A Slacker and her Cat

With 2014 hours away, I would normally wrap up the past year.  That was mostly covered, however, in What a Difference a Year Makes.

Since October, this artist has been slacking off quite a bit.  A bit of sketching here and there, a touch of watercolor and the end of clay time.  All types of artists have periods with no desire to create.  Some keep plugging away and some go on hiatus.  I've mostly been on hiatus.  Perhaps those few months of extra stress and the time-consuming pottery class are to blame.  Or maybe I needed the time off.  Or maybe I'm just making excuses because it's difficult to make time for art every day when you're not in the mood.  It's easy to not pick up the pencil… work, family, cooking, cleaning, reading, TV, perusing art blogs… all those things can be easier than starting and failing and learning and failing and trying again.  My sister showed me this talk by John Cleese about what it takes to make your life more creative… space, time, time, confidence, and humor.  Yes, he mentions time twice.  You have to put in the time and be willing to play with the problems and ideas and not grab the first solution just to avoid the discomfort of indecision.  He's humorous and wise.  Go watch it.

On a lighter note - I received multiple art journey gifts for Christmas, one of which was a chair to sit at my art desk.  No more stealing the kitchen stool!  It took Milo less than a day to claim my new seat.

Apparently, I'm supposed to share… or just give it to him.  I have a feeling it's the latter.

What a Difference a Year Makes

I took the weekend off from everything except laundry and football.  Me and the hubby hung out in the living room trying to banish evil cold germs.  Sipping Sleepytime Sinus Soother tea with honey tonight and feeling maybe almost human again.  I scanned through a few days of blog posts and discovered one artist, Shari Blaukopf, is celebrating two years of blogging.  Her art & blog are a steady inspiration.  Today she inspired me to reflect on the past year.

September 24, 2012: One rusty artist starts a quest with no real idea where it will lead.

Follow-through is not one of my great traits.  This blog, intended to keep me accountable, has done just that.  I have not always fleshed out grand plans hatched in this blog, but I'm still at it.  I don't sketch every day, but I do every week.  A few times a week is better than a few times a decade.

What came out of the tackle box so far:

public sketching chutzpah

"Artist" print prize

vacation sketching

artsy Christmas gifts

illustrated Christmas letter 

virtual watercolor class 

family ancestor drawing

studio space   

college pottery class  

Sketchbook Project

two newly filled sketchbooks

a few readers inspired to draw or create

bravery with sidewalk art

a whole bunch of found moments to sketch

I've been beating myself up for not sketching enough.  Daily sketching is still a goal, but it's reassuring to see that list.  Thank you to my family and friends for your support and indulgence.  I am blessed.

Here's one of the found moments this past summer - a quick sketch of the newly cleaned combine as I waited for the guys to finish up a repair.

October 14, 2013:  Time to warm up my tea and continue the journey.

Year Ends ~ Journey Begins

It's been over three months since D(raw) Day.  I wasn't really sure where the trek would be at this point.  Looking back, I imagined I'd be sketching more.  Somewhat bruised from beating myself up - not enough "real" art, but we'll work on that in 2013.  However, the little bit of practice and the excess of play have brought about a few milestones:  drawing nearly every day, sketching in public, arting on a wall, vacation sketching, gifts of art for family and illustrating the annual Christmas letter.

I continue to doubt, but my biggest fans (you know who you are) have encouraged me and insisted I'm not selfish (still doubting).  I'm told I have a responsibility to nurture a God-given gift (trying not to doubt the gift) and am inspiring others to be creative in whatever way suits them (that's my favorite).  I say these things not to fish for compliments - really - I want my art to lift up others, not me.  If it's my gift, I want to re-gift it!  It's a long winding road to recover some talent, confidence & skill.  This blog is just to keep me honest and hopefully inspire a bit.   So, we will deem the beginning months a success.  The tackle box is still open, the artist has stretched a bit and the art supplies aren't so dusty.  New plans are marinating to keep the sketchbooks open and will be shared soon.

As I've been thinking and typing, it's been snowing - all morning.  A magnificent winter day to end the year.  The world outside is a blur of white fluffy flakes.  The earth is a rolling white canvas.  Inspiring.