Painting and Focus

So many of our early Spring days are beautiful, and my hollyhocks are already five feet tall and blooming, so why aren't I painting outside, even with new music speakers?

I have a whole room for a studio, so why haven't I been painting there, even with my new DVD player?

I have been sewing a little on a quilt, I have been beading a little bit, and I have been going to my classes, but I'm still working on my first oil painting, and I've been making progress, but I'm feeling pretty impatient.

Typical of me, I'm afraid. I'm in a hurry to learn, then I'm in a hurry to do "it", then I'm in a hurry to do it "well". Very Silly and not very productive, I know. It is a process, and I need to Focus and let it happen as slowly as necessary. Take a deep breath. One step at a time. Relax.

B*B,

Ysabeau

Priorities - Not Easy!!!

I want to do a lot - but I have to pace it, so priorities have to be set. That's not so easy to do sometimes!!

I want to clean the house, and keep it that way all the time.

I want to prepare all the meals for us.

I want to run all the errands and do the shopping.

I want to organize the garage and move things around as needed.

I want to grow pretty flowers and fresh herbs, and do necessary gardening for upkeep of the yard.

I want to be able to go places and to do things with my husband, and with friends. I want to feel like I can go to the beach, and go swimming in the ocean, or go to museums and gardens and walk all over them and take photographs.

I want to make quilts for our beds, make gifts for special occasions, and make some blankets and such for donation.

I want to take classes in art at the local college, and keep on learning and doing new things, and keep my supplies organized so I can find things when I need them!

Plus, I want to do a lot of things that I haven't even thought of yet! So, thinking about what is the most important to do FIRST, is really important. That's my job right now.

B*B,

Ysabeau

Going with the flow, creatively

Setting priorities and boundaries

I've been having the Winter break between classes, and I thought I'd get soooo much done! Well, I have gotten a lot done, but not even close to everything I hoped to do. I have done most of the highest priority and most urgent items, but still, if I had another whole month, or three, I still probably would not have it all done.

I've been trying to figure out why that is, and it seems that most of it is because every time I complete first priority items, either lower items move UP, or new ones are ADDED at the top of the list! So, rather than thinking it's all hopeless, and I'll never get it all done the way I want to, I have to come up with creative ways to cope with it. I have to think, WHAT are my goals, and WHY are they important? Then, I work towards a balance, so some housework, some creativity, some errands, and an occasional outing, and if I consistently remember to do the most important items FIRST, I should be pretty much ok. It helps to keep a sense of humor, and be flexible about which things I do depending on how much energy I have, so there is no way to be absolute about it.

I find it to be really difficult to have patience with myself, but the fact is, there is no reason to panic if I can't do it all, like I used to feel that I had to. That results in never feeling satisfied with what I did, never being able to value my creativity because it's not "perfect", and mentally putting myself down because I'm never really finished with all that I want to get done. Let's face it, a lot of what I do takes a lot of time and patience, and I enjoy doing it, but there are only so many hours in the day.

So, I need to be patient with myself, and work on balance, that's always a challenge for me.

B*B, Ysabeau

Creativity in the Patio!

I took this photo (and a bunch of others!) on our trip to La Jolla last week, and painted outdoors, and had a wonderful visit with my nice brother and sister in law, and spent time with my husband that I truly enjoyed, but... I got really chilled while we were at the beach, I ate restaurant food that really disagreed with me, and I'm STILL recovering a bit from my fun.

I know a lot of my artistic friends and teachers advocate painting on site, but I always seem to be a bit wiped out from the experience. A more practical approach seems to be to take a lot of pictures, pay attention to how everything looks and feels to me while I'm there, and remember as much as I can from observing, and doing the painting part of it at home. I have a wonderful walled and shaded patio, with hummingbirds, flowers, and now it has outdoor speakers (Yule present from my husband!) so it's hard to beat for inspiration and comfort.

I enjoy painting "en pleine aire" or at the location, but I burn, freeze, have stuff blow over, need to have basic facilities that don't always exist, and pay for it later physically, so a lot of the time I'm just better off and more able to be creative if I do some or most of it right at home. B*B, Ysabeau

New Year's Post

All over the world, many people are making "New Year's Resolutions" or hopes, dreams, and even decisions that will cause big, sweeping changes in their lives. This isn't about that. This is about little, every day problem solving, and figuring out strategies that work for me. I've been taking art classes, and I really enjoy them, also sewing quilts, making jewelry, a little gardening, taking a few pictures, some crochet, some finishing of UnFinished Objects, too much bad tv, and a bit of cooking, cleaning, and keeping our home up. I have not been going anywhere much, even right here in the neighborhood. I am not very organized, and I need some structure. I have plenty of art supplies, but I need the energy to use them, and a positive spirit to enjoy doing it.

Trip to La Jolla

We went on our usual Holiday trip to see my husband's brother and his wife, and we decided to meet in La Jolla this time, since it is so beautiful there, and they like it, too, and it's not too far from their home. I asked for some time near the ocean to do some outdoor painting, and I got to paint for about three hours, until it got too chilly and we had to leave.

I couldn't get to it, but there was a sea cave and hollowed out rocks down below, when the tide came in the water was swirling in it, I really wanted to go down there, but instead I watched the children, they loved it, some of them were at least 30 or 40, lol!

The sea cliffs were so polished by the waves that the harder stones looked like seal shapes lying on the rocks by the ocean. This is one of the few areas that has a rocky coast instead of sandy beaches on the Southern California coast, and it's particularly gorgeous.

It's a nature preserve, too, and these pelicans were happily sunning themselves a few feet from all the children jumping up and down and pointing at them, and they seemed to pose for the cameras. Every once in a while they would take off, one after another, find a snack, and cruise back to perch in the sunshine.

The high tide came in and washed over the whole cove that the swimmers had been enjoying all day, in spite of temperatures in the high 50's or low 60's all day, and a brisk breeze off and on. They looked kind of blue, and I know the water was chilly. So gorgeous, I wish I could have spent more time there. B*B, Ysabeau

Winter Ramblings

It has been a very busy few weeks around here, with a lovely early visit from our Susie for Christmas, a lot of finishing of projects for gifts, and sending off handmade cards for the season. I've been kind of busy... plus the computer service changed from Adelphia to Roadrunner, and has resulted in no service much of the time for most of December. Now, it seems that they are starting to get it straightened out, so to catch up, the Fall term of classes finished up, and I'm preparing for a beginning oil painting class in mid-January. The weather has been so pretty, I'm going to be spending as much time in our little patio as I can, and my dh gave me outdoor speakers for Yule, so I can have as much music as I like! I will really enjoy the music, and will be serenading the neighborhood and painting to the music, woo hoo!

I got my little dog a huuuge bone for her stocking, and she has been carrying it around and successfully trying to make a dent in it, she's a rat terrier, so this twenty pound dog is just right for the bones for the eighty pound dogs. If she can get her mouth around it a little bit, it is going to get eaten!

Fun and Games! Ysabeau