Lots of activity this past month!! We have transitioned into summer, spending time at the pool and camp and lots of fun art projects, movies, etc. My daughter and I are making friendship bracelets for each other. I’m surprised that she’s gotten to the friendship bracelet-making age already!
There’s something developing within and I don’t even know if it’s something I can describe, but I’ll try. It began with a feeling or intuition that we are all connected, meaning there is no separation between one person and another. Probably this grew out of my study of Mussar, my increased faith, and my idealistic tendencies. I started a bit of a reading binge… I can’t get enough information on consciousness, mysticism, spirituality, and the intersection (or impasse really) between materialist science and the spiritual world. As the neurophysiologist Sir John Eccles wrote, “we have to recognize that we are spiritual beings with souls existing in a spiritual world as well as material beings with bodies and brains existing in a material world.”
So that reading has led me to pay much more attention to my emotions, my dreams, and to pause more often to check in with myself, something I really don’t do much. Full steam ahead, I usually say. Type A for sure.
A conversation changed what I think of as my direction. Maybe I will share more later, but I’ll just say that I’m not going to bow to fear any longer. By that, I mean fear of success just as much, if not more, than fear of failure. Just because something hasn’t been done before doesn’t mean it isn’t meant to unfold, right? I want to combine all the inspiration I’m absorbing into mixed-media art.
So yes, I’m back in full swing ART mode! Perhaps you’ve noticed that I haven’t been creating much art lately. It’s been about 10 months actually. And that has bothered me and affected me more than I realized. I feel pulled toward it more than ever and I have pages of ideas jotted down in a notebook. I’ve been having a blast and it’s only been a few days so far. The one above is my first canvas I’ve completed.
A major gift in all of this is that the inspiration only comes when I’m not in the driver’s seat. I have to make an effort to sit still, to read or reflect or write or let art unfold. It’s hard to sit still but I’m doing ok so far. Taking other things off my plate has helped a great deal, the biggest of which was my own expectations of myself.
One thing I will do is take the month of July and part of August away from blogging, just as I’ve done in past years. I may pop in every once in a while to say hello. I plan to try to take myself off the rigid habit of scheduling every single task, and blogging takes up a lot of that. Though I would say it’s my favorite of all the things I do, I still think a break is a good thing.
Many of you have decided to take social media breaks, something I admire. I probably won’t do that. In fact, I’ve gone the opposite direction and gotten on Periscope (the latest social media tool) and back on Instagram. I found two classes through these: one is Kelly Rae Roberts’ mixed media class (which I kept saying I wasn’t going to take!) and the other is a 10-day photography course with Henry Lohmeyer called “wide open: photography and vulnerability” and it begins July 6. “Each photo that I take is about what I’m processing, what I’m feeling, what I’m being. If you can concede to this notion and completely believe that each photo you take is about your own personal journey, what’s in you, then anything you see becomes a photo worth taking, a feeling worth expressing.” I’m looking forward to learning from Henry.
I’m reorganizing all my craft space. There may be another tour coming soon. Maybe I’ll do a Periscope video?
What are you up to? Enjoy your summer!
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