Twenty Years as a Blogger!

Dear Reader,

Here is “The Will of Writing,” a poem by James Schevill that I copied into A Woman’s Notebook, which is a blank-paged repository into which I copy or paste poems when I realize that they will not let me go.

The will of writing is
To make the pen
Sound a word,
The sound neither hard nor soft,
But of that balance
Which gives forth
Something surrounded,
Shining and stopped.

You can read more about A Woman’s Notebook by going to my home page, clicking on Judy’s Journal, then finding 2014 September in the Index.

Here is an artwork of mine from a series of ink and transfers on clay board from my book, The little O, the earth: Travel Journals, Art and Poems:

“Mahler Symphony No. 9”

The index links to blogs about other composers who have caught my ear and heart, such as George Gershwin (2013 September), Arvo Pärt (2015 March), and Yusef Lateef (2014 February).

Twenty years ago, I submitted my first Judy’s Journal to friend, photographer, and web manager Patsy McCowan. Among her many talents, she has made my work look good!

This web site, www.PaletteAndPen.com has benefited me in several ways. First, it demands that I keep writing and thinking about why I do what I do every day. It is a V.I.P. invitation to think about my passions and obsessions: art, writing, reading, music and dance. In September 2004, the first Judy’s Journal, I wrote, “I will be exploring topics under the general heading of the creative process that I feel compelled to write about in a personal and informal way.” When the calendar of each month turns to the 10th, there is an audible click in my brain: “Search for next month’s Judy’s Journal.” Writers need deadlines and twenty years later, I am grateful for that click.

Second, a look back at two decades of Judy’s Journals is an exercise in reflection, in the way that any diary or journal should be. To revisit the past – to evaluate, to appreciate, to plan – is the fertile soil necessary to a creative life. However, reflection is also difficult to insert into my busy, forge ahead, what’s next mentality. This monthly blog has enforced that balance.

Third, Judy’s Journals are a barometer attached to what has kept me creatively engaged (and dare I say it, happy?) for twenty years: books (writing and reading them), poetry (writing and reading it), art (seeing and making it), music (discovering and listening to it), and travel (drawing inspiration from its deep wells). Writing this journal has also provided a space to pay tribute to people whose loss I still grieve over. Writing heals. Art heals.

What’s next? Keep on keepin’ on. Onward and upward, or at least sideways!