Author Archives: thevsstudioblog

Two inspiring passages to help you when you just can’t seem to get started on a project: (They are both so good I’ll just let them speak for themselves.) When she’s stuck or feeling overwhelmed by a big project, the writer Anne Lamott likes to think of a story “that over and over helps meContinue reading “Bird By Bird. Brick By Brick.”

“Calamity is the perfect glass wherein we truly see and know ourselves.” -William Davenant “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.” -Franklin D. Roosevelt The word “conviction” originates from the Latin convincere, meaning “to overcome” or “to conquer.” The only way to know your convictions is when they’re put to the test. You actuallyContinue reading “Conviction”

Practicing gratitude is awesome. But you know what’s even more awesome? Being grateful for something before it even occurs. Saying “thank you” regardless of the outcome. To do so requires faith, trust and total surrender. Can you do it?

“Art is the lie that enables us to realize the truth.” –Pablo Picasso “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” –Edgar Degas “The purpose of art is to lay bare the questions that have been concealed by the answers.” –James Baldwin Let’s give ’em something to talk about (something toContinue reading “Something To Talk About”

“Every sun casts a shadow, and genius’s shadow is Resistance. As powerful as is our soul’s call to realization, so potent are the forces of Resistance arrayed against it….Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance…Rule of thumb: The more important aContinue reading “The Resistance Is Insidious”

“I never understood the idea that you’re supposed to mellow as you get older. Slowing down isn’t something I relate to at all. The goal is to continue in good and bad, all of it. To continue to express myself, particularly. To feel the world. To explore. To be with people. To take things far.Continue reading “Diane Keaton On Confidence”

Whether you receive amazing feedback or awful feedback, they both share one giant trap in common. Attachment. You get attached to that amazing feedback and as a result, not take risks in your future work, so as to continue to please. Or. You get attached to that awful feedback and completely give up. To avoidContinue reading “Amazing and Awful”

I got rhythmI got musicI got my manWho could ask for anything more? -song “I Got Rhythm” by Ethel Merman “What I do has a lot to do with the words….Go over the words, over and over, do them different ways, different inflections and rhythms. For me, rhythm is very important. I think we expressContinue reading “Line Notes”

“If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich.” –Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu (Stephen Mitchell translation) The Rolling Stones are right…You can’t always get what you want. But. You can always want what you have. And. When it comes to making your art, you’ve got what you need. Try sometime. Go makeContinue reading “Want. Have. Need.”

“The impediment to action advances action, what stands in the way becomes the way.” -Marcus Aurelius “I take rejection as someone blowing a bugle in my ear to wake me up and get going, rather than retreat.” -Sylvester Stallone “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. OnContinue reading “The Rejection Is The Way”