Janice Mason Steeves

After spending time in the sacred sites of Loughcrew , and   Newgrange, I have been wondering about the meaning of the carvings on the stones.  Were they a language of some sort, telling about the purpose of the cairns, did they track the entrance of the sun into the chambers, were they simply a kind of decoration?   When I came into my cottage here at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, I found some words scratched onto a heart-shaped slate that a previous tenant had left behind.  Lovely that the word is Brave.  The word 'courage' comes from coeur, French for heart.  Be Brave.  What a wonderful motto to begin my residency here.  And now I'm in the final few days of the residency and so I'm looking at my work and hoping that I have been brave. In response to the Be Brave carving, I found a Yeats quote about courage.  I did a small installation piece down by the lake, carving the quote onto some small slates that I found by the b...

What will you do with this one wild and precious life?  36x60" oil/cold wax on panel  ©Janice Mason Steeves  Tomorrow I teach a two-day workshop here in my home studio.  Today I am preparing. First things first, I'm cleaning my studio.  What a job that is, sorting papers, cleaning shelves, vacuuming and moving paintings to the garage to make room for eight students.  Each time I teach a workshop, I plan what I will do that is different. I consider what I have learned from teaching my last class.  How can I teach better? We come with high expectations into a workshop, everyone looking for something from it.  Some might hope to find their artistic voices.  Some want to come and learn a fun new technique.   My own sense is that people come because they want to move somewhere else in their painting .  Many want the inspiration to 'get back at it' if they have stopped making art for a while.  Some want to brea...

"Go instead where there is no path"  50x50" oil /cold wax medium ©Janice Mason Steeves 2011 "Language has created the word 'loneliness' to express the pain of being alone.  And it has created the word 'solitude' to express the glory of being alone"   Paul Tillich My week-long home retreat was a much-needed refreshing break.  It ended on July 8th, which also happens to be my birthday. Friends came over to help me celebrate. A lovely way to close off the week.    I managed to follow all the guidelines I'd set up for myself: see my last blog post for the rules of engagement. I made the 'rules' to set the parameters of the retreat, to encourage myself to unplug as though I were on a small remote island for a week. I didn't use the computer at all but kept daily notes in my journal of my experience and ideas and thoughts. The occasional twinge of loneliness in the first day or two didn't last long.  The creative juices...

Wine with Everything 24x24"  oil/cold wax on panel  ©Janice Mason Steeves 2011   Each year for the past two years, I've organized a home retreat for myself. Alyson Stanfield of artbizcoach.com , interviewed me a couple of weeks ago, for her online group called The Artist's Conspiracy about my home retreats.  She was interested in how I go about planning them, and what I get out of them. Even though I live in the country, I still get caught up in the busyness of life; spending too much time on the computer; doing the business part of my art; keeping up with friends; spending time with family; doing volunteer jobs, appointments. The regular demands of life. I used to have a cottage that had no hydro, and no phone, where I'd spend a week or two at a time by myself painting and writing poetry.  I found this to be an extremely creative time.  I decided to create that same retreat space at home.  I prepare for it as though I am going on a va...