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I'm posting this blog that I never got around to a couple of years ago. Seeing it again just now prompts me to reflect on the fact that this summer saw the installation of a very nice bathroom adjacent to Frankfort Beach. It is not, however, in the middle of the beach blocking views of the lighthouse (where a misbegotten plan had intended it). Actions by me and many others created a different reality.

Reading this I am inspired and hope you will be too!

Dear Friends,

Here's a detail from one of my large (60 x 60") paintings "Diving In." When I created it early in 2023, I had no idea what the title or the subject matter meant. Now, it looks to me like that big rogue wave I referred to in my last update. 

I believe We the Opposition may in fact be that rogue wave! If we dive in with our passion and creativity we can wash that bathroom off the beach before it gets built; however, we must not get swamped by cynicism or an erroneous belief that we must adhere to "process" as defined by city officials.

There is a Real Creative Process and it is bigger than all of us. It's the Big Picture that invites each of us to make our mark, intuitively.  All we have to is listen to our heart or gut and simply doing the Next Right Thing that is ours to do. That's exactly how I make a painting!

At times it looks like a mess (just as that City Council meeting seemed to me!) but if I stay with it, without being attached to how it comes about, sooner or later it resolves into something beautiful. We must be patient. In my years as a painter, I've learned that all marks are important, even the ones that appear as first as terrible, ugly mistakes. If I stay with it, these may show up in the final painting, but always transformed in some way. 

"Diving In" is not the painting I had in mind when I started it. It had a mind of its own that unfolded itself stroke by stroke over time. I've learned--and you probably know this too--the important thing in any creative endeavor is to stay with the Real Creative Process, follow intuitive nudges, and not get sidetracked by small stuff and petty annoyances (of which there are plenty!). 

Viewed from a perspective of evolving creation, the "failure" of almost 2200 petition respondents to participate in the "process" continually referred to by city officials actually represents an important force in the creation of what ultimately wants to happen on Frankfort Beach.

Let's keep going! Let us be Rogue-ish in the Real Creative Process! Let us dive in and swim together in the Great Unsalted Sea! 

With gratitude for you in this, our shared adventure,

Ellie