Many Media Mania and the Monkey Mind

The photo above is an example of one way I explore a thing that catches my fancy. The little photo was in an ad or article in some magazine, and the pitcher caught my eye. I love Mid-Century and Depression Era pitchers. I even collect them.

I first did a gouache-like rendition with my newest toy - the Acrylic Brush Markers I mentioned last time. Then I did another version with Addison & Sedgewick handmade watercolors (my favorite handmade). I usually add notes so I know what I did when I see this spread in the future.

I call this kind of spread a tiny travel journal - about a trip along a Rabbit trail.

When you are, as I have previously confessed to being, a “many media” artist, you never know when the next “shiny squirrel” will just yank you off in a new direction.

YouTube is a quagmire of quicksand that isn’t quite sticky enough. You dive down a rabbit hole and suddenly something shines from a side tunnel and off you go in that new direction.

I actually awoke from a scrolling stupor the other day, and realized I was watching Carol Duval and Aleene’s Creative Living shows from the back of beyond! They are still out there, folks. And they are still wonderful in their quirky, “make-a-duck-from-a-bottle-cap” way. If you are too young to remember them, and you are creative (as we all are), you owe yourself the experience of watching. You will never be the same afterwards…

Because I credit these pioneering shows with the invention of the “Monkey Mind” syndrome, along with all of their other creations - like Carol’s Sock Monkey for example, which was actually introduced by Miss Frances on Ding Dong School in the early 50”s - my first “art school” as a toddler. Unbelievably, there are still episodes of that show on YouTube.

The whole structure of Aleene’s and Carol’s shows was based on 10 minute craft projects. If you think modern “reality” TV shows rush people through things, wait until you watch these ladies. A “hurry up and create” approach - with a vast variety of materials. These shows literally gave birth to “craft supplies” and stores like Michaels, etc. Before their time, a craft store would have supplies for model trains and maybe some doll heads.

The idea of each episode was that the viewer would learn to make 2-3 creative things in less than a half hour. EVERY kind of thing. My favorite project might have been burning Aleene’s Tacky Glue (a more viscous version of Elmer’s Glue) - still available today although Aleene is not - to make brown bag paper strips look like strips of burnt metal. Now, who can resist that? Seriously. (Well ventilated area only)

A mind like mine wonders what would have happened if Aleene had met Elmer and they had traded glue secrets. Was there an Elmer? Was Elmer a cow? That’s the stuff that keeps me up at night.

In case any of my many new subscribers are wondering what on earth they are doing here, as am I, rest assured that I do take art very seriously. I have supported my whole life with art on a pretty serious level. Serious art is why there is a roof over my head, in fact, and roofs over your head are a good thing.

I support the creative process as much or more.

Aleene and then Carol were the first to bring creative craft process to everyone.

They did a great job of it, and now, we need entire storage systems for our creative supplies, and wonder how we can possibly create three projects in 30 minutes.

Therein lies the birth of the Monkey Mind (not associated with the afore-mentioned Sock Monkey.).

If you have monkey mind or shiny squirrel syndrome, you are very lucky. You have enlivened a real creative “spirit” within yourself, and it will take you wherever it wants to take you. And you may also enjoy many side trips along the way.

On that note . . .

February is the month of love - and also the launch of the 100 Days Project which I start every year and never finish.

Do I lament? Do I feel guilty? Absolutely not.

Starting is as important as finishing.

The 100 Days Project suggests that you choose a thing (the project) that you will devote 100 days to complete. It can be anything from making 100 cookies to making 100 oil paintings to learning 100 things about plumbing.

The beauty of attempting this - and the beauty of failing - is that it starts you on a creative journey to who knows where - no matter what.

If, on Day 5, you turn from oil painting to plumbing with cookie dough, that’s ok.

If you give up totally on Day 6, and decide to knit a mitten instead, that’s ok too.

The way creative thinking works is that, when you are involved in any creative process, it opens the door to the storage room in your mind where ideas live.

If new ideas pop out and disrupt your chosen path - so you can try a different one - this is the best thing that can happen to you as an artist.

While it takes discipline to create a single thing, it takes freedom to create a hundred things. If you don’t finish all of them, you have not failed.

You have kickstarted a creative rabbit trail which will instigate, motivate, propagate, and populate your art life with variety, adventure, and excitement.

Is that failure?

No.

It is a thing with wings.

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The 2026 100 Days Project launches on February 22.

Go for it.

I will let you know next time what I decide to do this time.