Books I am using this summer for Inspiring the Creativity !

Reading Lewis Hyde - The Trickster, The Gift, and a new one... undiscovered and not out yet.

Great reading, since I am working on a body of work that has yet to come together for me. The narrative wants to take into effect regional historical references. Documenting places in time is trying to come together visually, but, I cannot seem to see it start yet. I did start one oil painting from a photograph that was very old on my Grandfather's house in St Louis Park. It is an old railroad workers home, built in 1870's. Spring kitchen, 2 bedrooms up, some did not have bathrooms until later on. My Grandfather was a gardener, and had a wonderful lot which was large, felt like being on a hobby farm. It had a chicken coup, and no garage. It was a wonderful garden with flowers, vegetables and lots of fruits. My haven in the summer from the family, because my Aunt Cindy was only 3 years older than I, and we kinda grew up together there. Eating peanut butter toast on the backyard lawn while we lay out in the sun to get a tan.

Homemade wine, a root cellar, and rasberries galore. My Grandmother would go to the bakery every morning before we got up on her bicycle to get some pastry and cookies. Good memories of St Louis Park in the 1950's when the Cohen brothers and Al Franken were growing up here too !