6 Volume 33, Number 4, June 2012 BrushStrokes: MINNESOTA WATERCOLOR SOCIETY NEWSLETTERworkshops and classesWant to find classes?Visit the MNWS website atwww.minnesotawatercolors.comand click the “Happenings” linkat the top of the page. To includeyour listings on the websiteplease e-mail information toinfo@minnesotawatercolors.comMNWS members volunteer at<strong>Minnesota</strong> River Art FairThe MNWS was well represented at the <strong>Minnesota</strong> River Art Fair. Manyvolunteers helped man the booth over July 20-21 weekend. The Art Fairwas held at The Landing — Heritage Village, which is part of ThreeRivers Park District. Nearly, 3,000 people visited the fair!Northstar MeetingsHeld at The Roseville Oval atRoseville Skating Center, 2661 CivicCenter Dr. Directions from MPLS,take Hwy. 280 to Hwy 36 and Eastto Snelling North Exit, turn right onCounty Road C, drive past HamlineAve. and left into Civic Center Drivebefore Lexington Ave.<strong>Sep</strong>tember Meeting:Thursday, <strong>Sep</strong>t. 27, 20127:00 p.m. at the OvalPlease note that the date! We werenot able to get the Oval for our usual3rd Thursday for our <strong>Sep</strong>t. meeting.There will be a demo by NWS longtimemembers, Marie Hammond andLisa Fertig, “What Do I Do Now?”More info is on the Northstar website:www.northstarwatercolorsociety.com.Pictured left to right: Sonja Hutchinson, Mary Brainard, Victor Perlbachs,Victor’s friend (Will get from Vic), Carol Wingard and Deb Magelssen. Notpictured: Bonnie Featherstone, Sandy Koeger and Theresa Weseman.Deb Magelssen demos for the crowd.Thank you volunteers for helping us promote a greater visibility of the artof watercolor and the society. If you’d like to volunteer for upcoming eventsplease contact our President, Deb Magelssen, debmagelssen@yahoo.com orstop and talk to one of the board members at our monthly meetings. They’dbe glad to answer any of your questions.
BrushStrokes: MINNESOTA WATERCOLOR SOCIETY NEWSLETTER 7LIP BALMby Patt Nelson, MNWS member from Spicer, <strong>Minnesota</strong>While participating in our local ‘studio art hop’(in the Willmar / Spicer / New London) areaand listening to a visitor telling of her art experience,I reached for my lip balm. I spotted it on the counter,reached for it and generously smeared it on my parched lips.I thought to myself, wow, this new balm is really sticky for the price I paid.As I returned it to where I found it, I noticed the lip balmstill laying there. In my hand was the glue stick.MNWS UpcomingWorkshops:► Sandy Muzzy 4 day in<strong>Sep</strong>tember 2012 (see page 6)► Karen Knutson 2 day weekendin January 2013► Nancy Carney 2 day weekendin March 2013► Linda Baker 4 dayMay 17 - 20, 2013► Don Andrews 4 dayOctober 3 - 6, 2013<strong>Watercolor</strong> ReflectionsColumn by Vera Kovacovic, MNWS memberINSPIRED CREATIVITYFor artists, visual mindfulness andacuity about what and how we seethe world is a necessity. We seeshapes, lines, values, colors, design.We practice techniques and strive tocapture essence, mood, texture.Yet, there is another dimensionto what keeps fire under our feet,another wellspring that nourishes usin our creativity. It goes well beyondknowing how to apply pigments tothe paper.Just as the saying “you teach whoyou are” is true for teachers, it isequally true for artists — we paintwho we are and inevitably, how wesee the world. In recent past, I havecome about a collection of books,some I have acquired intentionally,some of them found their way to mypossession rather synchronistically.These books may not be meant tobe read cover to cover, but I dipinto them as I would into a jar ofhoney, to savor what they have tooffer. They speak to me about thepossibility to get “out of my box” asa person, when I get too ensconcedin my old habits and to strive for thesame as an artist.Listed are samples, to whet yourappetite and feel free to “google”them up!► Living Deeply: The Art &Science of Transformation inEveryday Life. This book is basedon a decade long research at theInstitute of Noetic Sciences and hasessays by Rachel Naomi Remen,Angeles Arrien, Stanislav Grof...Titles of some chapters:– Seeing with new eyes– Doorways to Transformation– Preparing Soil– Why practice?► A Passion for <strong>Watercolor</strong>:Painting the Inner Experienceby Stefan Draughon. The bookencourages readers to reach intotheir inner self through wide-rangingobservations — of others, of animals,of food, flowers, holy places, realand imagined landscapes, and bytapping into childhood memories.► Fingerpainting on the Moon:Writing and Creativity as Path toFreedom by Peter Levitt. This ismostly intended for writers, but it isjust as applicable for painters.► The Soul of Creativity: Insights intothe Creative Process. Essays by variouscontributors. Title of some essays:– Inside the Heartbeat of Creation byMichelle Cassou– Creativity and the Heart ofShamanism by Hal Zina Bennett– Becoming Fully Brilliant by JudithCornell► Callings: Finding and Followingand Authentic Life by Greg LevoyHere are some parts of the book:– The Call to Attention/The Challengeof Finding Clarity– Receiving Calls/The Way of Passion– Invoking Calls/The Portals to Art/Memory’s Vital Secrets...► Eternal Echoes: Celtic Reflectionson our Yearning to Belong by JohnO’Donohue. He also wrote an equallyexquisite book called ANAMCARA.“...The mind and heart are wondererswho are always tempted by newhorizons... Longing is the deepest andmost ancient voice in the human soul.It is the secret source of all presence,and the driving force of all creativityand imagination: longing keeps the dooropen and calls towards us the gifts andblessings which our lives dream.”
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