Distracted Humans Article, Edmonton Woman Magazine

I’m proud to share my latest article for Edmonton Woman Magazine:

Alexis Marie Uncensored: Distracted Humans

In the article, I reflect on the distracted driving law in Edmonton. For me, writing this article was a great reminder to stay focused on the road – BUT there is also a more profound message to be gleaned. I don’t believe the law will make much of a difference, and here is why: We live in a distracted culture.

  • People find it hard to focus.
  • We multitask too frequently.
  • Sleep is fractured.
  • Technology allows us to stay connected 24/7.
  • We can check our status updates and news feeds in just a few swipes and clicks.

How many times have you had someone you were speaking with check their phone at the same time? Or look like they are not really listening but already planning their response? These are some of my pet peeves.

We are distracted humans.

When I reflect on this situation, I love to find the good. What is the cure for distraction? Focus of course!

Personally, I have found mindfulness an important practice in the pursuit of focus. Mindfulness is a type of meditation that encourages one to be present, in the moment, experiencing what is happening.

Mindfulness helps me to be in touch with my body, sensing what I need. Mindfulness keeps me focused on what is important in my life.

Have you ever tried mindfulness meditation?

Distracted Humans Edmonton Woman Magazine Alexis Marie Chute BLOG

Edmonton Woman Magazine cover, Sep/Oct 2015

Edmonton Woman Magazine cover, Sep/Oct 2015

Here is my Edmonton Woman article called “Riding High.”

Edmonton Woman article on “Motherhood.”

 

 

What makes you a Curious Artist?

Kids are curious – although my five-year-old just told me that she knows more than me. Apparently she has the answer to everything. I laugh to myself. It has begun already! She seems so young to think she knows it all…

Do you still find yourself curious? Or do you know everything? That’s a rhetorical question!

Let’s see what Leo Burnett, the famous American advertising executive, has to say about curiosity. Next in our series – quote #2:

“Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people.” – Leo Burnett

Reflection:

Curiosity is important, not just for artists, photographers, musicians, designers, writers, and the creative-lot alike; everyone can benefit from curiosity.

Curiosity:

  • Is a path to learning new things
  • Keeps you growing as a person
  • Develops meaningful interests
  • Makes your artwork more intriguing
  • Causes you to ask the right questions
  • Helps you get to know people better

Over the summer I read a great (and curious!) novel by Jonathan Safran Foer called Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. The main character is a young boy named Oskar…

Extremely_loud_and_incredibly_close_large

… I just realized: it’s fitting that I am reflecting on this book today, since it is September 11. This was not intentional, but my subconscious is tuned-in to the date I suppose. Who can even say September 11 without remembering where they were when it happened? Today, and every day, my heart goes out to all those affected by the events that took place back in 2001. Not long ago I visited the site of the Twin Towers and my heart broke – there were so many names lining the fountain memorials. Too many names…)

Back to the novel: the story is about Oskar’s search for a lock to match the key he found in his father’s belongings. Oskar’s father died in the 911 tragedy.

The author has done a remarkable job of writing from Oskar’s perspective. Oskar’s mind never stops and one idea leads to another. He is the embodiment of curiosity. He wonders about everything… sometimes it can be a little exhausting, but because of his curiosity, he is such an interesting character and comes up with truly novel ideas.

If you have time to read Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, I’d recommend it. On a side note, it was a very gentle take on the 911 tragedy. It made me reflect on the heartache from a child’s perspective.

Artists – creative people in general – are and should be curious. I believe it is curiosity that prompts art in the first place. Art is curious because:

  • It asks us questions of ourselves, the one who made it
  • It asks questions about the world
  • It asks questions about culture, society, race, religion

Change comes because of questions and questions come because of curiosity.

Have you gotten bored? If so, it’s time to get inspired! Visit an art gallery or museum, read something new, travel to a foreign destination, meet new people, take a class. Curiosity is within your control.

What are you curious about?

How do you feed your curiosity?

Best wishes to you as you pursue your creative passions!

– Alexis Marie

A Writer’s Reading List

There is not much in life where a person can succeed alone. Learning from others, being mentored and reading books are key activities for anyone wishing to strengthen their skills and creativity.

A Writer’s Reading List

What books are your favorites?

What literature has inspired you over the years?

What titles motivate you as a writer?

I have collected the beginnings of a reading list from what I personally have found helpful. It is made up of books I have read and ones I hope to dig into soon. A good number of the titles I discovered during my Masters of Fine Art in Creative Writing at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA.

Some of these books are helpful for the craft of writing. Others will inspire you creatively. A handful will motivate you to edit, while others are for the publication stage of a writer’s life.

Happy reading everyone!

Note: I have added a category to my blog called READING LIST. I will add to it over time. Please feel free to comment below with the names of books you have found helpful.

Reading List for Writers Authors Alexis Marie Chute Writes BLOG

FICTION & NON-FICTION HANDBOOKS

The Craft of Writing

By William Sloane

Beyond the Writers’ Workshop

By Carol Bly

The Art of Time in Memoir

BY Sven Birkerts

Writing & Selling your Memoir

By Paula Balzer

Burning Down the House

By Charles Baxter

Art and Fear

By Orland & Bayles

Narrative Design

By Madison Bell

Illuminations

By Walter Benjamin

What If?

By Painter & Bernays

Letters to a Fiction Writer

By Frederick Busch

Writing Fiction

By Janet Burroway

From Where You Dream

By Robert & Olen Butler

Six Memos for the Next Millenium

By Italo Calvino

Creating Fiction

By Julie Checkoway

Pen on Fire

By Barbara DeMarco-Barrett

Story Matters

By Denman & Shoupp

Aspects of the Novel

By E.M. Forester

The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers

By John Gardner

On Writing

By Stephen King

Writer’s Guide to Crafting Stories for Children

By Nancy Lamb

A Giacometti Portrait

By James Lord

Writing the Breakout Novel

By Donald Maas

The Lonely Voice

By Frank O’Connor

Reading Like a Writer

By Francine Prose

Writing in Pictures: How to Write and Illustrate Picture Books

By Uri Schulevitz

Deepening Fiction

By Stone & Nyren

If You Want to Write

By Brenda Ueland

Why I Write

By Eudora Welty

The King & The Corpse

By Heinrich Robert Zimmer

Backwards and Forwards

By David Ball

The Life of the Drama

By Eric Bentley

 The Playwright as Thinker

By Eric Bentley

The Empty Space

By Peter Brook

The Power of Myth

By J. Campbell & B. Moyers

Playwriting

By Louis Catron

Aristotle’s Poetics

By Gerald Else

The Art of Fiction

By John Gardner

How to Write a Selling Screenplay

By Christopher Keane

Screenwriting from the Soul

By Richard Krevolin

Bird by Bird

By Anne Lamott

An Experiment in Criticism

By C.S. Lewis

Screenplay: Writing the Picture

By R. Russin & & Missouri Downs W

The Screenwriter’s Bible

By David Trottier

The Writer’s Journey

BY Christopher Vogler

Picture This: How Pictures Work

By Molly Bang

How to Write a Children’s Picture Book

By Bine-Stock

Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write

By Elizabeth Lyon

Writing With Pictures:  How to Write and Illustrate Children’s Books

By Uri Shulevitz

 


 

FICTION & NON-FICTION ESSAYS

  • Baxter, Burning Down the House
  • Baxter, The Art of Subtext
  • Baxter, Bringing the Devil to His Knees
  • Berg, Stephen (ed.), In Praise of What Persists
  • Birkerts, Sven, The Art of Time in Memoir
  • Calvino, Italo, Six Memos for the Next Millennium
  • Gornick, Vivian, The Situation and the Story
  • Gornick, Vivian, The End of the Novel of Love
  • Hersey, (ed)., The Writer’s Craft
  • Justice, Donald, “The Prose Sublime”: A Donald Justice Reader
  • Kundera, Milan, The Art of the Novel
  • O’Connor, Flannery, Mystery & Manners
  • Plimpton, George, The Writer’s Chapbook
  • Prose, Francine, Reading Like a Writer
  • Rich, Adrienne, On Lies, Secrets and Silence
  • Spitz, Ellen Handler, Inside Picture Books
  • Welty, Eudora, One Writer’s Beginnings
  • Welty, Eudora, The Eye of the Storm
  • Cooper, Susan, Dreams and Wishes: Essays on Writing for Children
  • Harrison, Barbara & Maguire, Gregory, Origins of Story: On Writing for Children
  • Marcus, Leonard, Ways of Telling: Conversations on the Art of the Picture Book
  • Zinsser, William, Worlds of Childhood: The Art and Craft of Writing for Children. 
  • Zinsser, William , On Writing Well

 


 

POETRY HANDBOOKS

The Practice of Poetry

By Behn & Twichell

Measures: Contemporary American Poetry in Traditional Forms

By Dacey & Jauss & Strong

Poetry Handbook

By Babette Deutsch

Poetic Meter and Poetic Form

By Paul Fussell

Rhyme’s Reason

By Hollander

The Poet’s Companion

By Dorianne Laux and Kim Addonizio

The Discovery of Poetry

By Mayes

Western Wind

By Nims

The Sound of Poetry

By Robert Pinsky

The Making of a Poem

By Mark Strand and Evan Boland (eds.)

The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics

 


 

POETRY ESSAYS

  • Bell, Old Snow Just Melting
  • Birkerts, The Electric Life: Essays on Modern Poetry
  • Bryan and Olsen, Eds., Planet on the Table:  Poets on the Reading Life
  • Dobyns, Best Words, Best Order
  • Eliot, The Sacred Wood
  • Glück, Proofs and Theories
  • Hass, Twentieth Century Pleasures
  • Heaney, Finders Keepers
  • Heaney, The Government of the Tongue
  • Hoagland, Real Sofistication: Essays on Poetry and Craft
  • Jarrell, Poetry and The Age
  • Justice, Platonic Scripts
  • Pinsky, Poetry and the World
  • Plumly, Argument and Song
  • Pound, The Literary Essays of Erza Pound
  • Sontag and Graham, After Confession:  Poetry as Autobiography
  • Stevens, The Necessary Angel
  • Vendler, Part of Nature, Part of Us
  • Vendler, The Breaking of Style
  • Vendler, The Music of What Happens
  • Voigt, The Flexible Lyric
  • Williamson, Introspection and Contemporary Poetry

 Here are some links to other reading lists for writers:

FlavorWire – 25 Books Every Writer Should Read

Bustle – 11 Books All Aspiring Writers Should Read, Because Spending Time with these Titles is like a Mini-Workshop

Open Culture – Earnest Hemingway Creates a Reading List for a Young Writer, 1934

Aerogramme Writer’s Studio – Stephen King’s Reading List for Writers

 

 

Edmonton Woman Magazine Column

I want to share with you my July/August column:

Alexis Marie Uncensored: Riding High

Edmonton Woman Magazine

The article is about my summer training for the Grizzly Ultra Marathon. I sprained my ankle and worried I wouldn’t be able to race. Advised by my amazing physiotherapist, I took up cycling . What I discovered was a wonderful way to stay fit while also having fun.

The article shares one – slightly embarrassing – incident where I ventured out on a long bike ride to a dinner party and forgot a water bottle!

If you love a funny story, cycling – and wine – I bet you will enjoy this read. 

Disclaimer: I do not advice performing any sport or physical activity while under the influence of alcohol – although a wine buzz is preferable to dying of dehydration… but I will leave that decision up to you.

Happy summer & happy reading!

– Alexis Marie Chute

Edmonton Woman Magazine Cover Alexis Marie Chute July Aug 2015

Edmonton Woman Magazine Alexis Marie Chute Column July Aug 2015

A little bit about Edmonton Woman Magazine:

Edmonton Woman Magazine exists to redefine what it means to be an “exceptional” woman. We consider our publication to be more than just a women’s magazine; it is a source of inspiration, knowledge, and connectivity for the every day woman. Our goal is to share the stories of women in the capital region of Alberta who are changing their lives, families, communities, and cities by pushing the boundaries of what is ordinary. At Edmonton Woman Magazine, we believe that exceptional is far more than wearing the perfect shade of lipstick or sticking to the latest trending diet. To us, it isn’t a word reserved for Fortune 500 CEOs or Hollywood superstars. It is the title of every woman who contributes in her own way to making the world around her a better place. Whether it’s the craft connoisseur mom who keeps her kids engaged in fun, creative pastimes, or the small business owner who keeps customers coming back with smiling service – we believe her story is worth telling. Because as women, nothing motivates us more than the single thought: “If she can do it, maybe I can too!”.

(From EWM website)


 

Check out other articles written by Alexis Marie Chute by clicking here.

If you want to read other Edmonton Woman Alexis Marie Chute column articles, click here.


 

For more pages by Alexis Marie, visit:

Alexis Marie Art

Wanted Chosen Planned

Alexis Marie Chute


Continue Painting to Silence your Inner Doubt

At the beginning of July, I shared “Inspiring Quotes for Artists” with helpful words by famous artists, writers and designers. For the next few months I will be writing a creative reflection based on each of the eleven quotes.

I hope you find the reflections helpful – and please comment below with your own ideas, inspirations and revelations from the quotes.

Today, we begin with quote #1:

Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh

Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh


 

“If you hear a voice within you say, ‘You cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced”

– Vincent Van Gogh


 

Reflection:

The hardest part of any endeavor is just getting started.

When I was facing artistic block (the visual artist’s version of writer’s block) when I was in art school, I received one of the best pieces of advice:
PAINT SOMETHING UGLY.

That was it. Paint an ugly painting!

Painting an ugly painting has many benefits:

  • It gets you started
  • It removes expectations that the artwork should be aesthetically pleasing
  • It allows you to have fun
  • It opens your mind to be free and wander as you create
  • You can explore techniques outside your comfort zone
  • And, it sets the bar so low so that when you do set out to make your next painting, you feel proud of the progress from that first messy experiment

It is easy to let self-doubt, insecurities, and fear get in the way of making the artwork you were born to create. An important part of the artist’s job is calming the inner-self, nurturing the creative spirit inside of you, and being uninhibited as you work.

What do you do to break free from artist’s block?

Have you ever tried making an ugly painting?

How do you nurture and protect your creative-self?

Best wishes to you as you make your art!

– Alexis Marie

 


 

Wishing you a fabulous New Year

Happy New Year!

Wishing you love and joy for the next 365 days!

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.”

– Edgar Degas

Happy New Year Fellow Writers!

 

Wishing you a 2015 full of creative inspiration and much writing success! 

May it be a year to look back on and say, “That’s when it all began!”

Much love, joy and a very happy New Years to you and yours!

Merry Christmas Creative Ones!

Christmas reminds me of the magic of my childhood back when I believed in impossible dreams. As a kid my imagination was wild and uninhibited. Now, as 30+ year-old, I do my best to capture those qualities in my life and artistic practice because I know the amazing power they hold for the creative spirit.

This Christmas, I wish you the unlimited belief that your BIG dreams will come true and all the potential of your imagination to make them happen.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

 

To learn more about Alexis Marie Chute, read her BIO and check out her artwork:

The Quiet Rebuild – Portraits

The Quiet Rebuild – Sculptures

Unfulfilled Precognition

The Beginning of All Things

Paintings 2013-2014

Mixed Media 2006-2007

A New Kind of Beauty

Read Alexis Marie Chute’s Artist Statement and her CV

 

Finishing Strong NaNoWriMo 2014

 

When I signed up for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this year, I underestimated how busy my life can get. I am a full time writer, artist and mother – and I always strive to give 100% to everything I do. I know, I know, my math does not add up. Who has 300% to give? Logically, it does not make sense, but on a more abstract level it does.

What I have discovered is that when I work at my passions, the joy I derive from them (and especially from my children) simultaneously deposits energy and happiness in my life while I withdraw from my reserve of time and effort. It’s a helpful equation.

This is how I am going to finish strong this NaNoWriMo. Unfortunately I am terribly behind, but I don’t mind working hard and late into the evening to jack up my word count to make the 50k goal. As I write my story, I turn off the editing and critical side of my brain and click away at my computer. Its rhythm is peaceful for me and I find the very act of writing deposits much back into me as a writer.

By letting go of perfectionism and focusing on the joy of writing and the love of the story, any writer may finish strong on November 30th or on any other day with whatever project that needs completion.

As the NaNoWriMo deadline approaches, write what fuels you and deposits back into your creative reserve. Let this balance roll forward and energize your each and every word.

Good luck!

 

The RBC Painting Competition 2014 – The Results According to my Four Year Old

A big congrats to Tiziana La Melia of Vancouver, British Columbia for winning the 2014 RBC Painting Competition with her art, “Hanging on to the Part,” (oil on panel, 42×25 inches)!

I loved receiving a copy of all the finalists in the competition catalogue. We are a seriously creative and talented country here in Canada! I had my favorites and my daughter, Hannah, had her own. That’s the beauty of art, right? The eye of the beholder…

Before the winner was announced, I flipped through the catalogue of finalists with Hannah, who is a buoyant and outspoken four-year-old. I asked her to give me her first response to each piece. I asked her, “Do you like it?” – And she was candid and insightful with her own preferences. One thing was sure, my mini-me knew exactly what she liked and had a strong reaction to the paintings.

I share my daughter’s reactions here not to upset anyone or poke fun, but as the honest and often humorous reactions as a child. Sometimes the art world can be so stuffy and we all need to chill out and enjoy the craziness of it all every once and a while.

I am not including the pictures of each artist’s work out of respect, but please visit the RBC Painting Competition website so you can follow along with the images as Hannah makes her declarations.

 

Here is what Hannah said:

Of 2013 national winner, Colleen Heslin’s “Almost Young, Wild and Free”

Hannah said: “I don’t like these parts,” as she gestures to the whole thing.

Of 2013 honourable mention winner, Neil Harrison’s “Knowledge”

Hannah said: “I like it. It looks like something a cowboy wears.”

2012 honourable mention winner, Colin Dorward, painted, “Labyrinthineon”

Hannah said: “It looks cool!”

 

From this year’s cream of the crop:

Ashleigh Bartlett of Calgary AB, “Ballet Duo”

Hannah said: “It looks cool.”

Carly Butler, Halifax NS, “Hurricane”

Hannah said: “I like it. It looks like a canyon. It looks like a piece of paper.”

Jennifer Carvalho, Toronto ON, “Landscape (pink)”

Hannah said: “I like it because it looks like outside.”

Wallis Cheung, Toronto ON, “Cut Corners”

Hannah said: “I don’t like it.” (Me: “Why don’t you like it?”) “Because I don’t like it.”

Teto Elsiddique, Halifax NS, “7 of 6”

Hannah said: “I like pink. I don’t like that colour,” she pointed to the rest of the image.

Karine Frechette, Montreal QC, “Cyclone”

Hannah said, “Yes, I like it! She made it, Mom,” she said excitedly as she pointed to the picture of Karine. “It looks cool.”

James Gardner, Toronto ON, “Fixed Rock”

Hannah said: “I like it because it has cool colouring.”

Ufuk Gueray, Winnipeg MB, “Market” – 2014 HONOURABLE MENTION

Hannah said: “Yes, I like it because that side looks cool,” as she pointed to the circle of colour.

Tiziana La Melia, Vancouver BC, “Hanging on to the part” – 2014 WINNER!

Hannah said: “I don’t like it because it looks upside down.”

Nicholas Lachance, Montreal QC, “index no. 3 The book of Empathy” – 2014 HONOURABLE MENTION

Hannah said: “No, I don’t like it because it looks dark, it’s just two colours.”

Gavin Lynch, Ottawa ON, “Before the Fire (2014 version)”

Hannah said: “I don’t like it because the trees have owies because they cut them down. The trees are poor because they got cut down.”

Megan McCabe, Toronto ON, “Wading”

Hannah said: “I like it because it looks like it has water skies.”

Laura Piasta, Vancouver BC, “Bog Breath”

Hannah said: “I don’t like it because I don’t like it.”

Robert Taite, Winnipeg MB, “Untitled Work from Always Somewhere Else”

Hannah said: “I like it. Yes, because it looks kinda funny, it makes me laugh, funny pictures.”

Elysanne Tremblay, Montreal QC, “Salut bonhomme, salut bonhomme”

Hannah said: “I don’t like it because it doesn’t look cool.”

 

There you go! The RBC Painting Competition finalists according to a four-year-old!