<![CDATA[Donna Z Falcone - A Place to Land (What now?)]]>

<![CDATA[Donna Z Falcone - A Place to Land (What now?)]]>Fri, 21 Aug 2026 18:58:00 -0400Weebly<![CDATA[I Need Art Like a Bird Needs the Sky]]>Tue, 12 Feb 2019 05:00:00 GMThttps://www.donnazfalcone.com/a-place-to-land-what-now/i-need-art-like-a-bird-needs-the-sky

Author's note: I often say that Art is my "Landing Place." This is why I say that. This post is from October 2016.

"Art, at its core, is the act of being yourself," said Cinnamon Cooney, The Art Sherpa, on her Art Sherpa Blog.

Throughout this last year and a half of my art exploding, self-study-tutorial-seeking-materials-using awakening, it has become more and more clear to me that I need art. I need to create - I need to play - I need to manifest whatever this is going on inside my heart/head/soul.

The other thing that has become crystal clear is that the more I show and share what I am doing, the less afraid I feel about this wild ride, and, when I do start to feel afraid, or frustrated, or penned in, I go to my artspace and create something - which often leads to some sharing online. Something struck me as I looked at my Graduate Diploma peering out from behind the door of my studio, holding it's obligatory space on the wall but not really where I have to look at it much. I don't feel like that person anymore.... and, at a time when I'm not really sure who I am or why I am here, something quite amazing has been happening - I am creating myself with Art every single day. Through art I am telling myself who I am and why I am here, and I'm not really sure that the answer is "artist" mind you, although that is part of it. There is something bigger going on. Alcohol Inks are mending what Lyme Disease broke. The more I create, the more of me I see... simultaneously a work in progress, and an old masterpiece, being restored.

Art is fixing me.

Art is putting me back together.

I'm beginning to see - I need art like a bird needs the sky.

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This piece was first published on my blog on The Art Sherpa website, October 25, 2016

]]><![CDATA[Meet Michelle Martin, Mandala Artist]]>Thu, 22 Dec 2016 11:55:20 GMThttps://www.donnazfalcone.com/a-place-to-land-what-now/meet-michelle-martin-mandala-artist

Michelle Martin - Mandala Artist

Michelle Martin is a Mandala Artist who creates freehand mandala designs on basically any surface that holds paint. As a newcomer to the world of art, I came to know Michelle through an online group for Alcohol Ink Artists. It wasn’t long before I joined her Facebook page, AutismMom’s Paintings. I wondered if, like me, Michelle had found her way to art in response to a personal challenge. I wanted to know more about Michelle Martin, the woman behind the artwork.

Captivated by her bold, Mixed Media moves. Michelle not only combines and layers paints, gels, inks, and embellishments, but utilizes layered foundations of wood, glass, and tile to create multi-dimensional, unique pieces of art. Every time I look at her work there is a new design, a new material, and a new, wildly creative and original outcome. Another thing that Michelle frequently shares are images of her process, and we can follow along on Facebook as she creates a new pieces. Her excitement and willingness to share what is happening in her studio along the way, roadblocks and successes, tells the tale of Michelle's passion for the process of creating.

We have been having a lovely conversation over the last few months. I thank Michelle for allowing me to interview her, and now it is my extreme pleasure to introduce you to Michelle Martin, Mandala Artist, and share her Landing Place with you.

When did you begin creating Mandalas, and what drew you to creating?

I started painting mandalas by hand about a year and a half ago, in mid 2015. I used to create them digitally, but didn't think I could paint one by hand. After awhile I sought to prove to myself and others that I could do it. I started actually with painted dreamcatchers but they eventually morphed into mandalas.

You love a challenge, I see. So, once you proved to yourself that you could DO a mandala, you kept on doing them. Is there something about mandalas themselves that keeps you creating them? Is it the product? The process? The Power?

I guess what keeps me creating them is striving for perfection that is pretty much unattainable. Also I do enjoy the process very much, I like how the paint feels on the canvas, I like the meditative quality in them while I paint them, and the fact that I seem to be better at them than any other kind of art, I've done other kinds of art my whole life and feel like I finally found my calling, my niche if you will

I am not good at realism and the only portraits I seem to do ok at are skeletons. Even then, if I make a landscape or a skull or an animal silhouette, I still put it inside of a mandala.

Your love of mandalas shows in your work. Can you say more about the meditative quality you mentioned?

Just that I am able to zone out on it, I am not a particularly spiritual person, but I do find the mathematics and geometry involved to be meditative.

People who practice meditation say they achieve a level of deep relaxation and clarity. Would you say that creating mandalas gives you the same? Do you ever 'go' to art when you are needing relaxation and clarity?

Oh definitely!

Any examples/stories you feel comfortable sharing?
I have to be in the right mood to do them. If too many people that I'm not comfortable with are around, I can't paint at all.

What are your favorite colors to work with?

Favorite colors: ALL THE COLORS, ha ha, but I am partial to blue and purple

Favorite substrate?

Probably canvas or wood or glass. I can't choose just one.

I like to mix them too. For instance, gluing 12 x 12" canvas panel to gallery canvas as a frame; or gluing 12 x 12" wood to canvas panel; or gluing 12 x 12" glass to wood. I got started mixing it up like that because I'm really really fond of the 12x12" size but it can be next to impossible to find a suitable frame in that size. I had to find other ways to mount and display my square pieces. 12x12" is just right. This "record album size" is symmetrical on all sides and not too big, not too small

Chocolate or vanilla?

Chocolate

Minions or Muppets?

Oh Muppets for sure, cause I'm old, ha ha!

Animal or Elmo?

Animal, no doubt "Woman" "Bad man" best lines ever

Who has inspired you, and why or how?

So many artists have inspired me I could not possibly ever name them all

Anyone in particular?

I'm sure the others won't be hurt

Elsbeth McLean is one, as far as mandalas go, Also, Ginger LeBoutillier, creator of Kindness Rocks.

John Smith is a new awesome mandala painter I found, he hand paints
mandalas that blow my mind. And of course there's Alex Gray, and the sacred hall of mirrors

Jim of "Mandala Jim" was a big inspiration. Sadly he died recently in a tragic accident.

I am inspired by a lot of psychedelic art. I've always loved surrealism but cannot achieve it myself.

Anyone else?
Gordana Grahovar does jeweled mandalas. I was inspired to incorporate jewels by her beautiful work.

Do you have any rituals you follow when you work on a piece (i.e.: favorite music, light a candle, etc?)

No I just like it quiet

I was going to ask you this: "Why do you make art," but you beat me to it when you said this: on facebook:

Autismom's Paintings August 15 · Hi. I'd just like to say that I'm not doing art for the sales or the accolades. Never have. I make art to hopefully leave some sort of mark on this world, in my own small way., with the hope that my art might possibly be enjoyed years after I am gone. That's all I'm after. I take care of my severely Autistic son and I make art. It's not political. It's not a sales tactic. It's just me.

Is there anything you'd like to add? Do people misunderstand your motives?
Sometimes I think people misunderstand yes. They think I'm in it to get money or get famous or something. But that's my purpose - to just make art for me. Basically it's selfish.

I'm glad you are 'selfish' that way. I, and others, have benefited greatly!

Well thanks! It's all about sharing art and maybe leaving something behind when I'm gone. I'm getting older and am realistic about it. Also, I live in the least populated state in the U.S.

Michelle, do you think you have done more art since your son's autism was diagnosed, or have you always been an artist? I mean, is 'art' where you went for respite or peace or (.... whatever... it's different for everyone)?

Well I have always liked art since I was a kid but didn't do art for at least 10 years or until Benton was around 11 years old. He was diagnosed at 2. I think I had a hard time before art. It helps me cope I guess.

One more question, if you don't mind. You told me that LIFE inspires your art.... or inpires you to paint. Can you say more about that?

I guess I am inspired by life around me; inspired by wanting to leave behind a legacy, and maybe by leaving behind beautiful things. .I'm not religious at all so I guess I feel that this is the only way I might be remembered on this earth.

It comforts me to know that my artwork might be around long after I'm dead, and maybe even hanging in someone's house. That's the main reason I switched from digital art to traditional mediums. To leave something behind that is tangible; something that was made lovingly by human hands. Flawed ones.

Please visit the links below to sample Michelle's work in 2016.

Long after I’m dead. "Best Art of 2016"
Silk Mandalas for the Holidays, hand painted mandalas on silk.
Time Lapse with iOrnament. "I paint mandalas by hand... this ap is how I learned."
My art wall 2016. Extensive mandala display

LIKE Michelle's facebook page, AutismMom's Paintings. and never miss a new mandala adventure.

]]><![CDATA[First We Spin ]]>Mon, 03 Oct 2016 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.donnazfalcone.com/a-place-to-land-what-now/first-we-spinMore about landing places....

October has come, and fall is in the air, even way down here in south Georgia. Maybe it's the changing of seasons that has turned my thoughts to change, and what a friend calls Landing Places. These are the new directions and inner places we come to rest in following upheaval in life.

Change isn't always difficult, but significant changes, like losing someone or something significant, can force us to live in a whole new way. Maybe we've lost employment, moved away, experienced illness, loss of loved one, or maybe our last child has left the nest. Now what? We've been thrown out of the comfort zone and may feel sad, angry, or even disoriented, but here's the thing: there is another comfort zone awaiting our arrival. We'll get there, Have faith. Getting there seems to happen in stages, each with a unique time table and pace.

First we spin a little (or a lot). We feel uprooted, vulnerable, or even disoriented. It's okay. It won't last forever, but as long as you're spinning, there is something to learn. You can learn a lot about yourself by watching how you react. Pay attention because here is where your body, heart, and soul are talking to you, telling you what you need.

Does Facebook make you angry, depressed, or lonely? You're not the only one. Maybe you need support. Get it. Turn off social media, call a friend or visit with someone in person.

Do you feel overwhelmed by phone calls, emails, texts, and social media?Maybe you need solitude. Create some. Set aside some time for yourself, even if you have to get up earlier than everyone else to do it. Turn off your phone for a while, keep your inbox cleaned out, and unsubscribe to your hearts content to email notices you don't really need.

Are you more emotional than usual and feeling sad? Maybe you need good old fashioned comforting. Everyone does at times.

If you pay attention to knee jerk reactions you can use the spin to figure out what you really need. Then, take healthy action on your own behalf. If you need help, tell a trusted friend, find a counselor, or share what's happening with a religious or spiritual leader if you have one. You don't have to go it alone. This spin is temporary, and, if we can focus on what we are trying to tell ourselves in our deepest heart, we invite healing. That's how it works for me, anyway.

No spin lasts forever.

Then we breathe. We coast for a while; not really spinning, but still not feeling the ground. We are simply riding the wave, and this is okay, too. It's a good thing, actually. Some people call it limbo. I see it as cocoon time. Do you think the caterpillar knows about those wings she's sprouting? Probably not, but they sprout anyway, right?

For now, just rest.

And then, my friends, we land. Our feet find the ground and we find our stride on a new, and often unexpected, path. That new path may be a job, school, a hobby, a creative endeavor, or lifestyle change. That is our landing place. Maybe we were aiming for it, or maybe it came as a complete surprise, but either way it brings healing, energizes us, and provides an avenue for meaningful action.

A landing place can restore our sense of direction and purpose. If you think about it, you may notice that you have had several throughout your life.

Right now, mine is art.
What's yours?

This piece first appeared in my October newletter.
Join my list if you want to get one, every month or so.

]]><![CDATA[COMING SOON - A Place to Land]]>Sat, 01 Oct 2016 16:44:15 GMThttps://www.donnazfalcone.com/a-place-to-land-what-now/coming-soon-a-place-to-landI'm excited to announce a new section on the blog: A Place to Land.

Here, you will find stories about and interviews with people who have experienced major disruptions or disorienting shifts in their lives (the kind that change everything), and where they've "landed" after a spin out. I'll send out a quick email when it launches, make sure you're on my email list. :) ]]>