In Search of Xanadu

"Tangled on Xanadu" watercolor ©Mary Montague Sikes

The news is disturbing. I have to turn it off. I love baseball and will follow it closely until the St. Louis Cardinals' season is over.

With my art, I can hide from the craziness of the world. I can search for a simple place where beauty dwells and love and peace reign.

That place is Xanadu.

The name fascinates me. Images grow in my imagination. Colors glow and tremble on paper and canvas. Already I have an entire series of work developing with this amazing destination in mind. If it does not exist for us now, it will one day soon.

Somewhere, deep in the universe, a special planet glimmers in the darkness. Its light brightens every nearby star. Unknown colors gleam like gems of light. People smile. The color of their skin matters not. Only the touch of a warm hand, a sincere embrace create memories. Life is in the moment without treacherous thoughts to cloud the future.

In my paintings, I will continue to seek the secret, elusive planet of Xanadu. It lies hidden somewhere beyond the clouds. Just outside of our sight.

Words That Show Are Like Paintings That Tell

"Pure Caribbean sunlight fell in sparkling sheets across the freshly-painted counters of the expanded Sugar Mill Gift Shop."

These words show a picture. During my radio interview earlier this week with Neal Steele, on EXTRA 99.1, Neal read this sentence that begins one of the final chapters in my new book, Jungle Jeopardy.
I was pleased that he likes my writing, and his response started me thinking about the importance of visualization in writing.

As writers we struggle to use just the right words to allow the readers to see inside their own minds the images we are attempting to picture. We need for our readers to view the story in the vivid way we are trying so hard to reveal to them through our words. The artist is doing the same thing in a different way because, as artists, we are painting the picture to show our viewer a story.

"The Ponderer" by MM Sikes

I suppose that as writers and as artists we are stimulating the imaginations of our readers. As an art teacher, I love to encourage children to use their imaginations by closing their eyes and seeing images in their minds. After all, words that show are like paintings that tell.



On Sat., Nov. 19, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., I have a book signing at Twice Told Tales, Main St., Gloucester Court House, VA

Dream Your Own Dreams

In my elementary school art classroom, I have written on the white board this statement: "Dream Your Own Dreams." I think that's what art is all about. You use your creative imagination and see there unique things that are your own. I want the children I teach--young as they are--to use their imaginations and to see in their minds things no one else has seen. I want them to put those things on paper or canvas, and I want them to feel good about their creations.
We as artists live a different life than others who have more concrete professions or hobbies. We create, then worry if our work will be accepted or wanted should we choose to sell it. As a writer, as well as an artist, I put myself "out there," vulnerable in so many ways.
How do you dream your own dreams? Do you feel secure in those dreams? I would love to hear the thoughts of other artists and writers.

Mary Montague Sikes, author Secrets by the Sea, Eagle Rising, Hearts Across Forever, available now on Amazon