well, he has presented the world back to us in a way we have never seen it before...with incomparable beauty and if he is a partner with nature.  I dare say the same disbelievers now say, "Oh, I knew in kindergarten he would become a world famous artist!".  It is amazing how success makes everyone gather round and heap praise, where once they could not be found while the artist is finding his way.  But Andy believed in himself and his art...he persisted...so now we have books, installations, and museum exhibitions where there would have been none if Andy had listen to all the negative lingering out in the form of art critics, curators and bubble poppers.  Believe in yourself, believe in your art...that is Andy's message to us as artists.

Interesting Art Facts *Oil paintings generally cost less to frame than equally sized prints. *Lighting on a painting needs to be dimmer at night and brighter during the day. *Reputable galleries offer the same prices as their artists offer directly. *An artist's best work is usually sent to his most productive gallery to sell. *Fluorescent lighting causes more fading of artwork than incandescent lighting. *Giclee prints are just high quality ink-jet prints on fancy paper or canvas. *Most couples do not agree on artwork for their home, initially. *Art prices are set just like other prices--by supply and demand. *Added lighting almost always enhances any painting, regardless of style or color. *Most art buyers acquire it to enhance their home interiors. *Art has surpassed the stock market in appreciation over the past twenty years.

I found these interesting art facts online and thought you might enjoy them. Please feel free to suggest others.  If you have trouble with the comment section let me know and e-mail me directly at rabbits5@aol.com. Thank you, Betsy

Thoughts on Creativity by Julia Cameron/The Artist's Way

"Our creativity never leaves us.  Sometimes, however its surface appearance fades away.  We become parched for longing for our work, but our source of strength are not now our easy tricks.  We are being  humbled and opened for greater work to come through us, and that humility feels like humiliation, that opening up like a gaping wound.  We are deathly afraid art has left us alone forever, that we will never see our beloved's face or feel its simple touch.   "I was such a fool", we think.  "I took to much for granted".  And we did. But faced with drought, we don't any longer and that is the beginning of humility and honesty.  It is the beginning of emptying ourselves so art can pour through us."  
Julia Cameron/Artist's Way/ Every Day

An Artist and Genius/Leonardo Da Vinci

A wonderful NPR article about the genius of Leonardo Da Vinci. Click on the highlighted name and you will be led to the article.  Enjoy.

Today Family Visit to the Dali Museum!

During the holidays it is nice to support the arts in what ever way you can: support an artist by buying original art work, buy a museum membership that gives all year long, go to a performance, attend a play, take your family to the Dali Museum!   It is wonderful to share the arts, and it something we can do as artists, art educators, and art lovers.  Take time in your life to share your love of the arts with others and share your enthusiasm and insight.  Happy Holidays, Betsy

Michelangelo/Sistine Chapel Detail

"When artists are working regularly, they are spiritually centered.  The act of making art is a spiritual act and our daily exposure to this realm is does have an effect on our personality.  It does not matter what language we use to describe it.  Art puts us in touch with a power higher than ourselves. The constant contact brings us a sense of optimism and grace.  As we sense there is a benevolent Something inclined toward helping us and our work, we begin to feel a sense of companionship.  Higher forces are at our side.  We are not alone." Julia Cameron/The Artists Way

Boston/Christmas 2010

Boston/Christmas 2010

Germany Christmas Past

Salamat Po Philippines!

Salamat Po! 

 That is thank you in Tagalog.  I owe the Philippines and the Filipino people a big heartfelt thank you.  I was a young teacher in my twenties when I lived in the Philippines for three years.  The country and the people welcomed me warmly and began an education of an American youth who knew little of the world.  Those formative years would influence me the rest of my life.  I have so many wonderful memories of visiting Filipino families and friends whose hospitality unbelievably generous.  If you want to feel like a queen or king, just be a guest in a Filipino home!  So I thank you, because of you I learned not to be a person of one country, but a citizen of the world.

                                                                     Parol/Decorative Christmas Star

Rabbit's Moon studio: Happy Holiday from Rabbit's Moon Studio

Rabbit's Moon studio: Happy Holiday from Rabbit's Moon Studio: Merry Christmas and Happy Holdiday's Rabbit's Moon Studio This picture was taken in Asheville, North Carolina last Christmas. It captures ...

Happy Holiday from Rabbit's Moon Studio

Merry Christmas and Happy Holdiday's

Rabbit's Moon Studio

This picture was taken in Asheville, North Carolina last Christmas.  It captures the feeling of the season, of cold and bundled up instead of the 80 degrees temperature we have today in Florida.  All of Christmas week is above average temperatures, sunny shine and shorts weather.  Can you believe it!?  The beach and shorts, palms and a tropical breeze.  It is winter in Florida.

Merhaba Turkey!!!!

It is so nice to see so many of you visiting today.  I have wonderful memories of Christmas in Izmir and Ramadan. Wonderful food, wonderful friends, and a beautiful country. 

Rabbit's Moon studio: Thoughts on Creativity

Rabbit's Moon studio: Thoughts on Creativity: I love Julia Cameron's thoughts on creativity and often turn to one often turn to one of her many books I have in my collection for inspirat...

Thoughts on Creativity

I love Julia Cameron's thoughts on creativity and often turn to one often turn to one of her many books I have in my collection for inspiration when I need to think about why I am not doing art or when I need to think deeply with insight. I turned to the quote today and thought you might enjoy it also. Betsy


"Creativity involves process, and process involves change.  The truism we often hear is that we often resist change because change is difficult or change is painful.  This is not quite accurate.  It is the resistance to change that is difficult or painful.  In the same way, it is the resistance to our creativity that causes us to equate it with suffering.  It is important to remember that effort and suffering are two different things"
a quote from Julia Cameron, the Artist Way,  A Year of Creative Living

Happy Chanukah!

Chagall

Happy Chanukah to all our Jewish friends!

Welcome Slovenia!!!

Welcome Slovenia it is so nice to have you join us!

Welcome Croatia!

So nice to have you on board!

Welcome Cambodia!!

It is so nice to have you with us.  It is always fun to greet a new country to Rabbit's Moon Studio Blog. We look forward to learning more about Cambodia and its artists!

Christmas cards made by famous artists for fiends and family

Here is a link to a Smithsonian article about famous artists Christmas Cards.  Very creative and definitely different!  The first on the left is Darrow and then the second is Guston.