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9 of My Favorite “Artist” Movies Where the Heroes Never Gave Up
I love having a life that is essentially centered around art—don’t get me wrong! However, you know and I know that there are days when life gets us down. Sometimes things just aren’t going right and it feels like everything is getting in the way of our art. Maybe it’s finding out you didn’t score the high-paying, long-term writing job you were sure was as good as yours (me). Or those rejection letters…. Maybe you got yet another rejection on that story you poured your heart and soul into (yep, also me). Sometimes the best thing to do in these situations is take a deep breath and give your mind…
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Feeling Inadequate? : 5 Things to Do When You Feel Like You’re Not a Good Dance Teacher.
Are you a worrywart? If you are, you’re not alone. I am too. Especially when it comes to my art and most specifically, teaching dance. Nothing can get me riled up in the exact same way that thoughts of a class that didn’t quite go my way can. It’s incredible how quickly I can spiral into a fretful mess which generally ends in convincing myself that I’m just not a good teacher–a failure, pretty much. So, I’m sitting here. Today wasn’t anything remarkable. Nothing very extraordinary or out of the ordinary happened. I taught my classes, responding to freelance writing related emails and ghost-wrote a non-fiction book in between. Sure,…
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5 Things That Separate Professional Writers, Dance Teachers, and Artists from the Rest and Cost You Nothing
We’ve all seen ‘em. We’ve even met ‘em. Some of us have even looked up to ‘em. You’ll see later why I say SOME of us. Yep, it’s no secret that most of the time when a person (artist), reaches a point where he can openly call himself a professional, he lets some of the great foundations one clings to as an amateur slide. Today I want to talk about a few of those foundations, amateur values that are worth holding on to even once a person crosses over to being a professional. And the good news? They don’t cost you anything and are relatively painless. But, trust me, they…
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The Balancing Act That All Writers Must Master: Something’s Gotta Give
“Altogether I have so much to do that often I do not know whether I am on my head or my heels.” -Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Daily Rituals by Mason Currey Can you relate to Mozart’s lament? I sure can. As you most likely know already, pursuing one’s art isn’t an easy or relaxing endeavor. There really is no roadmap offered to a person who wishes to make a living as an artist. My days, therefore resemble something of a patchwork quilt—teaching a couple classes here, spending an hour or so writing there, then going to teach more classes over that way, and back to the computer again once I get…
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Another Day to Dance: Stopping to Be Thankful for My Legs
It had been one of those weeks. I was tired. It seemed like a sore throat from talking over kids whose lot in life appeared to be interrupting me, had become the norm. As I pulled myself out of bed that morning, I was able to muster up one positive thought to keep me going: It’s finally Friday! Wrapped up in my robe, being careful to keep my feet on the bath mat and off of the floor that was cold as an ice rink at this time of morning, I attempted to stretch my neck. Even the hot shower had been unable to loosen up the kinks woven into…
