Monday Post ~ January 16, 2012
“You have to know what you want to get. But when you know that, let it take you. And if it seems to take you off the track, don’t hold back because that is instinctively where you want to be. And if you hold back and try to be always where you have been before, you will go dry.”
~Gertrude Stein
It’s a brand-new year, which makes for a wonderful reason to pick NOW as the moment to develop your regular creativity practice. Regularity — a daily practice, if at all possible — is key.
So what are your plans for creative practice this week? Given the specifics of your schedule, decide on a realistic goal or a milestone to reach for — and plan that time in your calendar. A goal as simple as “I will be creative for 10 minutes every day” or “I will gesso three canvases on Wednesday” is what it’s all about.
Share your goal(s) as a comment to this post, and let us know how things went with your creative plans for last week, if you posted to last week’s Monday Post.
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Studio Mothers: Life & Art 
Oh shit. I hate today’s quote because that is exactly what I’m doing. Holding back and staying where it’s a little safer and comfortable. In many ways I feel that I am being called to teach more (yoga), but as a mother of 3 I don’t want to give up a very nice part-time job with benefits in order to do that. But that calling thing is not going away. I am being called, and it actually hurts to hold back. So I’m a little stuck at the moment.
That aside, I did draw everyday for the last 2 weeks and it feels awesome. I’ve been posting them on my blog and started a new one last night. I also got a great idea for 3 panels, a trio of related yoga poses, so my goal this week in addition to drawing every day is to begin thinking about the backgrounds. It’s not just about the yoga poses but how they interact with the collage/ painted backgrounds including but not limited to the sanskrit names of the poses, and to find some way to express the whirling energy that these 3 backbends bring up in the body. They make accessible an emotional energy that is a force to be reckoned with, not to be taken lightly. Somehow I want to express all of that. It’s not just about making pretty pictures of beautiful people doing yoga. Although I put out a call for models on my yoga blog and not one but 2 extremely talented yoginis have offered to be my muse.
Another view: you’re not holding back — you’re listening. You’re preparing. Things are shifting into place, Deborah! And in the meantime, you have a solid creative practice. Yessss!
last week i said … 4 exercise days, clean off studio table enough to work on it, start 10 pieces … and i did all four … yay me …
so .. this week ….
i shall exercise four times (i just got back from the gym so i’ve done one already) ….
i shall do another hour of studio cleaning … (will be clean by 2014 if i do an hour a week)….
i shall finish five pieces ( i hope for more but don’t want to intimidate myself)…
i shall have three days of at least an hour painting ….
i shall have one big paint day … four or five hours …. tuesday or thursday (or both!) ….
i left out blogging … i’m gonna blog … six days worth ….
Woohoo, Elizabeth! Do tell….
I’m pretty sure my bandwidth has to contract at some point, but until then, I’m riding the wave. This is the first week of our Creative Community hours at Open Studio, which means that every Tuesday I’ll be at the studio from 10-3. While I won’t normally be able to set all 5 hours aside for creative work, I’ve promised myself that I’ll use at least three of those hours for personal creative work — no more than two hours on editorial client work.
Also this week, we’re hosting the New England RAW evening (Random Art Workshop) at Open Studio on Friday night, 7:00 pm. If you’re in the area, bring your art stuff and come on over! Food, wine, friends, fun.
Last week’s goals:
* Multiple project launches for Open Studio [yes! we’re live!]
* Draft piece for CCA newsletter [yes]
* Draft piece for guest blogger post [no]
* Draft newsletter [no]
* Blog post(s) [yes]
* Work on essay [no]
* Journaling [daily] [not daily]
* Yoga x4 [T, W, Th, Sat] [x3]
This week’s goals:
* Open Studio PR work [Wed, Thurs]
* Draft piece for guest blogger post [Tues]
* Two blog posts [Tues, Wed, Thurs]
* Finish essay revisions by Thursday [Tues & Wed]
* Finish reading book for book group and prep material for hosting [by Fri]
* Journaling [daily]
* Yoga x3 [T, W, Sat]
good quote for me, too, as i am spinning away from manuscript in my life, but still have a certain problem of my book in the back of my mind, i think this is how i work best, though it wouldn’t seem effective. while the rest of my life revs up with other things, my creativity, is kind of a bear hibernation: holed up, but will give birth in the end.
last week: writing group tomorrow, will see how much i can pump out of the end of this draft. so close. try to blog, still have managerial fluctuations at my new job, hours stlll piled up strangely, so once we have a new manager in place, hopefully, i can have a more reasonable schedule and be able to settle down into a good pattern to free my mind up for better writing.
yes to writing group, still have a handful of pages at the end of the manuscript, and then i realized problem mentioned above. i setup a cyber-bully incident and then didn’t make the aftereffects clear. at least i am unsure of it. i blogged once. i think.
this week: new mgr in place at new job, hours will settle down, training will formalize. yay! time to free up my brain to write, hopefully tomorrow morning….blog more. maybe twice this week. also, will attempt yoga twice this week, today for one. back is hating me at the moment. i need to be kinder to myself and get some some more sleep.
Sleep, yoga, settling down? Fingers crossed that those things came together for you…..
they kind of did! one yoga, one book session, a bit more sleep. took some lazy time, too.
And comfort is good too. I find myself expanding and contracting, reaching and recovering. Right now I’m in a comfort and recovery phase. As long as there is a general upward or directional arc, it’s all good.
This week:
– Yoga [1X] – I already did this so I’m totally stoked
– XC Ski [3X] – I got a season pass to Windblown, so ditto on totally stoked
– Read/research Grow Biointensive gardening method
– Begin design for portable 4-season hoop tunnel greenhouse
– Assess 2011 accomplishments/plan 2012 goals
– Try to make it to Wednesday open house at Open Studio!
Jane
Nice, jlcm — and a little birdie told me it was a real treat to have you at Open Studio Wednesday….