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LIVE LAUGH LOVE: August 2021

Live fast—die old!

Society tells us: you grow up and get a job, you buy stuff, and then you die.


No! It doesn’t need to be that way. What’s missing is the joy that happens when we play—it’s called being creative.
Carl Jung said, “The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct.” Living fast involves that instinct: throwing caution to the wind, taking chances, playing more. It means picking up pen or paintbrush or tap shoes or flute or cooking utensils or you name it, and expressing yourself. We stay healthy longer and die old when we live fast and include creativity in our lives.


We’re lucky in this neck of the woods: Questa Creative Council encourages us to make life happen, not let life happen to us. One of the ways is through the Questa Studio Art Tour on August 14 – 15 from 10 am – 5 pm each day. There are 16 hubs with over 40 artists and I’ll be displaying my books and paintings at Hub #12, Oasis of Lorien, home of visionary artist Maria Mikhailas. On that Saturday, from noon to 3 pm, we’ll have live jazz at our hub. Most of all, you’ll want to check out the works of art by my fellow creators at all 16 hubs.

Courtesy Photo: Sacred Geometry Horses by Maruŝka a.k.a. Ellen Wood.


Painting is new for me. Although I dabbled at it in my 20s, I was never trained and didn’t pick up a paintbrush again until I turned 84 last November. Because I’m a different person now—a painter as well as a writer—I took my father’s middle name, Maruška, to sign my paintings.


Recently, I was ready to start my 27th painting, and I stared at a blank 18” x 24” canvas, with no idea what to paint. Then I glanced at my 26th painting, an abstract, and noticed it looked like a horse’s head on the one side, inspiring me to feature horses. What transpired next was a surprise to me: I started drawing geometric shapes.


When the painting was almost finished, I found out that the five basic sacred geometry shapes are circle, square, triangle, straight line, and spiral. I was shocked because those are the shapes I had drawn, using pill bottles and saucers and other round objects for the circles. It’s entitled Sacred Geometry Horses (see photo). For some unknown reason, my Muse insists I put a heart in each painting.


If you need inspiration to become a creator too, please attend the Questa Studio Art Tour on August 14 and 15.


¡Vive rápido—muere viejo!

Por ELLEN WOOD


La sociedad nos dice: hazte adulto y consigue un trabajo, compra cosas y luego te mueres.


¡No! No tiene por qué ser así. Lo que falta es la alegría que nos produce el juego—eso se llama ser creativo.
Carl Jung dijo: “La creación de algo nuevo no se logra con el intelecto, sino con el instinto del juego.” Vivir rápido implica ese instinto: olvidarse de las precauciones, correr riesgos, jugar más. Significa tomar un bolígrafo o un pincel o zapatillas de baile o una flauta o utensilios de cocina o lo que sea, y expresarse. Nos mantenemos saludables por más tiempo y morimos viejos cuando vivimos rápido e incluimos la creatividad en nuestras vidas.


Tenemos suerte en este rincón donde vivimos: El Concejo Creativo de Questa nos anima a hacer que pasemos una buena vida, no a dejar que la vida nos pase a nosotros. Una de las formas es por medio del Tour de los Estudios de Arte de Questa que tendrá lugar del 14 al 15 de agosto, desde las 10 a.m. hasta las 5 p.m. Hay 16 centros con más de 40 artistas participantes. Exhibiré mis libros y pinturas en el Centro # 12, Oasis de Lorien, hogar de la artista visionaria María Mikhailas. Ese sábado desde el mediodía hasta las 3:00 p.m. tendremos jazz en vivo en nuestro centro. Lo más importante, espero que veas las obras de arte de mis compañeros creadores en los 16 centros.


La pintura es nueva para mí. Aunque pinté un poco cuando tenía unos 20 años, nunca recibí formación técnica y no volví a tomar un pincel hasta que cumplí 84 en noviembre pasado. Como ahora soy una persona diferente —pintora y además escritora— tomé el segundo nombre de mi padre, Maruška, para firmar mis cuadros.


Recientemente, estaba lista para comenzar mi pintura número 27, y me quedé mirando un lienzo en blanco de 18” por 24”, sin idea de qué pintar. Luego miré mi cuadro número 26 —una obra abstracta—que parecía la cabeza de un caballo en un lado y esto me inspiró a enfocarme en los caballos. Lo que sucedió a continuación fue una sorpresa para mí: comencé a dibujar formas geométricas.


Cuando la pintura estaba casi terminada, descubrí que las cinco formas geométricas sagradas básicas son círculo, cuadrado, triángulo, línea recta y espiral. Me sorprendió porque esas son las formas que había dibujado— usando frascos de pastillas y platillos y otros objetos redondos para los círculos. Se titula Caballos de Geometría Sagrada y aparece debajo. Por alguna razón desconocida, mi Musa insiste en que ponga un corazón en cada cuadro.


Si también necesitas inspiración para convertirte en creador, ven al Tour de los Estudios de Arte de Questa el 14 y 15 de agosto.


Traducción de Teresa Dovalpage

Author

  • Ellen Wood

    Ellen Wood, born in 1936, is a prizewinning author, columnist and former management executive. After her youngest child began school, Ellen started an in-house ad agency and won 16 awards for annual report and advertising excellence, including 4 national awards. Five years after her mother died of Alzheimer’s, Ellen experienced early symptoms (she has the gene, APO-e4). At 68 she developed a program of mind/body/spirit techniques that proved so successful, she wrote and published “Think and Grow Young,” followed by “Joy! Joy! Joy!” (now retitled “The Secret Method for Growing Younger,” Volumes 1 and 2) and gave inspirational speeches. Since 2018 Ellen has been the ad agency for NorthStar Tire and Auto in Questa, NM. Ellen started painting in November of 2020, having dabbled at it in her 20s, and gave herself a new name: Maruška, her father’s middle name. She is overjoyed to be part of a big, loving, kindhearted family. You can find her paintings at www.northernnewmexicoartists.com/ellen-wood

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