Daily Quote - Agnes de Mille

Sidewalk art images by Tiffany Teske, shot in Canmore, Alberta, 2008, Artist unknown

"Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what next or how. The moment you know how, you begin to die a little. The artist never entirely knows. We guess. We may be wrong, but we take leap after leap in the dark."
Agnes de Mille


I really like this quote. I agree. Artists pounce on their ideas, working on them even when they can't explain why. And they should not have to explain. Being interested enough in the idea is enough. I often worry that I can't explain my work well enough. I have a friend who can write about her work in such a perfect, eloquent, artist statement fashion. I can write but I can't seem to put my feelings into words about my work without a lot of effort. I am going to try to stop worrying about it, since I am not a worrier at heart, and just keep creating.
~ Tiffany

Storque Feature

My friend, Kristal, AKA K, from The Rikrak Studios, was kind enough to convo me and let me know one of my images was featured in a Storque article on Etsy, the online wonder place where we both have shops. Total surprise to me (come on Google Alerts, I have a subscription...)! The name of the article is "Artistic Endeavors: My Top Ten Fine Art Photography Prints" The image of mine that the author, Katie Arms, selected is Ferntebrae 2, an original Polaroid transfer, seen above. What a kind nod to my work. And such an honor to be included in an article that 1) has Fine Art Photography in the title and that 2) references Dorothea Lange, one of my many favorite photographers. Thanks so much!

“One should really use the camera as though tomorrow you'd be stricken blind.” Dorothea Lange

Daily Quote - Plato

This is exactly how I heard this quote the first time...
"Be compassionate because everyone you meet is fighting a great battle!"
It was on a CBC Radio program and the speaker credited it to a rabbi. When I searched it online what I found was this...
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."
which is attributed to Plato...
I think this is an important quote to keep in mind everyday...

Daily Quote - Cesare Pavese

"We do not remember days, we remember moments." Cesare Pavese

Daily Quote - Lillian Smith

..."when we stop learning, stop listening, stop looking and asking questions, always new questions, then it is time to die." Lillian Smith

Daily Quote - Leonard Cohen

"Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in."
Leonard Cohen
Anthem

Strong Women... And a Daily Quote

A motto is defined as "A short expression of a guiding principle". "Be Brave" is one of my mottos. I try to live this motto each day, by taking on new challenges and facing everything, even those things that are less than fun, or that can be downright scary. I try to teach my daughter this motto both by example and by helping her to face things she finds scary. So far it hasn't worked with the vaccuum, but she is after all, only 2 1/2 years old, and I am quite confident she will not carry a life long fear of the vaccuum. You never know though, I seem to be afraid of cleaning at times... Anyway, I am drawn to strong women as friends, and I am fascinated by the biographies of strong women in history. Have you ever seen that bumper sticker that says "Polite women don't make history". I love that, and while I do want my daughter to be polite when necessary I plan to teach her the sentiment behind this phrase.

All this to say I was drawn to a very interesting 2009 engagement calendar called "Women Who Dare", a Library of Congress calendar put out by Pomegranate Press. I snapped it up and have been enjoying it every since. It is my goal to feature a Daring Woman once a week on this blog. How about on Thursdays, since today is Thursday. It's settled! Some of the women will be familiar to you, and I hope some of them won't. I will leave you with a quote from Louisa May Alcott, which opens the calendar...

"Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not be able to reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead."

Daily Quote - Plutarch

"The whole life of man is but a point of time: let us enjoy it." Plutarch 46 AD - 120 AD

Daily Quote - Nigerian Proverb

"Hold a true friend with both your hands." - Nigerian Proverb

Daily Quote - Voltaire

"Love is a canvas furnished by nature and embroidered by imagination." Voltaire