My father, Roar Thorsen (1930-2012), was my first art teacher. I grew up with his paintings on our walls, his meticulous scrapbooks/photo albums, his continuous creative
Category: Inspiration
Alone time in my “backyard.”
My social anxiety is at a great height these days as I navigate all-sorts in my life. So I savour alone time and nature in
Meanwhile, nature enchants.
It is Sunday morning and I look out my kitchen window, alarmed at the silence. There are no bird songs. No pigeons cooing, no
Collaging as writing process
Collaging helps me write and stay in process. Images of the era (in my case the late 40’s) trigger ideas and storylines. (Thank you to
I am obsessed with a photo of Lucy Knisley. So I had to sketch it.
I am obsessed with a photo of artist Lucy Knisley. So I had to sketch it in my journal. Those eyes. That spirit. That talent. I
A sock snapping turtle eating David Sedaris’ tumour. A handmade gift.
Does anyone else (well, I know my daughter does) feel like David Sedaris (and his sister Amy) is a family member? I am that kind
Shaping non-fiction characters.
What was initially to be a short volunteer research project into a Vancouver cold case to support a theory championed by a retired homicide detective,
A quick creative project on last day of 2019: The Death and Burial of Cock Robin
Rainy stay-inside sick day today. I have stayed in PJs and creative process. I spent the last few hours interpreting The Death and Burial of
William March’s Company K (1933) studies- ink, watercolour, coffee, salt
I have never ceased to wonder at the thing we call human nature, with its time of beauty and its time of filthiness, or at
“All you have to do now is allow…” Sabbatical reflections.
I am on sabbatical/working remotely/dog and kitten sitting in San Francisco… life changing, soul searching, peaceful… no words suffice. The real lesson will show itself
Here were valleys filled with tiny trees and minuscule, tangled vines…
I am a collector. I love the details of seemingly mundane little objects. I collect discarded plants and nurse them back to life. I collect
There are times of no ideas… – Lynda Barry (but there is always process)
Daily disciplined connection with my journal maintains my creative process and even though the entries are seemingly unrelated to my writing project… … they cleanse
RIP Freddie Jones
Frederick Charles Jones September 12, 1927 – July 9, 2019
I am happy among my books – I am not happy without them. – Anne Lister
“Anne’s reliance on her books for mental well-being and personal happiness was clear – ‘What is there like gaining knowledge?’ she once said. ‘All else
Man klarar sig i många år på ett ögonblick…
Just a few moments from this past week. I was gifted 3 very special, very moving, very private days in Stockholm. It was about family,
There is one moment in Pippi Longstocking that nailed it for me…
As a child, I desperately searched for characters in books that aligned with my anxious outward ways and my happy reclusive interior. Charlie Brown came
I keep the broken bits. They illustrate the subtext.
I keep the broken bits. I honour the cracks. They illustrate the subtext. There in I seek the true story. Subtext or undertone is any
Silent interiors…
Fort Langley National Historic Site, Easter, April 21, 2019 I spent a wonderful afternoon with my family in Fort Langley today. While the egg scramble
Bird spotting with a yellow legal pad and a walk in the park.
I walked around Lost Lagoon this afternoon. In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence. ― Robert Lynd
Vision 2019: COURAGE
Recall My Big Vision and Mission for 2018: Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside,
It’s not that I don’t know what to do.
Regarding my passion project Molly- a true crime analysis: 2003-2016 was all about researching, drawing, accumulating, writing, collecting. 2017 was all about creating an online weekly
Potato Nose Diaries (1977): Instalment 9- Torpet
Previously on PND: Instalment 1: Introduction Instalment 2: The First Entries Instalment 3: Do Tendu Jetés en Balance Instalment 4: Sex Education Instalment 5: They Don’t
60 years ago my mother became a mother. (Karin Kristina Orwald 1936 – 2008)
Decades are significant. 60 years ago my mother became a mother. 50 years ago we moved to Canada from Sweden. 50 years ago, my mother started
Inktober 2018: 31 studies of Truman Capote’s IN COLD BLOOD
Imagination, of course, can open any door– turn the key and let the terror walk right in. – Truman Capote No. 1 Richard Hickock: “It
Father, daughter, Fenrir, Gleipnir and “Drawn Together”- the book: 6 years later.
Wow. October 25, 2018 will mark the sixth year since my father passed away. I am so aware of all the dates in October… so
On this one year anniversary since Asterix passed, something poignant happened.
In the early morning of September 24, 2018, it will be one year since I lost my beloved parrot, Asterix. Recall: Losing him was deeply
Come back to me.
Come back to me, Molly. It’s been a strange time- hiding you from the world in order to explore new ways of telling your story.
Mamma- a portrait.
“If You Forget Me” I want you to know one thing. You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the
Mind mapping this month’s Power Path as personal therapy.
When I read something that really needs to sink in- I mind map it out. My whole brain is engaged and I can then look