LEMONS TO LEMONADE?

Something about this image calms my cluttered mind. It is tranquil in so many ways. The first of several vintage pieces I've been working on, I just keep returning to gaze on it for some reason.

Sure, the recent storms have been rattling my cage--high winds, heavy rain, and more keep me cooped up and restless. And yet....So many others have it so much worse. Who am I to complain? So I turn to focusing on some of what brings me joy...yes, creating. It never fails.

Color, texture, image....all of it softens the edges of the restlessness.

What do you do when things are our of whack, when life seems to bring lemons?

AH, THE DISTRACTIONS

 

The usual morning sound of cawing crows and twittering finches is broken by the high-pitched cry of a hawk. I rise from my journaling to check out the sound, just the first of many distractions on this July morning.

Cindy's journal, which is due to be sent out this week as part of the Round Robin Journaling group languishes on my desk. Over the course of the month many ideas have flitted through my busy brain, but nothing seems to get to fruition. The distractions again.

Summer is always so full of the easy distractions and this summer of 2021 seems to have more than the usual share. Visiting friends and family (oh, so very essential to sanity after the past year of the Covid pandemic) are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the diversions. 

The summer's Sawdust Art Festival seemed like it would be easier than normal since choosing to exhibit only on a "Gallery Wall" that did not require my presence nor as much of a display. But this has not turned out to be entirely true as re-stocking and cleaning have taken more time than anticipated. Good news, yet still distracting.

And, now, the summer's Olympics draw me to watch. Darn! I try to resist, but the whole theme of Imagine continues to call to me. 

And the many things that languish on the to do list grows. Guess I'll start with the Round Robin journal though. Then....well, back to the many fun summer distractions, I guess.😀

ZOOMING AROUND

 

The screech of the hawk reaches my ears as it circles overhead on a cool fall morning. It seems to be asking, "What will this day bring?"

Well, I can't speak for that predatory creature, but for me it seems that a lot of Zoom time is on the agenda.

Whatever would we do without this marvel that seems to have reached its apex with Covid-19?The uses seem endless and, while not all of the ways that it gets used appeal to me all that much, it has definitely opened doors that might not have otherwise even been known.

While the creative play continues here and the birds screech and hoot and titter around me, the Zoom opportunities open the world as well. All good and somewhat of a distraction as we wind down to the final days of this vital election.

Don't forget to vote!

CREATING PERSONAL VISIONS

Creation starts with vision. Vision is a dream fed by desire and fueled by direction from the heart. I know many folks are having trouble getting started on just about anything with the many deterrents in our current world climate. As Constantin Brancusi said, "Ti see far is one thing, going there another."

It takes a lot of action, a great deal of work usually, to achieve what it is we say that we want. Yet dedication to vision leads us to the highest of aspirations.

In the past week I have been blessed to be witness to some folks who have had not only a vision, but the dedication to pull it off. I can only hope to aspire to the same. My long range vision has been the same for many years now. At times it overwhelms me in the vastness of its scope. And, yet, somehow, I always return to it. Causing what I love and what matters most to me through my art, my writing, and even my connections with others to come into being is at the core of this vision. Sharing this life filled with all the joyful qualities of living a full, rich life of integrity and purpose is basic. 

Where will this take me in the coming days? I'm starting simply. We'll see.

WHO ARE YOU? WHO AM I?

What I CAN do

The urge to write "real" persists in knocking on my door. But what IS real? Who am I in all that is going on in the world right now?

Am I the older, wiser person who believes I understand the world? Hell, no!

Am I the Pollyanna who sees all through rose-colored glasses? NOT!!

So what is real for me on this July day 2020? 

I worry. I know moments of despair. I rage. I cry. I wonder why I seem to have no wisdom to impart, why there seems to be no context in which to focus merely on what I can control.
Everything is not fine...and nothing I can do is going to make it so.

And yet...there is the garden to tend. There is the writing I've committed to doing. There are mini-art projects to keep creativity going. There are wonderful and wise books to read. There are Zoom opportunities to hear authors talk about their work. There are YouTube videos where more gardening tips than one could ever use reside. Recipes to try. Friends to contact. Walks in new places and old, and increasing the miles because there is the gift of time.

And, speaking of time, much of what seems to be lost during this pandemic will eventually be restored if history can be believed. But time? It will be gone, not to be replaced or restored. Some things relating to time will just never be. And so I grieve. Being real, I need to acknowledge my grief for not only what IS, but also for what will never be.

That's not negative; it just is what is on this day in July 2020.

100...IT'S ALL ABOUT GOALS...AND GOING FOR THEM

It has been almost a year now since setting the goal to do two blog postings each week. I was surprised to see the number "100 pop up the other day when I had posted. Sounded like a lot.

If I am calculating correctly, that would mean that after this post I will be a mere three away from the goal with a full two weeks left in the year.  Hmmm. Pretty sure I missed one in October while on road trip. So.... 

It seems like even though I blew it (failures are not bad, by the way) at least once, maybe I played overachiever a couple of times as well. In any case, I am not at all displeased with the result this far. It has been a great challenge and has pushed me (at times when I did not want to be pushed AT ALL.

I'm super pleased that I didn't add any adjectives like "good" or "interesting" or "scintillating" to that goal. That would have pulled in an unnecessary judgment call. Looks like the goal will be reached, with a small glitch or two, and I am happy with just that.

What shall the next goal be? Hmmmmmmmmm

WORKSHOPS WORKSHOPS WORKSHOPS!!!

While doodling (or dawdling) around, my mind turned to to autumn season workshops in my home studio. All materials are provided for each of the workshops and new friendships are formed as we play in the creative field that opens up in these five-hour Sunday Studio Workshops. Won't you join us in the fun? 

Play in progress

FALL SCHEDULE OF WORKSHOPS

Sunday, September 22  Alcohol Inks  $75

Sunday, September 29  Fun Figures and Faces   $65

Sunday, October 20  Mixed Media techniques  $65

Sunday, November 17  Mixed Media techniques  $65

All workshops are in my Laguna Beach home studio from 11 am to 4 pm

SIGN UP NOW!!

cherril@cherrildoty.com

MUSING ON THE CHASE

Everything is gestation and then bringing forth. To let each germ of feeling come to completion wholly in itself, in the dark, in the inexpressible, the unconscious beyond the reach of one's own intelligence, and await with deep humility and patience the birth hour of new clarity: that alone is living the artist's life--in understanding as in creating. Rainer Marie Rilke

Section of tile

Rilke's words seem to resonate on this day in the midst of readying for the upcoming summer Sawdust Art Festival. In the midst of packing already completed artworks, that "germ" still calls to me and I turn to the paints, to the inks, to the papers once again...has to be!