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Posted on by Ellen Seaton - No Comments on Creativity as Process

Creativity as Process

Today I had the good fortune to have lunch with two electrical engineers. I mean PhD’s from Rice University genius mentalities that are much smarter than the average bear kind of engineers. One of them was my Dear Friend (DF) and the other one was a friend/business associate of DF.

They are busy creating a company called Northworks Digital Factory, that is all about 3‑D printing. If I were smarter in the ways of engineering, I could explain this better. However, all I can say is they make 3‑D printers and they make things with 3‑D printers. They make art objects for artists and they also make medical devices for various biomedical engineering companies.

SONY DSC

This is one of their 3‑D printers. Don’t ask me how this works. For all I know it runs on Fairy Dust. The important thing is that they know how it works and how to build it. I just look at it all and say something along the lines of, “Oh cool.”

We didn’t spend a lot of time today talking about engineering. What we discussed was creativity and the creative process. How do we look at something or a situation and come up with a solution or a process for making things work.

NASA and the process of working on the Apollo mission to the moon was one segment of discussion. What was attempted could not be done in the time frame that they had. Yet, it was done and we went to the moon several times.

We also talked about story building. What works as a good idea and how to bring that idea to fruition. Have an idea, think about it from all different perspectives, try things out, make some mistakes and learn, and keep moving forward.

Engineering, science, art, writing all involve this creative process. Keep thinking and keep developing ideas. I heard the author Neil Gaiman lecture once. He said that if you want to be a writer, then write. Finish what you are writing. You will learn more from completing a process than looking at something, deciding it sucks, and then start on something else. Once you are done, maybe your project doesn’t suck after all. Gaiman even has a new book out called, Art Matters: Because Imagination Can Change The World. 

A couple of weeks ago I found a perfect example of the creative process at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. I was amazed at a collection of pieces made out of gem stones called, Life In Stone. Gerd Dreher made animal carvings from all types of stone. For example, here is an orangutan that was made from one piece of obsidian. I was awed by the intricate lapidary work in this piece with incredible detail of the physical form.

Another animal carving I admired was this peacock. This one animal was made up of 350 pieces of stones such as quartz, tiger eye, agate, and others. Nothing on these animals involves paint. All of the colors come from the stones themselves.

Since I am neither an engineer nor a lapidist, I will continue with my writing. Story ideas are my creative and artistic work. Words are my tools.

Until next week.….….

Posted on by Melanie Ormand - 2 Comments on Rocking B’s

Rocking B’s

At the entryway to Oyster Creek Park, I spotted them.

Grandmother and granddaughter sitting on a park bench, bonding over books.

The thumbnail photo of this bronze sculpture caught my attention when I scanned Sugar Land’s Public Art brochure. Of the ten such sculptures in the city, this is the only one I really cared to see.

Something about young and old, innocence and wisdom, reading and sharing. And the precious grandchildren in my own life.

When I arrived at the park entrance, I found no hints—maps, signage, arrows, etc.—of where this pair sat.

On instinct, my eyes swept to the ten o’clock position.

How did I know to start at ten? Why not eight, or three or…

Intuition? Silly girl, I thought. Be grateful and walk toward them.

Along the way, I spotted alligators and paint-can art. A dog learning to frisbee. A baby taking its first steps.

Picture taking and future blog posts. Of course.

As I walked, the bright-shining sun and a clear blue sky sparkled on my shoulders. Seventy degrees, the phone tells me. Mid-December? Winter begins in four days?

When I finally stood before the Grandmother and Granddaughter sculpture, B’s assaulted my vision: binoculars. book. bear. backpack. birds. bun. bench. braids. boards. buckles. blouse. buttons.

Twelve in a single shot. Why all the B’s? And why did I notice? Is that what real writers do?

I took a second picture of the sculpture.

Clean shot, I thought.

Only at home do I spot the next B. As in sunBeam.

The ray of sunlight was not there when I snapped the picture. I promise. 

When I saw the light, the word followed: Beam.  

My, that sounds like a song. Or a Bible verse. Egad. I digress.

Back to a photograph. We’re up to a baker’s dozen of B’s.

One final B surfaces as I stare at the image. It’s less obvious, but more special.

Bonding.

What happens when grandmothers and granddaughters Be together.

(Offered with heartfelt apologies to my writing teachers).

And now, we’re up to 15 B’s in a single Blog post.

Oops, that’s 16.

What a day for frisky, frivolous fun.

You’re lucky.

No F quiz follows.

Posted on by Ellen Seaton - No Comments on Lollygagging

Lollygagging

All right. I’m here. Writing another blog post. Again, there are no pictures that go with this treatise that explores the life of a writing RoadBroad. Therefore, I will include a few pictures of holiday lights. Enjoy.

I have been lollygagging, dawdling, and procrastinating this week with my writing. My apologies! As you may remember from last week, I was dealing with a torn meniscus. I was on the verge of getting signed up for some arthroscopic knee surgery. But all that changed when I had an MRI on Monday. I no longer have a torn meniscus. Alas and alack, my poetic attempts were all in vain.

What I have is arthritis. That’s it. Instead of signing up for surgery, I have signed up for physical therapy. I have also re-upped my membership at the Y where I can enjoy invigorating water aerobic classes and stationery bicycles.

Arthritis does not sound as fun or exciting as a torn meniscus. I can’t say I got it because I am such an athlete. Is it just because I am getting old? When I was a young child I remember hearing old people talk about their arthritis. They also talked about their lumbago, their dropsy, or having a bad bout of the grippe. All old diseases. I’m going to have to process this and cogitate on it a while.

But don’t worry. I will not write any more poetry about my ailments. Whatever would I find to rhyme with arthritis? Maybe colitis, but I haven’t been diagnosed with that.

While I was dawdling this week, a friend put a word up on her Facebook post. The word was coddiwomple. What an interesting word. The definition is “to travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination”. Well isn’t that what I’ve been doing with my life post retirement? I am redefining my entire way of being. I march down the road in a purposeful manner while writing, blogging, going to movies and museums. Now I can add physical therapy and water aerobics to my journey.

I am a coddiwompler, because I am coddiwompling my way through this thing called life. When I retired from my day job, I knew certain things that I would do. I became a full-time writer. I have definite goals, but the destination is vague other than living my own life on my own terms and enjoying it. It feels fugacious, but is actually enlightening and transcendent. Plus the word coddiwomple is fun to say. Almost as much fun as fugacious.

Does this writing seem to be a bit of a flumadiddle? I promise it was not my intention to leave you discombobulated. I’m just a logophile which means I am a lover of words and enjoy playing with them.

It was much more fun than sitting around and cogitating on arthritis.

Until next week.….…

Posted on by Ellen Seaton - 1 Comment on A RoadBroad’s Meniscus

A RoadBroad’s Meniscus

What’s the saying? Don’t you know? RoadBroads are like sharks. They must keep moving. That’s why we stay on the road. Whether we are traveling around the country or inside the 610 Loop in Houston. We walk a lot and look at everything. We are always on the move.

Except.……

I have been diagnosed with a torn meniscus in my right knee. Don’t know what the heck that is? I didn’t either before this week. All I knew was that I was in pain. I love to walk, but lately that has been a painful experience for me. 

Isn’t this a cute lil’ chubby knee? Adorable. Who would think anything this cute would cause so much pain?

I planned my entire retirement around writing and walking. Tuesdays are outing days for walking around parks, museums, neighborhoods, etc. Now I am temporarily side-lined. I am still walking, but it can get very painful after short distances.

What causes this condition? When I checked Google, I found out that this is a very common ailment for athletes. Well, of course, that’s what happened. Marathons, tennis, rugby, I do it all. I am such an athlete, that I hurt my knee. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Okay, so you’re not even going to begin to believe that? I thought you were my friend. Won’t you allow me this one little phantasm?

A torn meniscus can also be a result of aging and wearing out parts. I could think that, but I do not see myself as old. I know I am not young, but I am definitely not “old”. Other people my age may be old, but that does not apply to me. Yes, my youthful delusions do help me sleep well at night.

When I went to the doctor, I was sent off to get x‑rays of my knee. Then what was really cute was that the doctor’s assistant showed me the x‑rays. He would point at things as if I could see what he saw. As he spoke, I nodded politely. I understood what he said. Yes, there is a treatment for this. Good.

When I returned home from the medical appointment, I wondered what a writer could do with a torn meniscus. Should I write out a dialogue with my knee? Write poetry? What the heck rhymes with “meniscus”?

Here we go:

Hello Meniscus,

You make me feel like such a nimscus,

You impede my sunny dispositicus.

Let’s try this:

Oh my meniscus,

Why can’t you be more viscous? 

Yet, you are torniscus.

Maybe this?

Ouch, Ouch my torn meniscus,

Maybe I’ll just sit and drink a tea of hibiscus.

Okay, I know what you are thinking. Yes, I’ll stick with prose.

Until next week.….

Posted on by Ellen Seaton - No Comments on Fall Weather

Fall Weather

I traveled to Hermann Park this week. While I was there I saw something that you are never guaranteed to see in Houston.

Fall foliage.

All around the park I could see trees with yellow and orange leaves. They were really pretty. Considering the fact that Houston never does fall the same way two years in a row, I was delighted to see this.

Yes, I know all of my relatives and acquaintances who live in places like Iowa and Colorado are way past fall colors and deep into snow and blizzards. They are the folks who put snow chains on their tires and actually have separate wardrobes for hot weather versus cold weather.

But here in Houston we don’t always get a decent fall season. When we do it is a cause for celebration.

I have even managed to turn off my central air conditioner for extended periods of time. I like my home at about 68 degrees. That means when many here are turning on the heat and lighting fires, I am opening up the windows.

And fall can be a fleeting season. It teases us. One day the air is crisp and cool. Low temperatures in the 40s and the highs in the 60s. Brrrrrrrr!!! The next day the warmth will blow back in and the temperature will jump up to 80 degrees.

There are even some people around town who saw a few snow flakes shortly before Thanksgiving. They bundled up in coats and sweaters one day and the next day they wore shorts and flip flops to go shopping for a Christmas tree.

Of course when I say “a few snowflakes” I really mean like two or three. Total.

We don’t wait for the snow to stick to anything to get excited. That event is too rare. After surviving our typical hot and humid summers, we get our weather jollies anywhere we can.

One lone snowflake can give us the hope that there just might be a just and loving god somewhere in the universe.

This brings me back to the picture I showed you a few weeks ago. Here in Houston, if all else fails, we will pretent that it’s cold for the holidays. Many folks like snowmen and will blow up big plastic ones in their front yards.

Also, please note that in this picture the holiday critters are sitting on top of boxes of firelogs that are specially prepared for enjoying a fire in the fire place. Not exactly the way our rugged pioneer forefathers and foremothers did it. However, it doesn’t get cold enough for people to go out and chop up a cord of wood. So we improvise.

Actually I just noticed recently that one can order a cord of wood from Amazon. How convenient!

Back to the firelogs. Some have told me that they are good, because if you don’t use real wood, then you are helping to save a natural resource. Who knew!

Once the fire is roaring in the fireplace, you can imagine the early pioneers braving all the elements so that now we can drive to the nearest store for firelogs. Pretty strenuous work for a fire that is lit maybe two or three times a year.

Every year people do love their holiday traditions and fires in the fire place. It’s fun to watch and observe.

I personally don’t have a fire place. I have air conditioning for warm weather and open windows for cold weather. When the temperature inside my home drops below 68 degrees, then I turn on the heat. A little. For maybe five minutes.

I hope everyone is enjoying the fall weather in whatever way makes them happy.

Until next week.……

Posted on by Ellen Seaton - No Comments on Off Road With Traditions

Off Road With Traditions

It started Wednesday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. Driving down the freeway, I had just left Starbucks and was heading home. There was a lot of traffic. I debated about running errands. I looked at the traffic again. Heck no. All errands would wait until next week.

It was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Holiday traffic was growing by leaps and bounds. I don’t do holiday traffic. I went home.

As a RoadBroad, Thanksgiving is the time of year where I go “off road” until the holidays are over. Except for Halloween, I am not a big holiday person. As an adult I converted to Judaism, which means I no longer celebrate Christmas and my other holiday traditions have changed as well.

As you might remember from my blog last week, my Thanksgiving traditions are somewhat off the main road. I am not alone in tweaking the Thanksgiving theme. I took this picture when dear friend (DF) and I were driving to our Thanksgiving dinner at Kiran’s. These folks weren’t at a relatives house. They were standing in a long line waiting to get into Cleburne’s Cafeteria. Thankfully we had reservations where we were going.

We drove to our favorite Indian restaurant that prepared a trans-cultural Thanksgiving dinner.  There were many traditional foods, but prepared in Indian style. There was turkey and dressing for the carnivores. I filled my plate with rice, yams, brussel sprouts, green beans, and carrots and a few things I did not recognize from childhood.

It’s not easy being a vegetarian at Thanksgiving. Once DF and I made a meal completely out of a variety of squashes. It was successful, but I prefer to let someone else do the cooking. Over the years we have managed to find a variety of restaurants that will accomodate vegetarian palates. However, Kiran’s is our favorite.

I also enjoyed a pumpkin martini. Was that traditional or off road? Who cares, it tasted really good.

After we completed our feast it was time to go to the movies. This year’s pick was At Eternity’s Gate. This movie told the story of the last days of Vincent Van Gogh. Not exactly a cheerful movie, but what a fascinating character. As an added bonus there was a cameo appearance by Gauguin. If you are an art lover, then you don’t want to miss this one.

Tomorrow this RoadBroad will not be on the road. Let all of the shoppers enjoy the crowds and traffic. I plan on relaxing and reading a good book.

Posted on by Ellen Seaton - 2 Comments on Traveling Through the Holidays

Traveling Through the Holidays

Ho hum. Halloween is over. No more ghosts, goblins or witches. Now I am sad. Now what do I have to blog about? Maybe I should write about how much I miss Halloween and have already started planning for next year.

What I feel compelled to write about is the fact that I saw and heard the beginnings of Christmas…..before Halloween. Stores began to decorate with lights and music. Santa Claus sat on the shelves just one aisle over from scary skeletons. Has the world gone completely mad? What happened to Thanksgiving? Are we ignoring Thanksgiving this year?

In my sense of order in the universe, Christmas does not show up until after Thanksgiving. I like to take all of the holidays in order. Thanksgiving is coming up next week. Now it is time for Jack-O-Lanterns to turn into pumpkin pies.

I wanted to include pictures in this blog of some nice Thanksgiving decorations. However, I couldn’t find any. Driving around I did see one large inflated turkey wearing a pilgrim hat in front of a nice house, but I did not know the people who lived there. Since this is Texas and I didn’t want to get shot, I decided not to take pictures of a stranger’s house. However, I visited a friend who decorated her house with this dandy pumpkin table runner. Enjoy.

Thanksgiving is a nice enough holiday far as they go. If you like turkey and football you typically aren’t disappointed. However, I am a vegetarian and not especially fond of football.

Let me repeat that.

I am a vegetarian and I am not very fond of football……and I live in Texas. I realize that by publicly posting this I am risking getting an eviction notice giving me 30 days to vacate the Lone Star State. Over the years it has been a bit tricky for a vegetarian in Texas to find just the right traditions befitting the holiday. But thankfully my Dear Friend (DF) has helped provide ideas and guidance.

Before I retired last May, I would attend a departmental Thanksgiving luncheon every year at work. I always volunteered to bring the salad. That’s really the only thing a room full of carnivores will trust a vegetarian to bring to a luncheon. Luckily, since I am not much of a chef, I always found it hard to mess up cooking a salad when all I had to do was open the prewashed and premixed bags of lettuce. Then I would add a handy variety of bottled salad dressings fresh from the grocery store. Please feel free to borrow my special recipe if you would like.

Back to my personal celebrations, it took us several years, but my DF and I finally hit upon a winning combination for our turkey day festivities. We begin by finding a restaurant that has a definite Thanksgiving vibe, but also includes plenty of vegetarian options. I prefer a restaurant without a television; however, one over the bar area for the die hard football fans is acceptable. Our current favorite is Kiran’s. They provide a special wonderful buffet that includes both Indian dishes and a variety of traditional Thanksgiving offerings. When the meal is over, we will go to see a movie. Since we don’t eat turkey, we won’t need to worry about tryptophan making us sleepy. A Star is Born? The Nutcracker and the Four Realms?

Once Thanksgiving is over, then we can discuss additional holiday topics; such as, this insane picture that I captured outside of a local grocery store.

Until next week……

Posted on by Ellen Seaton - No Comments on Election Day Art Stroll

Election Day Art Stroll

On election day while so many people were standing in line waiting to vote or working at the polls or watching the election news on television, I decided to take an Art Stroll. I had already voted and done everything I could do as far as campaign efforts. Watching the news was just making me nervous and stressed. I needed some self-care and relaxation. As always, one of the best ways for me to stay calm and centered is to surround myself with art.

Lucky for me Wivla (Women in the Visual and Literary Arts) had an exhibition called Shape at the Downtown Houston Library. Visual art was combined with the written word. Artists and writers combined forces give their impressions of Space via paintings, poems, collage, short essays, and mixed media. I believe this exhibition will be on display through December.

As it turns out I recognized the names of several women writers and artists who were a part of this exhibition. Here is a mixed media piece by Sharon Bippus. Her piece deals with Space as it pertains to family and generations of relatives.

I took the following picture of a group of works in this exhibition. When I looked at it later I noticed that I had included the painting in the upper right corner that was created by artist, Josena Arquieta, who has a studio in the Silos at Sawyer Yards. She is a very talented artist I met in the Women in Art class I have been taking at the Glassell School of Art. I look forward to seeing more of her work during one of the upcoming Second Saturdays at Sawyer Yards.

After strolling through this exhibit at the Houston Library, I traveled to the Museum of Fine Arts. I wanted to see the exhibit of the British Royal Family. I especially enjoyed the following pictures.

I loved this one of Queen Elizabeth with Ann Richards who was the Governor of Texas in the early 1990s. The Governor was hosting a party for the Queen here in Houston at the Museum of Fine Arts.

Ann Richards was always self-assured and projected a strong independent persona whenever she was in public. She also had a great sense of humor.

Of course the Queen remains a very powerful woman herself. Throughout the exhibit it was interesting to see how the various portraits of her have shown her over the years.

I especially liked this picture of Queen Elizabeth. It’s not the typical portrait where she is sitting down looking elegantly regal. There is a real strength in this picture that is not always shown in her day to day duties.

This exhibit will remain on display until late January 2019, I enjoyed it so much that I strolled through it twice and may go back again.

By the time I had made my way through all of the works by local women artists and the pictures of strong women rulers and leaders, it was time travel home. I was in a much better frame of mind and ready to take however the election results turned out.

Until next week.….….…..

Posted on by Ellen Seaton - 2 Comments on Visiting the Veil Between the Worlds

Visiting the Veil Between the Worlds

It all started out one night when my dear friend (DF) and I were on our way to dinner. In addition to eating, we were also on a mission to visit a restaurant that knows how to appreciate El Dia De Los Muertos (otherwise known as The Day of The Dead)!

There are ghosts out there. Some are friendly and some not so much. How do you interact with your ghosts?

At a restaurant in the upper Kirby area of Houston called 100% Taquito, they honor the souls of loved ones who have departed. As soon as you walk in the door, you see ofrendas, or altars dedicated to the departed. You are also welcomed into the restaurant by this jolly fellow.

One aspect I love about living in Houston is the access to so many cultures and customs. That is never more true than this time of year. Whether you call it Halloween, El Dia De Los Muertos, Samhain, or All Souls Day, this is the time of year when we are reminded that there is an afterlife. There are souls, spirits and ghosts out there and this is the time of year when the veil between the worlds is the thinnest. Some of us prepare favorite foods of loved ones who have passed. Some of us dress up in costumes so that the bad goblins will not recognize us and hurt us. Some of us pray for those who have gone on before us.

At 100% Taquito DF and I had the honor of dining in the presence of some wonderful spirits. We were also serenaded by a delightful chap with his guitar.

As I have alluded to in previous blogs, this is the time of the year when we can laugh at things that scare us. We can take charge of our lives and not get unnerved by things that go bump in the night.

Along one wall of the restaurant there was an elaborate ofrenda. We sat next to this as I enjoyed a traditional flan desert and DF had a mango pudding. This was my first visit to 100% Taquito, but I am sure that I will go back.

When I returned home I looked at some of the various seasonal items I have collected over the years. It is a definite mix of Halloween and El Dia De Los Muertos. I like to think that the spirits that surround me this time of year are friendly. Hopefully the ones that aren’t will be scared off by my collection of skulls and scary faces.

Here’s to hoping that your ghosts and goblins are friendly as well.

Until next week.….……

Posted on by Ellen Seaton - 1 Comment on Traveling Down the Medical Road

Traveling Down the Medical Road

Unfortunately I do not have any pictures that pertain to this blog post. However, for your viewing pleasure, I will include a few pictures of my cats. Enjoy!

Friday morning my dear friend (DF) was driving me to a medical procedure. It was nothing major.….just an endoscopy.….just having a camera stuck down my throat.…..what could be more fun? I had this procedure once before and woke up in the middle of it. That was no fun at all. So, I was nervous. Since I was nervous, I did not sleep good the night before. I was tired, cranky and nervous. Don’t you wish I had asked you to drive me?

So there we were going down Holcombe Boulevard on our way to the Medical Center. When I am nervous, I have a tendency to talk to other drivers because they just aren’t driving right.

“If you are going to turn, just do it. You don’t have to think about it.”

“You know, I wish you would go a little bit slower. 15 miles an hour is just way too fast for me.”

You get the idea.

Occasionally I gave DF helpful information and suggestions.

“Be careful, there is a car pulling up next to us,” I said

DF replied, “Yes, I see that car in that lane of traffic next to us. We’re not turning for a few blocks, so it’s fine.”

Once we arrived at our destination, I checked in with the receptionist and had a seat. There were quite a few other patients with family members/friends/care givers. Now keep in mind that I was at a place where many people were there to get tests for all kinds of imaginable digestive disorders. Which made it seem especially cruel when two medical employees cruised through the waiting room with a cart brimming with bags of food from a local barbecue restaurant.

Finally I was called back for the preparation stage of this journey. I was directed to a curtain lined cubicle where there was a small hospital bed, a lovely gown (don’t forget.…the nurse reminded me.….it opens towards the back), and a cute pair of beige socks with non-slip tread on the bottom.

When I had finished changing clothes and made myself comfortable, the curtains opened again and I was greeted by two nurses. I got my official hospital wrist band, I had my “vitals” taken, and I answered a bunch of questions. Then DF was brought back to visit with me until it was my turn.

The waiting began. Since there were several other patients in cubicles all around me, I would occasionally catch snippets of conversations. I could tell the nurses were asking the same types of questions I had answered. They seemed very interested in sleep apnea.

One nurse even walked into the cubicle next to mine and I heard her say, “Hello, I am one of the Susans, my name is nurse.” Everyone seemed to get a good laugh about that. I was glad that Susan wasn’t my nurse.

Finally, it was my turn. I was wheeled back to the procedure room and the last thing I remembered was talking with the nurses. The next thing I knew I was waking up to see DF. I almost wondered how he got back into the procedure room, but then realized that I was in recovery. Everything was over and I had survived.

The road trip back home was much more pleasant than the drive earlier that day. This time I had just enough medication that I never felt the need to talk to other drivers or give DF any driving instructions. He seemed to enjoy that much better.

Now that I am back in good health, please check back later this week when I will post my first official annual Halloween Blog.…..Boo!