Moss St. Paint In - Review - An Annual Event in Victoria

Moss St. Paint In, which runs through one day each year, was blessed today with cool weather. While we were there, there was no wind to threaten the tents and easels, the sun under a cloud cover barely warmed the day. Arriving at the Paint In, which opened at 11:00 a.m., the crowd seemed a bit sparse, befitting the coolness of the day after a week or more of heat and sun. To complete the ambience, the aroma of cooking food from Moss Street Market filled the spaces between the music, crowd chatter and birdsong. Moss Street Market, open each Saturday in the summer, was full of locally grown produce, canning, jellies and jans as well as locally made clothing and jewelery. 

As the morning strolled into afternoon, the crowd swelled and, I'm certain, doubled over the three hours that we strolled lovely Moss Street. From Fort St. all the way down Moss Street to Dallas Road at the ocean art lovers from the community and tourists, couples and families complete with well mannered dogs strolled under the tree lined streets between houses with character and charm, their gardens full of flowers and grasses. 

On either side of Moss Street, blocked to traffic, were paintings large and small, cards and pottery on display and for sale. Police officers, stationed at intersections, allowed motorists to pass through at intervals. 

Fortunately I brought no money or plastic with me! Pottery is a weak spot on my impulse buy list - oh and jewelry. Hand made silver jewelry. Artists painted and explained, readily answering questions of all passersby. Children were given opportunities to share in some of the art. An energetic potter, with her wheel at three year old level showed us how she made bowls and pitchers, explaining the process as she went. Stationed by the Art Gallery close to Fort St., First Nation’s carver, Richard Hunt, wielded his adze on a beginning piece, details still hidden.  

Wandering on, we saw the face painting booth where children lined up to become tigers or butterflies. Musicians every few blocks filled the cool cloudy day with rhythm and melody. 

My theme for this wonderful community gathering ~ art, in music and colour, is for sharing with everyone.

“...I do not want art for a few; any more than 

education for a few; or freedom for a few...”

~ William Morris

Author's Note: Edited January 09, 2024

Resonance

Themes run thro' stories like
a child with a kite
threads stitching quilts of communities
roads traveling through the countrysides of history
nature’s colours shout or whisper when seasons change.

With each theme,
emotions grow and bloom
ideas and thoughts blend and flow together
touching heart and soul ~
an idea to run with
a thread to pick up
a map to move forward
messages from the world around us.

Resonance happens when your mind and heart come into sync.”

~ Ravindra Shukla,

A Maverick Heart:Between Love and Life

Weather Conversation

Blue sky dressed in thin grey-white clouds that shrugged off this afternoon when the sun became hotter than the cool sea air.

Mid morning a drift of fog but no rain ~ only misty hints for dry earth.

The weather ~ a frequent topic of conversation, an ongoing theme in North America where
waiting a few minutes,
blinking an eye
weather changes stir unseen all around us.

And if the weather doesn’t change,
the theme shifts to discussion of dreadful outcomes of weather that doesn’t change.

“Conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative.”

~ Oscar Wilde

Getting Ready for Flight

Like birds crowning the trees ~ 
words flutter around my head
settling in themes of sentence and paragraph
direction coming from the soul
still gathering all the flock
becoming ready to fly in formation
when the gathering's complete.

“Dance above the surface of the world. Let your thoughts lift you

into creativity that is not hampered by opinion.”

~ Red Haircrow

Stop Being So Serious!!

Well, yesterday was a bit dark! At least my blog post was, because the sun, as it is today, was brilliant. This morning's writing is different. In my search for theme, what it is, and how to be creative with theme and content I am, once more, listening to four TEDx speakers about creativity and story listened to on a regular basis. I include one by Brené Brown on vulnerability.  Today a new one has been added to my 'classroom lectures'.

What has been bothering me is the dreadful seriousness of this writing process that I work on. Not that writing is serious, but the topic certainly can be. In this case ~ Addiction and Withdrawal Management. Wherever these topics are, the challenge is confronting Stigma and Stigma by Association for those of us working in this field. 

There were a couple of reasons why I maintained an interest in this many years ago. The first was that I was amazed that, in 24 to 48 hours, a dishevelled, angry and/or psychotic individual of any age, became mostly rational, reasonable and ‘cleaned up pretty darn good’.  Secondly it was the dark humour easily shared with those same folks whether cleaned up or not.

My problem? When writing I have not been 'playing' with these two issues in order that I might write a serious nursing guide for withdrawal management. I have continually bumped up against the issue of stigma, and felt all the ‘should have’s’ of that writing a serious nursing manuel apparently requires. Fortunately today, I found a new, and humourous addition to my TED talks series ~ John Cleese on Creativity. Listening to him at Cleese Talks Creativity by Virtual Training (on YouTube), tickled my funny bone. I have been putting very tiny bits of humour in some of my writing today about the very serious topic of Addictions and Withdrawal Management.

“The most creative people have this childlike facility to play.”

~ John Cleese

Monochrome

.There was an issue of theme
tissue paper thin
no details to strengthen meaning.
A tree with few branches or leaves.

Stigma is like that.
It is a barren theme.
Monochromatic, bleak and devoid of meaning,
but so much easier to understand or avoid.

“The truth of the story lies in the details.”

~ Paul Auster, The Brooklyn Follies

A Bit of Whimsy

The shop door was closed.
The blinds all pulled down.
Theme for the day finally worn down.
In the morning the blinds would open again,
a new theme all planned for the new day to come.
The shop keeper knew what would be in store ~
a day in the sun, walking, writing and more!
I bid you good night at the close of this day, and wish your tomorrow be sunny and gay.

“Each morning sees some task begin. Each evening sees it close;

Something attempted, something done. Has earned a night’s repose.”

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow