Those Tiny Successes

“Be grateful for the talent you have, the people you’ve met, and the experiences
from which you’ve benefited. ”
-Hap Hagood

Success! I am pleased to report that my first ever Open Studio weekend was a success. I met a number of folks who took time out of their busy holiday weekend to stop by and say hello. Many paintings found new homes. My studio got a badly needed, thorough cleaning, and is now ready for the winter work. That in and of itself is a success! I am grateful for the successes, the people I have met, and the experience from which I’ve benefited. I am grateful that the tent we set up in the yard for the Open Studio survived the 54 mph winds we were experiencing Friday night. I was sure at 2:30am, that in the morning we would find the tent in the woods! It wasn’t - it survived - major success! I am grateful for all my family who helped me set things up and take things down, run to the store, blow up balloons, bake cookies, and who continually stand by me.

“Life is made up of small pleasures. Happiness is made up of those tiny successes. The big ones come too infrequently. And if you don’t collect all these tiny successes, the big ones don’t really mean anything.”
- Norman Lear

In the spirit of Thanksgiving I would like to share this wonderful expression of thanks by Jan Blencowe from her blog “The Poetic Landscape”.

An Artist’s Litany of Thanks
by Jan Blencowe

To the creative Spirit who hovered above the waters,
to the Architect of creation,
and to the One who pronounced it Good
Thank you for this mysterious gift of creativity,
imagination and skill you have graciously given me.

Thank you for the eyes to see beauty in uncommon and ordinary places.
For the joy of color, for the muse of inspiration,
for the thrill of co-creating,
for the satisfaction of line, shape and form
converging to express what is inexpressible with words
I give you thanks.

For layers and textures, collages, and carved stones
I thank you.

For brushes and paints, papers and pens
I thank you.

For doodles and drawings, sketches and scribbles
I thank you.

For every moment spent painting and pasting, cutting and carving
I thank you.

To all who share in the love of art I thank you.
For recognizing the power of an image,
For acknowledging that art is the language of a human soul
and for honoring and valuing what artists create
I thank you.

“There is no better opportunity to receive more than to be thankful for what you already have. Thanksgiving opens up the windows of opportunity
for ideas to flow your way.”
-Jim Rohn

Tagged as: abstract, abstract mixed media painting, abstract paintings, Creating, deborah colter, deborah t. colter, Hap Hagood, Jan Blencowe, Jim Rohn, Norman Lear, painters on martha’s vineyard, Studio Sale, Talk about painting, Those Tiny Successes