the cat story- on Creative process

On creative process- one of my favorite stories.....
Joseph Campbell had a story that he would share about a calligrapher that was commissioned to do a painting of a cat......
Every month, the client would go to the artist's studio and ask if the piece was ready and the artist would say no. finally, after many many months the client went to the artist studio and demanded that the painting be produced for him or he would arrest the artist. The artist then calmly took out paper brush and ink and in one fluid motion created a sublime painting of a cat. The Client, aghast at the beauty of the piece, turns to the artist and asks, "Why did you make me wait so long?" The artist then turns around and opens a cupboard, and thousands of drawings of cats come pouring out.
I relay this story to all of my students- it illustrates perfectly the hours of meditation trial and errors that every artist goes through when making their visions come to life.
I hope you are all having a great summer and are making lots of sketches for your cupboards :-)
ciao- Maureen
ps- if you aren't familiar with Joseph Campbell I strongly urge you to click on his name, which takes you to the Wikipedia article on him- he is one of my favorite mentors on living a creative and blissful life. <3

Dog of a lifetime

You know that mythic dog?
the one that is your best friend?
who loves to play catch, do tricks, go for walks and snuggle?
That Once in a Lifetime
Best dog in the WORLD
Your friend through thick and thin?
Lucky me!
I found Daisy.

My "Bull Whip" half Pit half Whippet rescue miracle.
God I love her. I am thankful every day that she ran in front of my car!
We've been together a little more than 2 years now- she has been incredibly helpful to me too- Comforting me through my pain- Enthusiastic walking partner and fellow morning sleeper.
Thank you,
Wag, bark- Maureen

Cosmo's summer research project

My son Cosmo is 9 going on 10 in a month- he is a Waldorf kid- enjoys his school and really believes in many of the principals of the Waldorf culture- all except the limits on computer games- specifically his favorite game (and only game) : Minecraft.
Cosmo loves Minecraft - it is a game of creation- of building his dreams. He basically builds his own environment out of blocks of various (computerized) materials. I have to say, it's pretty cool.

Florence Italy's famous red dome of their Duomo

Cosmo's dad is from Florence Italy, home of the jewel of Renaissance architecture, the Florence Cathedral also known as the duomo. Home of the Ponte Vecchio, the old bridge, with it's gold merchants and its elevated private corridor.
Cosmo loves building so much I thought I'd use it to encourage him to learn about his father's culture.
His summer project?  Cosmo has decided that he wants to build all of the famous cathedrals and buildings of Italy. He can do it on minecraft, his favorite game. It's a HUGE project, filled with history, engineering, architecture and Italian culture- a Huge project, and he's super excited about it.
Win win!

Cosmo wants to write about his Minecraft experience:
"Well I love minecraft and we got an idea.We said you can make a place, a castle, and why not Italy?"
We will be keeping a blog journal of this project, updating you about the completion of different landmarks. So far he has completed a version of the Ponte Vecchio (Florence) and is working on a copy of the Spanish steps and basilica (Rome) I will post pictures of them when I figure out how to get a jpg capture of his work.

Buon Viaggio! ciao- Maureen

Hairdo malfunction....

One of my friends has an adopted daughter from Ethiopia- She's gorgeous and funny and smart---and she has Ethiopian hair. My friend has straight hair. And this has proven to be very challenging. Anglo and Black hair are really two completely different creatures all together!

I know her mom is really trying everything she can to make it as pain-free as possible but Miss M has a very sensitive scalp, and a great set of lungs! Scream and scream my sweetheart baby girl does, every time she has her hair done. (I tell her mom it's great practice for her eventual career as an opera singer)

I'm wondering if any of my friends and readers could give some advice on the care of African American (Ethiopian) hair? I'll pass along any pearls of wisdom- Melkamie and her Mom thank you :-)

Metalsmiths Unite on the (internet) radio!

I'm going to be interviewed by Jay Whaley on Blogtalk radio Metalsmithing Benchtalk http://www.blogtalkradio.com/whaleystudios THIS THURSDAY at 3pm pacific time.
(I think this will be my 4th full interview- the other ones are archived in the Whaley studio channel on Blogtalk radio.)

This time I'll be talking about my metalsmithing Facebook group " Metalsmiths Unite" and how it has developed over the past 3+ years.

 I'd really love it if MU members came to the chat room during the interview- to ask questions, talk about Metalsmiths Unite/ Metalsmithing or if they just want to say "Hi." 

Please use the official chat room here:(this is the link to my interview)
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/whaleystudios/2012/06/21/metalsmith-benchtalk-with-maureen-bz-brusa-zappellini  

Don't be shy It's a lot of fun and a great way to connect!

Ciao for now- Maureen