I’m remembering what it’s like to be in my wonderful studio. To have six paintings and six paintings on paper and two sketch pads going at the same time. To see drips of paint on the wall and the floor and my clothing. To come back into the house with paint-smeared hands. To connect with the work in that way that can only happen when I’m in there every day. It is so powerfully motivating to have a show coming up once again. But I want to be thinking ahead in that same way, beyond the show and to keep remembering, and not to get so mental, and not to think too much about what it is that I’m going to paint, but to get out of my own way and out of my own head and just paint. And work in the garden and paint some more.
In InterPlay we say that if we are to have health and well-being we cannot possibly hold everything alone. We propose that we all need help and also that we may actually feel lifted up or gain some relief by sharing our troubles and concerns with others. We call this practice On Behalf Of.
Today, I ask you to hold me and what is resting on my heart right now. I also invite you to share your cares and concerns with me via the comment section of this blog. We are in this together and I guarantee you will feel better knowing someone is holding it all with you.
card from the Interplay Inspiration Deck w/ purple coneflowers
when you call On Behalf Of there is always time for a cup of tea and a bit of conversation. shewill make time to stop and listen. if you are at her house she will offer you special paper and a beautiful amethyst fountain pen to write down everything that is troubling or upsetting you. She places all the papers in a dragonfly jar on her kitchen windowsill. every week she opens the window on a bright sunny day and sends the concerns off to the light. she sees everyone who has shared their pain with her bathed in warmth and love. On Behalf Of knows that health and well-being come more easily when one opens up and shares with a friend.
Don’t be afraid to share with me or someone else who cares about you.
Today, if I could be any creature of my choosing,
I would choose the dragonfly:
For when I watch them circling about –
buffeting against one other –
I am drawn into their play and
I long to be part of it.
I know that in my current body
That is not possible.
So, for today
I will watch longingly as they
cling and bounce, to and fro.
Last week on a mini-trip through the Northern Cascade Mountains, we stopped at Washington Pass. After a short, steep hike to the lookout, we were greeted by an awesome view of snow capped mountains. What could be more glorious than to see that great expanse and to feel the power and the grandeur of those huge craggy peaks! Seeing that panorama, I felt a bit overwhelmed and inspired at the same time, a teeny part of something so much bigger than I could possibly imagine.
Then we left the path (and the other people) behind and started climbing even higher on smooth, gently slanted rocks. Relaxing on those warm rocks, I became fascinated with the patterns and shapes created by their natural pink-tinted color and by the green moss that had formed a thin layer over their surface, creating endless swatches of color and light. So much beauty! The vast mountains contrasted with the microscopic formations on the rocks. Seeing the mountains from afar, while touching and feeling into the rocks.
Sitting there and looking back and forth between the two, it came to me that I wanted to recreate that feeling of contrast in my studio. The big and the small of it. To look deeply within at my own feelings and my own creative process and at the same time to reflect the state of the world surrounding me. I confess that I am much more comfortable with my inner world. But the desire to tackle the larger issues that confront us all is there. The rocks and also the mountain.
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I’m remembering what it’s like to be in my wonderful studio. To have six paintings and six paintings on paper and two sketch pads going at the same time. To see drips of paint on the wall and the floor and my clothing. To come back into the house with paint-smeared hands. To connect with the work in that way that can only happen when I’m in there every day. It is so powerfully motivating to have a show coming up once again. But I want to be thinking ahead in that same way, beyond the show and to keep remembering, and not to get so mental, and not to think too much about what it is that I’m going to paint, but to get out of my own way and out of my own head and just paint. And work in the garden and paint some more.
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