Life happens... what about those plans?

I've been struggling with that lately!!!As you probably know, I have been following that voice inside of me insisting that I make marks on paper and canvas... paint and draw!

I also have been able to articulate the process of creating and how to incorporate it more seamlessly into life, in this blog and in my teaching!

It has taken a lifetime to realize that vision. It hasn't happened in the way I imagined it, but that is the way life is.The challenge is to transform what life gives me into the art that I live everyday.

So, when I look at this beautiful photo of sunlight breaking through the shadows, it helps me to understand the value of shadows and movement not only as I look down the road, but also in my life path.

Interfering events and  exhaustion have inhibited my blogging recently.

So I rested.

Now I find myself sorting, organizing, redesigning. When I find myself having to slow down physically , I make lots of little piles for reading, writing, planning  and sketching. This is great for my creativity, although it wreaks havoc with my dear husband's sense of order. So I have now begun to take a look at my blog to see how I can help my subscribers to better discover or rediscover that innate creative gift that we all have. I've been reading lots of relevant books and searching through blogs that explore making things from different perspectives.I've been going to art shows and working in my journal. I will be sharing some of this in future posts!

Being creative in life and art requires balance,inspiration and some down time  The reward is transformation of our thoughts, sprits and bodies. Have you found that to be true for you?

Tell me, what inspires you when things aren't going the way you planned? Do you have any quick and fun remedies?  ( I like a pistachio gelato break, but can't have it often!) I look forward to hearing from you in the comments.

Now, off to my studio I go!

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Nurture your creative spark

“A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it,                                        bearing within him the image of a cathedral.

— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Keep your creative energy flowing:

~Think of every mistake or roadblock as a way of discovering something new

~Live in the now moment--be present

~Be grateful for what you have.

~Believe in and trust in yourself

~Break bread joyfully with friends & family

~Keep your physical body in good shape

~Make time to get a good night's sleep regularly

~Make time for contemplation

~Share what you have from your abundance.

I love this statement about the importance of being creative!

“It IS about engagement. You don't need to suffer, you need to live.You don't need to lose, you need to be open to risk.You need to feel what it's like to stick your neck out and be judged.You need to dance with uncertainty. You need to pursue passion with breathless zest.You need to sit in a moment, alone in a sunwashed field and let every sense flood.It's not about suffering. It's about being present.It's about connecting to what's real and what's not.It's about allowing yourself to feel.Be it from the back of a station wagon in the deep South or a pied-à-terre on Park Ave. It's about being real.”by Jonathan Fields

Just for fun, check out the Creative Exercises by Benoit Phillippe on his blog My French Easel. Check out the post Meditation and Creativity by Mark McGuiness at Lateral Impulse. He includes links to three other articles about developing creativity

I'd love to hear how you support that creative impulse of yours!

Breathing space into cracks of time

[picapp align="none" wrap="false" link="term=rock+climbing&iid=7204553" src="5/b/8/b/Outdoor_Sports_353c.jpg?adImageId=8209675&imageId=7204553" width="500" height="744" /]Have you found that there is never enough time to actually accomplish all that you “desire” to do?Sometimes I get up in the morning with a list a mile long that is leftover from yesterday. How many times have I put off painting or drawing for other things that seem more important?  How long have I been promising myself that I will revisit learning French, write a note to someone, bake bread or visit an old friend?  It just seems that it is easier to take the habitual road than to break new ground.

But I’ve done it before.  I’ve taken that  first step to initiate a new idea or  project in spite of my perception of time's scarcity.

• List things that you know are important stepping stones when viewed from the  perspective of your entire life. Ask how you would feel if you never tried this? Where does it fit in your life, if you live each day as if it were your first?
• Think of the fleeting moment that is your life on earth and how this currently deferred venture will fit in?
• Pray.
• If it meets the criteria,  make a plan to integrate it into your day. A daily habit is great because it helps to bring you to the table.

• Find a little time in between things. Do not over schedule or pack time too tightly. At the beginning or end of the day is simple and not jarring.  For an early morning person, rise earlier. If you are a night owl, stay up 30 minutes later. But don’t do both at the same time. Sleep is a necessity for creative thinking. Leave a window in between projects that is larger than you think you need.
• Set aside 30 minutes each day.
• Re prioritize your life. be more expedient at the things that you are already used to doing and give yourself a healthy but finite time to do them.
• When you enter that newly found time space, breathe in and breathe out.
• Slow down.
• Allow yourself the deep luxury of being in the now moment.

Finally time opens up, welcoming you into the flow.