Bex Hall

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creative life

A brief Q&A with the host of Squareathon

Melissa Doty

Even with her busy schedule, Melissa Doty took time to answer a few questions about why she loves hosting the Squareathon challenge and she offers a few words of wisdom as well. Thank you @melissadoty.art for taking the time to share with us.

This is the 6th Squareathon Art Challenge Melissa Doty has hosted on Instagram since 2018. Squareathon began as something relaxed and laid back and to this day, it’s touted as Instagram’s most chill art challenge.

When I asked Melissa why she chose this format, she says, “I went with squares because I was already kinda known for being the “tiny squares lady.” So I wanted to capitalize on any reputation I already had, but I also feel most comfy with a square format.”

Squares by Mel Doty

Next I asked if she had any advice for artist’s about dealing with resistance and facing a blank canvas. She offers, “If I truly don’t know what to do, I will switch to something innocuous like making paint swatches which distracts me enough that usually I get the urge or inclination to paint SOMETHING.”

She goes on to say about being stuck, “If I’ve been trying to do a particular project or piece and I’m not succeeding, I usually set it aside and switch mediums completely. Like a palate cleanser!”

For battling the inner critic, she shared a recent post and comment: I spent five hours painting today with little success. This does not make me an unsuccessful painter. It just makes me a painter.

Quote by Mel

“And then if I have a real shit day, this is what I tell myself. I mean, EVERYONE has bad days at work.” 😃

Last, I asked what lights her up most about hosting this challenge and she responds, “My favorite thing is the community and how people make new friends, inspire and encourage each other! I’ve also tried to cultivate a super chill, accepting vibe, so I love it when folks break the rules, take days off, etc., whatever it takes to soften any resistance to creating! I also love that absolute beginners join and just put it all out there. It’s a joy to watch!”

Mel’s Squareathon Chill Art Challenge

August is the Sunday of Summer

August Phenology Wheel 2021

August is the Sunday of Summer. And like a Sunday, we enjoy the vestiges of a rhythm we have become comfortable. August brings changes all around us, if you look.

The once majestic sunflowers hang their heads, tired. The verdant hillsides are suffused with a dullness. Morning birdsong comes later than usual. Queen Anne has traded her white lace for fields of purple ironweed and feathery goldenrod.

Hummingbirds are scarce, woolly bear caterpillars are on the march, and foggy mornings are frequent.

Cain and Mabel

August gave us a grand show, though. The morning glory blossoms were at their deepest velvet. Electric pink milk thistle appeared in fields. Pokeweed berries ripened to the color of burgundy wine. Orange jewelweed dotted the landscape.

August nature journal
Full Sturgeon Moon

The air still wraps itself around us like a steamy wet blanket, but soon we’ll use a real one to ward off the chill. Windows will reopen and curtains will billow with cool breezes. Bedtime stories will come earlier and car headlights once again necessary for the morning commute.

American Goldfinch on spent coneflower

When the sun shines in a September blue sky, it will illuminate mountains sprinkled with multicolored confetti against a backdrop of windswept white clouds. There will be hints of pepper and sassafras in the air. Squirrel’s nests will appear among the treetops, their height perhaps an indicator of the level of snow we might expect in winter.

Banded Tussock Moth and caterpillar

I heard cicadas for the first time this summer on Saturday the 21st. According to folklore, six weeks from then will be our first frost here. I’ve marked the calendar for October 2nd, just to see.

August, the Sunday of Summer

There’s only a little while longer for short sleeves and flip-flops. Butterflies, bumblebees, and trees thick with leaves. For this Sunday of summer, I relish the remnants of this relaxed time before I turn the page and begin anew. 

The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot last forever. Even on the most beautiful days in the whole year – the days when summer is changing into autumn – the crickets spread the rumour of sadness and change.”

E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web
August 2021 nature journal

What do you do for a living?

Well, I uh, I’m an artist, I’m a writer, I, uh…

So tell me…….what do you do for a living?

I hate answering this question. I don’t have a three sentence, 10 second elevator pitch that describes what I do, so it’s a little awkward for me. 

However, on a podcast I heard today, Merideth Hite Estevez proposes alternatives. Instead of asking “What do you do?” ask “What’s lighting you up these days?”

What makes you feel alive and connected to something larger than yourself?

What are you working on right now that excites you?

What makes you want to get up in the morning?

— Tell me about that. —

I love the potential these questions hold for meaningful conversation and connection.

And aside from social situations, these are great questions to ask yourself whenever you’re floundering or having doubts.

Check out her podcast, Artists for Joy and in particular this episode from April 30, 2021, Creative Lies: “My work is my worth.”

Hope you’ll tune in!

Amazing paint you can make right now

From nature’s own Pokeweed, but use caution

Poke berries

NOTE: Pokeweed is considered poisonous and toxic. Use gloves and do not eat. Keep out of the reach of children and pets. Use with caution.

From my nature walk last week, I picked some Pokeweed berries and used the juice to paint the Pokeweed I sketched in my nature journal.

Pokeweed berry paint

If you want to try it yourself, just squish some berries and grab a brush. You can make a batch for later use, according to a recipe I found in the NY Times:

One cup of pokeweed berries, squished and strained into a bowl.

1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. vinegar, stir.

Keep in a glass jar with a screw cap in a cool place.

Makes a beautiful paint or ink. Have fun!