New Obsessions

Instagram image by Donna Watson

book:  In Praise of Shadows by Jun'ichiro Tanizaki

I was so surprised when I came to blogger to write a new blog post,  and saw that my last blog post was December 2016.  I guess that old saying, TIME FLIES, is true.  I remember when I used to be obsessed with Flickr... looking for artists to follow and finding wonderful imagery... and I still love my 'favorites' there (which you can find at my sidebar).   Then Pinterest came along, and my time and obsession moved to pinning fabulous images and finding wonderful artists... and I liked the process of pinning images into categories making them easy to find.  During this time, I still found time to write my blog posts, look for artists to follow, and leave comments.  But this past year or so, I started traveling so much more as I taught workshops all over the U.S.... and now I am leaving soon for Australia and New Zealand to teach workshops there.  So my blog has gone almost silent.  And now I  have moved on to my new love... Instagram.  I like taking my own images and posting them and finding new artists to follow there.... a new obsession.

Instagram image by Donna Watson

The Hare with the Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal

So Instagram has become my new obsession...  and the images I am posting here are some of my posts that included a book.... some of my favorite books, arranged with some of my favorite collections or obsessions... I seem to have a lot of obsessions!

Instagram image by Donna Watson

Evidence of Evolution 

I do recommend these books...  

Instagram image by Donna Watson

Breathe by Jean Hall

I do want to recommend BREATHE by Jean Hall...  which includes simple breathing techniques for a calmer, happier life.  Breathe helps you to increase energy levels, improve your sleep, instill a sense of calm, and reduce stress.

Instagram images by Donna Watson

Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit

I also recommend HOPE IN THE DARK: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities by Rebecca Solnit.

"Hope is a gift you don't have to surrender, a power you don't have to throw away."  RS

This book has been reissued recently, because of the times we are experiencing currently in our country.

Instagram image by Donna Watson

Burn the Diaries by Moyra Davey

If interested, you can find all my Instagram posts here.

Instagram image by Donna Watson

Instagram image by Donna Watson

HAPPY SPRING EVERYONE!  

Stuff... and a Give Away

 REMINDERS,  Donna Watson, acrylic and collage

NOTE:  I will be teaching 2 two day workshops in Portland, Oregon in April.  The first workshop is titled:

Journal to Book:  A Zen approach.  On the first day, artists will explore their interests, passions, heritage, hobbies, or relationships AND create collage papers, either hand painted or found for their journal.  On the second day, artists will take their story or history or interest and use collage papers and/or text to begin their book in a blank journal.  (April 8-9, 2014)

The second workshop is titled:  Boro/Wabi sabi The spirit of collage.   On the first day, artists will hand paint rice papers using paints, stamps, stencils, whatever.  There will be in introduction to Zen tenets, composition, design elements and principles.  On the second day, artists will create their collages using journals, canvas, wood supports.. whatever they want.  (April 10-11, 2014)

For more information on these workshops go to:  www.artandsoulretreat.com   

Zen Nature 2, Donna Watson, collage

NEWS:  My paintings have been included in the book 100 ARTISTS OF THE NORTHWEST.

My painting REMINDERS at the top of this blog is one of the paintings included in the book.

There are 50 artists from Washington and 50 artists from Oregon.  The book is filled with 

contemporary artists of all mediums both 2-D and 3-D, and is available from Amazon.com

There will be a reception and book signing on March 1, at Matzke Fine Art Gallery and Sculpture Park on Camano Island, WA.  I will have 6 painting included in the show and there will  be 25 artists from the book there in the gallery for book signing.  

AND NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY!  This is my first ever giveaway after - wow, how many years since I started my blog?  4 or 5 years.   Just leave a comment (make sure I know how to contact you) at this blog post and I will have a drawing and send someone a copy of my own hand created book THE BEAUTY OF NOTHINGNESS.  The book is available at Blurb.com  here   but I have one signed copy ready for my first ever give away.

Here are some sample pages from the book.  You can view the whole  

book at the Blurb.com link above.

"Learning to be creative within the confines of our limitations is the best hope we have to transform ourselves..."  Phil Hansen

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment!

The World is a Book

This past summer I acquired a number of books. Some of them I read from cover to cover.
Some of them are half way there.

The Gary Snyder Reader is a collection of prose, essays, letters, poetry, and translations by Gary Snyder between 1952 and 1998. Gary Snyder is a prize-winning poet, environmental activist, Zen Buddhist, and earth-householder.

No end to the sky---

but his poems,
like wild geese,
fly off the edge. - GS

LIVING ZEN by Michael Paul is a beautiful picture book. This book places the ancient wisdom of Zen Buddhism in a modern, everyday context, showing how Zen can influence every aspect of lifestyle from home interiors to garden design.

"Open yourself to the light, images and reality around you." The idea that life is here and now and not something we should postpone to a future date-- means IN THE MOMENT.

No matter what medium you choose--- photography, poetry, dance, music, painting, acting--
you will, by virtue of being in the moment, improve the quality of your art.

BUDDHA MIND IN CONTEMPORARY ART (edited by Jacquelynn Baas and Mary Jane Jacob) is a series of essays and interviews that explores the relationships between Buddhist practice and the contemporary arts. Finding the common ground between the creative mind, the perceiving mind, and the meditative mind, this book tackles the relationship between life and art.

Look deeply: I arrive in every second.... Thich Nhat Hanh

THE CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHER by Catherine Anderson is an instruction book with a focus on the creative, rather than the technical, side of photography. Using your camera, image-processing software (like Photoshop Elements), and art supplies-- this book will transform a favorite photo into something more personal and unique. Express yourself.

The above image is from a chapter on ALL THINGS OLD AND BEAUTIFUL. Wabi-sabi is introduced: "Wabi-sabi is akin to the inherent beauty within, something you can't put your finger on...to open your senses to every detail..." -- Daisuke Utagawe

Zen and the Magic of Photography: Learning to See and to Be through Photography by Wayne Rowe also helps one discover, create, and capture the points of intersection and merging between photography and Zen, between camera and "real moments".

Above is an image from the book. A summer mistral: Sun and shadows dance; A door slams; the cat hisses.

THOUGHTFUL GESTURES: The Calligraphic Art of Yves Leterme includes more than a 100 images that showcase his work as a commercial calligrapher and a lettering artist. He discusses his use of gestural writing in his experimental artwork. You can find out more information on how to order this wonderful book at Leterme's blog Animal Scribax here.

"In my latest work, I have often tried to capture that spirit of Wabi-sabi... a true Wabi-sabi piece derives its quiet authority from subtle details, small doses, a limited palette and simplicity." YL

TEA IN THE EAST by Carole Manchester was sent to me as a surprise gift from my BLOG friend
Che'usa Sienna Wend. Her wonderful blog/website Bricolage can be found here. This is a beautiful picture book that includes the history of tea in China, Japan, India and Sri Lanka.
There are wonderful images along with recipes and poetry and quotes.


Not a color to disturb the tone of the room, not a sound to mar the rhythm of things, not a gesture to obtrude the harmony, not a word to break the unity of the surroundings, all movements to be performed simply and naturally----such were the aims of the tea ceremony. ---Kakuzo Okakura The Book of Tea

Come Into the Quiet

New collages, acrylic on rice papers on wood supports.

"Come to my quietness. I shall cover you with it, like a white sheet that has blown all day in the sun, like a mountain lake filled with spring, it shall slip over you..." Diane di Prima

Come into the library.

Sit at the desk.

Look at the birdcage collection.

Look at the shells and fossils.

See more shelves of books.

Sit on the comfy sofa with the Alex Powers painting hanging above.

Sit on the window box and look at the zen gardens.

Sit in the chair next to Suki the cat.

Choose a good book.

Have a cup of green tea and some treats from Kyoto.

Touch the new ammonite collection

Art is a language, instrument of knowledge, instrument of communication. --- Jean Dubuffet