The Art of…RAD

When life challenges us, we can find ourselves inadvertently reaching back in time to what we remember as an easier place. Memories from our past appear, lurking, presumably to help us sort a present circumstance. I think of this process as a random form of therapeutic reflection. The most difficult version can be de ja vous, the feeling that one has lived through the present situation before. Sadly, 9-11 comes to mind. As do some personal journeys I care not to revisit. I am sure you have those buried somewhere too. But there are plenty of fond memories, those we are proud to remember and hold special significance in our lives.

I have found myself reflecting a lot this past week. I keep coming back to one delightfully distracting series of memories I would categorize as beginnings. These memories begin as far back as I can remember, loving art as a child and young adult, sketching, drawing and telling stories. Then my journey continued as I studied art in college, where my love of the arts grew and I was first brave enough to call myself an artist and designer. I eventually became an art educator, then a gallerist, and began adding writing and blogging to my growing repertoire. All these mini journeys culminated in a destination where Repertoire Art & Design finds itself today.

ART and DESIGN

I fondly remember the reason I named my business Repertoire. The art of…RAD. Two very important definitions came together to form the genesis of Repertoire ART & DESIGN. An artist’s repertoire is defined as the range or number of skills, aptitudes, or special accomplishments of a particular person or group. In my case, I saw my business developing and growing outside myself and including other artists. That definition is very closely related to the definition of art which is defined as a skill or experience, study or observation.

An artist’s repertoire

My background in Professional Design, then Art Education, and eventually various creative business endeavors grew into what you see and read now as my website and blog. I am grateful for the support of other creatives: my colleagues, my students, other artists, other creative minds that also desired to cultivate a more artistic life. Always there for me. Always supportive, curious and invested in the arts. Even now, in spite of the current state of things in our precarious human universe, I still feel hopeful, mainly because of all of you. I still consider my followers and fellow artists that are part of this blog as part of the repertoire that makes RAD click. You, my tribe will always be my muse, my inspiration.

I spoke of these aspects of Art and the idea that “the art of…” means “the skill of…” in my latest prompt to my subscribers of the RAD Fresh Creative Journey. I love creating the prompt every week. I imagine all of you waiting patiently for its release to get down to your writing and inspiration as part of your personal visual journaling experience. That’s why I call it visual journaling with SOUL –because it goes deeper than just thoughts or sketches. What you write about and what you create in light of your response digs deeper into your soul.

Wisdom

Some of you have told me that you find inspiration here on the blog. That warms my soul. That is my sincere intention. So I hope that when combining writing with your visual creative experience, you feel you are cultivating a more artistic life. This lighthearted dance of inspiration and creativity, that delights the imagination and ignites the soul, is what RAD represents. It is what I try to cultivate in my own life, through art, design, journaling, and yoga.

A friend of mine recently referred to what I bring to you each week as wisdom. Gosh, I certainly hope there is a drop of wisdom here. After reading Wolf Terry’s advice column in Yoga Journal called Wolf Wisdom, straightforward advice on aging from one yogi to another, I feel confident that this is possibly true of my advice too. There is no substitute for knowledge and experience; it just is, and we’ve earned it.

Join me for the RAD Fresh Creative Journey and find out!

Cheers,

Cindi