Posts Tagged ‘culture’
Wednesday, September 14th, 2011
 This blog plays a part in my success, because it captures some of my creative processes, dreams, experiences of art and life, as a daily practice, I share with others. Since my creative processes are often done in isolation, my blog is a way for me to interact with others, which in turn helps me to network, connect and share!
After some difficult months and major changes, I spent some time soul searching, reestablishing boundaries, redefining goals. My definition of success needed to be adjusted, tweaked and changed at various times in my life. What I defined as success in my twenties, looks very different from what success looks like in my fifties!
In the Native American tradition, there is no word for art, because it is in every aspect of daily living and life. That’s how I wish to live my life, not with art being something separate, but as something that is a part of my life, like nature is, family is…because art is not separate from me! It is the authentic me. This is the formula used to define my success.
(“Define Your Success” – 5″x7″ – Mixed Media/Paper)
So a major part of defining my success is creating art, selling art, living with art and letting others know how what this means to me and what it can mean for them. I would like to reiterate: this is how I make a living! I love sincere compliments, who doesn’t like hearing pleasantries about something they’ve made?
REMEMBER, it is cash, that pay the bills, feed my family, gas up the car, pay for health insurance and allows me to continue being me. This is my economic circle of life.
All of the above makes me a success! How are you defining your success? Are you allowing others to define success for you? Forge your own path.
In peace to you and yours.
Tags: Art, Artist, blog, Boundaries, circle, Creative Process, culture, Definition of Success, Dreams, economics, Experiences, http://indigeneart.com, Illustration Friday, Indigene, Isolation, life, money, Native American, network, Selling, share, success, Theresa Gaskin, Tradition
Posted in Art, Family, Friends, General, Illustration Friday, Studio Time | 8 Comments »
Friday, May 13th, 2011
 The word for this week at Illustration Friday‘s website, is “safari“. Unfortunately, my current safari adventures with exotic wild animals are at the zoo! One day, I will go to Africa, the Amazon, China and India to see exotic wild life. Hopefully, they will not be extinct!
During my safari to the Philadelphia Zoo (click on the zoo link to find out more about Maya and friends) in March 2011, I visited the snow leopards and polar bears!
As I watched, Maya, the snow leopard, I was mesmerized by her spirit! So after sketching and taking photos, I came back to my Studio Nookery and created this piece, entitled, “Maya’s Spirit” (14″x 12″- Mixed Media/Paper) She is a part of my “Animal Totem” Series.
There are many cultures that have myths and legends where animals are the main characters or play an important role in teaching important life lessons. Animal Totem characteristics for Snow Leopard are: Sensitivity, Agility, Strength and Mystery.
Life, itself is a journey, as we travel through it, we gain the knowledge and tools to make it our own unique safari! Peace to you and yours.
Tags: (, acrylic, adventure, Africa, Agility, Amazon, Animal, Asia, big cats, carnivore, China, color pencil, culture, Exotic, Graphite, Guides, hidden images, http://indigeneart.com, Illustration Friday, India, Indigene, life, Maya, mixed media, mystery, Paper, Philadelphia Zoo, Safari, Sensitivity, Snow Leopard, spiritual, Strength, Totem, watercolor, white, Winter
Posted in Art, General, Illustration Friday, Studio Time | 16 Comments »
Friday, April 22nd, 2011
For those of you who are blessed to have your mother, May 8th, is a day that is recognized to honor her. if you are like most, you honor this woman every day of her life, by living your life in a way, that she would want you to.
For those of us, whose mothers have transitioned out of this life, this can be a bittersweet day. We remember her with love, and then remember, that she is no longer with us. We continue her legacy by living our lives with integrity and the lessons she taught us.
Some of us may not have any of those memories above. You may be one of those courageous women, who did it alone, then you are to be celebrated too!
Maybe your memories are not tempered with love, maybe that mother figure was not what you would have liked; hopefully, there is a woman, that gave you some semblance of a Mom.
Hopefully, in most of our lives, we have met a woman, who has embodied that “mother” figure. She has nurtured us, cheered us on, when we needed it most, told us about ourselves when we were acting less than we were, she may be your best friend, a girl friend at work who taught you something that one else could or would take the time to!
I don’t think of Mother’s Day as the only day to honor my mother or the other women in my life, but it is a day, that can be used to remember all the other women in my life who have given me their “mothering ways”; the ones, that I might forget in the hectic thing, I call my life, it is these women, I honor on Mother’s Day, because, my Mom tells me I honor her everyday, so she would prefer that I honor all the women in my life who have been there for me as well!
So I encourage you to do that on this upcoming Mother’s Day. Honor the Women in Your Life. A special call, a card, take her out to breakfast, a gift, an “I love you for who you are”. Give her a token of your love. As women, we treasure those things, because the words and the action are important.
May you continue to honor the women in your life, wherever they are.
 My art work is created and based on honoring all women, from various cultures, traditions, myths and spirituality. For prints or cards, order by April 30th the latest for Mother’s Day at:
indigene-theresa-gaskin.fineartamerica.com
In peace from me to you.
Tags: acrylic, action, African Diaspora, Art, bittersweet, card, Care, Celebrate, Courage, Creation, culture, Family, Feminine, Friends, Friendship, GIFT, goddess, Graphite, handmade, history, Honor, http://indigeneart.com, Importance, Indigene, integrity, legacy, lesson(s), map, Meaning, Memories, mixed media, Mom, Mother's Day, Nurture, print, Spider Woman, Spirit of the Mountain, spiritual, token, Tradition, Travel, Treasure, watercolor, women, words
Posted in Art, Family, Friends, Handmade Gifts | 3 Comments »
Sunday, March 20th, 2011
 My soul has an absolute and relentless need for trips into enchantment. It requires, enchantment like the body needs food and the mind needs thought to survive.
But, I am bombarded daily, by a culture who prides itself on disapproving and explaining the sources of enchantment. Our society is always explaining away every mystery, one after another, under the guise of sophistication, the need to grow-up and the need to appear intelligent. As if indulging in the imagination, is not any of these things!
I often wonder, is this why American culture is so obsessed with the fear of aging? Instead, we only need to hold on to all things that keep up carefree, naive and questioning…the magic of enchantment.
Feeling philosophical or not today, cultivate your enchantment…daily…it improves the quality of life.
Peace to you and yours.
Tags: American, Cultivate, culture, Dream Sequence 3, Enchantment, Illustration Friday, improvement, Indigene, Indigeneart.com, life, musings, mystery, philosopy, Quality, thoughts, trips
Posted in Art, General, Illustration Friday | 33 Comments »
Friday, March 19th, 2010
 Another painting in my Goddess Series is Spider Woman. I’m not doing the goddess series in any order, other than they way that they come to me; nor do I have any idea how many paintings will complete the series, I’ll let them determine that. This is a great educational process and fantastic artistic journey!
Spider Woman is an important goddess among many southwestern Native American tribes. Spider Woman is responsible for bringing fire to the Pueblo, Tewa and Kiwa tribes.
For the Hopi tribes, Spider Woman is a creator of the moon, and their emergence into the world. Spider Woman has the power to give and take life, and is connected to hunting and agriculture.
Cherokee Grandmother Spider brought people the sun and fire. She taught them pottery, weaving, and how to make ceremonial blessings.
The great blessings and history of Spider Woman will not “expire“ and will continue to be a wonderful tradition in Native American culture. Remember to pass on your cultural and family traditions so that they will live on for generations to come!
Work-In-Progress: The Spider Woman painting started out as a graphite sketch, proceeding to mix media including: ink,  watercolor, acrylic and finally a light glaze of oil paint! It was a timely process, but so worth the luminosity that cannot be seen on any screen version!
Tags: acrylic, agriculture, Blessings, ceremonial, Cherokee, culture, emergence, fire, grandmother, Graphite, Hopi, http://indigeneart.com, hunting, Indigene, ink, Kiwa, mixed media, moon, Native American, oil paint, Paula Gunn Allen, pottery making, Pueblo, Southwestern, spider, Spider Woman, spinning, sun, Tewa, Tradition, tribes, watercolor, weaving, web, Work-In-Progress
Posted in Art, General, Handmade Gifts, Illustration Friday, Work | 20 Comments »
Thursday, February 11th, 2010
Some of the details of my Work-In-Progress contain various symbols and snakes are one of them.
Some cultures hold snakes in high esteem while other cultures despised them. There are cultures that associated snakes with medicinal powers or rebirth, such as the modern medical symbol of two snakes wrapped around a staff.
The Judeo-Christian culture does not hold snakes or serpent in a kind light. The biblical tales of the Garden of Eden and the serpent’s role in “tempting woman to trick man into the fall from God’s grace” have contributed to the negative images of snakes in western culture. This deep rooted cultural biases accounts in part for the widespread of fear and disdain of snakes. Myths, legends, and folk tales contribute to the misinformation and add to the snake’s negative imagery.
Cultures are as valid as the people who come from them and as with all living entities, there are positive and negative aspects, snakes are no different.
The imagery of the snakes in the details of this portrait embrace the concept of healer, rebirth and revitalization.
I’m sure that this spiritual portrait will be serve as a conversation piece, dependent upon the view or viewers!
Tags: "O", 22x30 inches, acrylic, Arches paper, culture, divine, enamel, energy, fear, forbidden, gold, Graphite, green, health, hidden, Illustration Friday, Indigene, Indigeneart.com, Judeo-Christian, medical symbol, medicinal, mixed media, mythology, Orange, pen/ink, purple, rebirth, red, religious, Snakes, spiritual, Symbol, Totem, turquoise, watercolor, Work-In-Progress
Posted in Art, Family, Featured Artist, Friends, Illustration Friday, Studio Time, Work | 8 Comments »
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