Tag Archives: painting

Flame

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October 26, 2012

I don’t know what this drawing is about—it’s just what came out after a very long travel day: long drive to the airport, two planes to get home, pick up the car, get some groceries, and finally home sweet home. I love to see new places and especially to see the world from different perspectives, and I also love coming back home.

This trip was really for Charlie to learn Chumash basketry techniques. I learned some, but it’s not really my cup of tea. The prep work before the actual basket weaving is way too complicated for my tastes. I much prefer creative activities where I can just sit down and do it (like process art) or at least get to it soon (like quilting). But I suspect I’m going to find some user-friendly basket materials one of these days and apply what I’ve learned in new ways. Meanwhile, I’ll likely get back to aquarelle pencils tomorrow, and tempera paints sometime after the first of the year when I’m not necessarily doing art every day.

And our next trip is going to be my choice! We probably won’t go anywhere far away until next summer, but I have some ideas cooking. I spent five weeks in Hawaii back in 1989 and had a very transformational time there. Ever since I had two breast cancer scares in 2003 and 2004, I’ve wanted to go back to Hawaii. I’ve planned two trips since then that both fell through—one because I ended my previous relationship and the other (Charlie’s and my Plan A honeymoon) because the nuclear accident in Japan happened not long before, and we weren’t comfortable with the increased risk of radiation exposure. I still really long to go back, so I’m going to do some research about the radiation situation.

Hills

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October 19, 2012

I had my first official Pilates session today, and I love it! I’m going to have weekly sessions interspersed with lots of workout stuff at home, plus my daily walks. I feel really happy to be back on track with my strength-training goals—and to not have to do it all on my own. It’s really amazing to get help from someone who’s super knowledgeable and who lives so close. Sometimes I take on big responsibilities (as is the case with my new contract job), and at other times I want someone else to be in charge. Fortunately, in this case someone is available for that task who’s supremely qualified for the position.

Just a Little Skewed

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October 7, 2012

Everything’s there—it’s just a bit skewed. That’s my lesson for today. Most of the time, things work pretty well, but there’s definitely more work to do. The center’s still a bit fuzzy.

Here are two of Charlie’s photos from this morning’s walk. The bird is a white-crowned sparrow.

Water Sparks

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July 22, 2012

I’m having a strange day. I finished my decluttering project, don’t have any work to do, and really don’t know what to do with myself. I’m observing how task oriented I am and how I don’t know what to do with myself when I don’t have any tasks to accomplish. I want to have a breakthrough around that before any new tasks show up.

I’m also noticing what kinds of tasks I’m hoping will show up. Of all the things I do to earn a living, there are two that really engage me: coaching and writing nonfiction books for educational publishers. I don’t do a lot in the way of marketing myself as a writer; I’ve connected with enough publishing companies at this point that they know to contact me when they have writing projects I’d be a good match for. I’m hoping to get a juicy one soon. Two years ago, I wrote a book on autism and one on Thoreau, and they were among the most satisfying projects I’ve ever had. A few years earlier, I wrote one on returning captive-bred endangered species to the wild. That one was incredibly satisfying as well.

I don’t do a lot to market my coaching business, either, but I’m about to start being a regular blogger for the coaching school I attended, and I’m hoping to generate interest in the kind of coaching I do, which combines parts work with process coaching (see my coaching website for details). It works! Click here and here to read two success stories, and click here for info on who I work with.

Here’s a cloud pic. Dramatic clouds are abundant during monsoon season in southern Arizona.

Upside-Down Icicles

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July 9, 2012

Last night’s blogging was really meaningful for me. A lot of days, I do process art without having any big a-ha’s. It doesn’t bother me much, but I like it when I have a big insight. It’s those times when I’m clear that doing process art isn’t just about being present with what’s there—it’s also (frequently) about channeling my soul with no obstructions.

Today’s art feels authentic, but no insights are coming.

BTW, I forgot to mention last night that Charlie and I saw the movie Joyful Noise, with Queen Latifah (love her!) and Dolly Parton. The plot is predictable and quite syrupy in many places, but the music is incredible (I disregarded the fact that it was about organized religion . . .). It’s worth watching just to see all the talent.

Here are two photos that Charlie took on our sunrise walk this morning. These photos are completely unenhanced. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that what we’re seeing is real.

Magnificent Wings

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July 8, 2012

I don’t know where this drawing/painting came from, but I got such a sense of something powerful while I was working on it. It was if I was sensing some magnificent energy that’s not yet manifest, but it’s on its way. In my May 22 post, I included a wonderful quote from Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love that I’m going to include here as well because it’s so fitting:

“My thoughts turn to something I read once, something the Zen Buddhists believe. They say that an oak tree is brought into creation by two forces at the same time. Obviously, there is the acorn from which it all begins, the seed which holds all the promise and potential, which growns into the tree. Everybody can see that. But only a few can recognize that there is another force operating here as well—the future tree itself, which wants so badly to exist that it pulls the acorn into being, drawing the seedling forth with longing out of the void, guiding the evolution from nothingness to maturity. In this respect, say the Zens, it is the oak tree that creates the very acorn from which it was born.”

I got a sense of something important coming through me when I finally find the time for more stillness in my life. Right now, I’m  busy with work projects most of the time, so much so that when I’m not, I’m usually either taking a morning walk or enjoying some downtime with Charlie by watching a movie.

But I know it’s not going to always be this way. And the reason I know is because there was a time when I wasn’t in a nourishing, respectful relationship, and my vision far exceeded reality. And then things changed.

And there was a time when I longed to be a writer, and my vision far exceeded reality. And then things changed.

So I think what there is to do is to nourish my vision of having time each day for deep stillness and listening, and to trust that reality will catch up.

So many people live their lives with reality leading the way. My experience tells me that’s not how it works if you want to create something in your life.

Rain

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July 6, 2012

I wrote yesterday that during the day today, I was going to do process art without the art by just tuning in and seeing what was there. When I did that several times today, I got big blue raindrops, so that’s where I started with this painting.

Summer monsoon season is starting here in southern Arizona, and we had one heck of a downpour two days ago. Although I adore living in the Sonoran Desert, I miss being near an ocean or river. When I lived in Seattle (3 years) and San Francisco (5 years), I spent a lot of time near water—and also when I lived in Ithaca, NY (6 years), which has phenomenal gorges and waterfalls as well as Cayuga Lake. Here’s some typical Ithaca scenery:

Tomorrow is the two-year anniversary of the day when Charlie and I met. (See here for the story.) Charlie had only moved to Tucson two weeks before we met, and he’d planned to just be passing through and to leave after a year. I’m pretty committed to staying here for life, so naturally I asked him if he thought he could be happy here. He said yes, as long as we could travel. We were talking about that today, and I became aware of a longing for water. The summer monsoon rains will keep me happy for a while, but I think we’re going to have to cook up some kind of trip before too long.

Bold Flames

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July 5, 2012

I’m busy these days and don’t have a lot of time each day for art. Still, I’m always eager to see what wants out when I sit down to draw or paint. Sometimes it feels as though some symbol is waiting patiently for me to pick up a paintbrush or aquarelle pencil and let it out. Until I do, I often have no clue at all that it’s there.

It’s not that I can’t know it’s there until I express it through art. It’s more that I don’t take the time to tune in until I engage with art materials. I imagine I could get in touch with the symbol just as easily and immediately by closing my eyes and taking a few deep breaths. The thing is, I rarely make time for that. Writing about it right now makes me think there’s a wonderful opportunity waiting for me. I could be connecting with, and giving expression to, my inner symbols more than once a day, just by hanging out with them. Hmmm . . . I’m going to see what happens when I do that. I just wrote myself a sticky note to do that sometime tomorrow while I’m working at my computer. I’ll report on what happens. Process art without the art!

We saw another night-blooming cereus on our walk this morning. The flower was bigger than the palm of my hand. Charlie took this picture:

Need Flow

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July 3, 2012

I had another relentlessly nonstop day today—productive, but not as much as I’d hoped, and definitely no time to relax. Due to some challenging deadlines and a graphics/editing client who’s late giving me some materials, it looks as though this whole month is going to be more of the same.

I had a little email exchange with one of my sisters today, and she happened to mention that she isn’t in financial distress, as she has been in the past, because she’s collecting Social Security in addition to working. And I thought, “Gee, that sounds nice.” I like pretty much all the work I do, but I work too hard and would like a lot more spaciousness and flow in my days. I have a good friend who’s also an IFS coach who’s been unavailable for the past couple of months to trade coaching sessions, but I’m going to check with him to see if we can resume trading sessions in August. I want to figure out a creative and satisfying way out of working so hard—and a creative and satisfying way into the next chapter of my work and life.