End of day at the prettiest house
This was the early stage of the work
This was the early stage of the work
Acrylic on birch panel
5 x 7 inches
Barbara Muir © 2014
(This house -- like a white clapboard farm house,
(This house -- like a white clapboard farm house,
was the prettiest house in the
neighbourhood. Unfortunately it
neighbourhood. Unfortunately it
was sold to buyers who knocked it
down and built a big box of a house.
Sad. Still I'm happy I painted it
Sad. Still I'm happy I painted it
while it was around, and that the work sold!)
10 Reasons To Be Happy
"I've used the exercise 10 Reasons to be Happy which
I made up, but it may not be original, to great effect
when teaching. At the start of a class I'd pick 10 people to
go the front and start a sentence with, "I'm happy
because", and then say why. I explain that the
reason could be very small -- as in, "I'm happy
because there was enough salt for my eggs this
morning." Invariably the people who came to the front
of the class, said their reasons, and let the class
clap for them -- got happier. It sounds like psychobabble magic,
but in fact it's the same principle as blogging and
showing work for artists, and as writing in a journal
and then reading it aloud to friends or people
in a writing group. It gives people a voice.
Voice in art and in the world matters. Getting a
chance to think about what makes you happy,
shifts your focus to the positive, and as I've told
you before, the former happiness teacher at Harvard
University, Shawn Achor, says that when we are
happy we think not only more creatively, but
better. Here's today's list:
1. My wonderful husband.
I made up, but it may not be original, to great effect
when teaching. At the start of a class I'd pick 10 people to
go the front and start a sentence with, "I'm happy
because", and then say why. I explain that the
reason could be very small -- as in, "I'm happy
because there was enough salt for my eggs this
morning." Invariably the people who came to the front
of the class, said their reasons, and let the class
clap for them -- got happier. It sounds like psychobabble magic,
but in fact it's the same principle as blogging and
showing work for artists, and as writing in a journal
and then reading it aloud to friends or people
in a writing group. It gives people a voice.
Voice in art and in the world matters. Getting a
chance to think about what makes you happy,
shifts your focus to the positive, and as I've told
you before, the former happiness teacher at Harvard
University, Shawn Achor, says that when we are
happy we think not only more creatively, but
better. Here's today's list:
1. My wonderful husband.
2. Our family -- Christopher, Megan, Sam, Emily,
Alice, Madeleine and James.
2. Our animals -- Sally, Fiona and Monet
3. My friends both here in Toronto, and around the world
through the art world.
3. My friends both here in Toronto, and around the world
through the art world.
4. My life as an artist
5. Our walks at Lake Ontario
5. Our walks at Lake Ontario
6. Our neighbourhood
7. Our city -- I love Toronto.
7. Our city -- I love Toronto.
8. My good health.
9. The art groups I belong to -- The Heliconian, and The Don Valley Art Club.
10.You! Thank you for everything!!!
Have a thinking-of-ten-reasons-to-be-happy day!
Have a thinking-of-ten-reasons-to-be-happy day!
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