"I always tell my students in every class: We are here because of art. We are sitting in this room talking and sharing because of art, but not just because this is an art class. We are here as humans because art is our safe keeper. Our destiny keeper. The landscape of our journey. We are [...]
Author: Rachel Imsland
Hi. I’m Rachel. An artist, feminist practitioner, and crone of compassion and wisdom living in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. I hold a bachelor of arts in studio painting and art education.
“Old in Art School” book 1.31.2019
Recently I finished reading "Old in Art School - A Memoir of Starting Over" by Nell Painter. This is a tale of an black/African American/non-white female who left her successful career (Edwards Professor of American History, Emerita, at Princeton University) to attend art school at the age of 64. Painter returned to school as an [...]
wordless and blue 1.17.2019
watercolor 1.10.2019
Last year, I took a 6-week watercolor class. Although I earned an art degree in college with an emphasis in painting, I didn't take watercolor or oil classes during my college years. I've dabbled in watercolor on my own, but thought it was time I learned some 'real' watercolor techniques. And that's why I took [...]
2018 yoga challenge 1.3.2019
A year ago, I joined a 30-day yoga challenge, writing about it in this post. When January came to an end, I decided to make it an entire year of daily yoga practice. And I'm happy to report that I met that goal for this year, practicing every damn day for 365 days, except for [...]
naikan for the new year 12.27.2018
Another year passed --Empty rice sacks remind mehow lucky I am Ho Sen Organizing my desk the other day, I came across an article I'd printed out years ago about Naikan and gratitude. I plan to spend a couple hours on the last day of 2018 in quiet reflection, working through this list. The basic format [...]
art quote – Shaw 12.20.2018
"James Joyce used to use a fancy phrase for this: he calls it “aesthetic arrest.” And all aesthetic arrest actually means is, what are those one or two images that have utterly claimed your heart—claimed beyond thought, claimed beyond the temporary fashions of culture? And you are just forever in love with two or three [...]
finished planter 12.6.2018
The female head planter I wrote about last month is out of the glaze kiln and she turned out beautifully! View from the top. The coppery glaze has a beautiful iridescent color that I couldn't capture in the photo. Here's her very first hair style:) She looks good with short, spiky hair, too. She looks [...]
poem- Harjo 11.22.2018
Remember by Jo Harjo Remember the sky that you were born under,know each of the star’s stories.Remember the moon, know who she is.Remember the sun’s birth at dawn, that is thestrongest point of time. Remember sundownand the giving away to night.Remember your birth, how your mother struggledto give you form and breath. You are evidence [...]
“Walk Through Walls” book 11.15.2018
I recently finished reading Walk Through Walls, a memoir by performance artist Marina Abramovic, published in 2016. (Earlier this year, I posted her "Artist's Life Manifesto" on this blog.) Abramovic is known for unusual performances which many think are perverted, controversial, or vulgar. Because she's a female artist, and around my age, I wanted to learn more [...]
