Visit Violette's Web site and
blog at www.violette.ca.

The Fabulously Fun Female Folk Artist

“Using art in my journals gave me the opportunity to physically manifest my feelings, to extricate them from my body and mind and get them down on paper.” — Violette on Visual Journaling

In these Midwest parts, they say that "April showers bring May flowers." So as I patiently wait for my very first ever batch of perennial bulbs to peek through the soil, pop in full bloom, and fill my gardens with a delightful palette of colors, I sighfully look out my window at the overcast sky dampening our neighborhood with a Thursday morning rain shower.

It rained on Tuesday too, and so I spent a good portion of my free time that day absorbed in a good book — napping in between pages after spending the morning making a big pot of home made turkey, bean, and vegetable soup. Ah, there's nothing like a good healthy helping of hot soup to sooth away the chills of a cold April rain.

So what else do I do to lift my spirits on these soggy days? Well, if I can get myself into creative gear, plenty. When I'm writing or doing art or inventing new silly things, the minutes and hours in a day pass easily. Yes, when I'm in full productive inspiration mode (such as now while I'm writing this essay) it can rain or sleet or snow and I don't care. However, sometimes an overcast mood matches the weather, and that's when I need help getting into creative gear. I do things and seek out inspiration from people, places, and things that lift my spirits.

For this rainy week, I've spent hours revisiting the multiple articles, interviews, and project contributions folk artist Violette has made to the Creativity Portal Web site. She's a luminous riot, this flowery creative woman is... and all I can do is smile at her brave honesty (see the "Chickenlady" story in her interview) and the authenticity that oozes in everything she does and is. Violette's purple magic cottage (pictured above) has been featured on "Weird Homes" and she drives around her Canadian town in a colorful painted van that surely leaves a trail of sparkly glitter wherever she goes.

Everyone should have at least one friend like Violette. One who isn't afraid to be herself... to live out loud... to live in a little purple magic cottage and "Let Silly In!" Some people call them eccentric. I think they are really just the epitome of genius. Can you imagine how much fun an afternoon with such a wonderful friend would be?

Violette inspires me on so many levels, and she will inspire you too, whether you read her success story, take in her thoughts on mind-mapping, visual journaling, mask making, or lemonade stand business sense. It doesn't end there. Go to her Web site at www.violette.ca and experience more of her garden flow-ering with delight.

You know, I just now realized that I don't need to wait for my backyard perennials to poke through the dirt to be able to enjoy a bouquet of colorful miracles. There are beautiful flowers blooming everywhere all the time on this earth. They come in the form of the Violette's of the world who are bold and courageous in allowing themselves to bloom to their full potential and infuse the atmosphere with their free-flowing fragrances of creativity, love, inspiration, and wonder. We are so lucky! •

© 2008 Chris Dunmire www.chrisdunmire.com. All rights reserved.