Flying Girl Takes a Rest, or Breath

Flying Girl Takes a Rest, or Breath, 10/4/08
Golden Fluid Acrylic

Things are a little different in Flying Girl land. I told you yesterday I was tired. When I sat down to plan out my next drawing, I started getting all complicated and elaborate, but I knew I didn't have the energy or brain power for that. So I took a breath and told myself, "simple, gentle." and thought maybe Flying Girl needed the same.

See, the thing is, with any goal, you have to adjust it to your situation. If you have a weekend for a children's story assignment, don't try to rewrite Alice in Wonderland. (I had this assignment in grad school. I went with stick figure drawings and allowed that to steer the whole project, and I think it came out great!) If you are exhausted at night, don't try to paint the Sistine Chapel. If you need to eat better breakfasts, don't try to cook a home made gourmet feast when you know you'll have two wild cuckoo head monkeys running around in the morning, hanging from your elbows.

Be kind to yourself and allow yourself to succeed by not over reaching what you can do. Small can also be beautiful. Simple can be profound. Quiet can be JUST what you need after a busy day of living. Don't stress yourself out by making yourself do something that just isn't possible within your constraints.

Constraints aren't even necessarily a bad thing. I think they are actually wonderful. Sometimes they make us feel safe. Sometimes they help us get into a routine of productivity. Sometimes they allow us to only focus on our few choices, to keep from being overwhelmed.

Sometimes they are the natural result of the energy you are expending, as was my tiredness yesterday. See, I woke up too early to meet my mom, drop the kids off for grandma to watch, and go yard saleing. Oh, how I love yard saleing and it was worth the exhaustion. Thrifting, flea marketing, sidewalk scavenging. All so delightful to me. And it really fires my creative juices. Sometimes it feels like hunting and gathering, something so primal. In fact, when we found an estate sale, I took out my camera to take shots of stuff that was gorgeous, but I wouldn't ever use. I told a woman it was like going on a photo safari, instead of actually hunting.

Infact at the estate sale, I found my new darling. An old viewfinder Kodak Duraflex. I am planning on experimenting with that through the viewfinder technique, or whatever it's called. I found a link somewhere, once. I hope I bookmarked it.

My New Toy 2$!!! 10/4/08 The Big Draw #4

There is a pleasure in drawing what is around you in your daily life. It's almost meditative. The act of drawing in itself is pleasing, and having the document of those things which mark your life.

I know a lot of people are inspired by Danny Gregory and it is totally understandable. I remember reading his book when I was a writer/artist/waitress, spending my days at Greenwich Village cafes, reading, sketching and writing, and my nights serving food, then going to jazz clubs. (Ahh, it sounds so romantic, now.) It made a lot of sense now and inspired me then, so many nostalgic years ago.

Hmm. I just went to that Danny Gregory link I gave you and I am inspired again. It might be fun to draw some old photos of the family for today. I wonder if i can fit that into my busy childcare/cooking/cleaning/painting schedule. It's important to realize that I might not be able to draw from an old photo album with the kids around, while I might be able to sketch them, or a garden flower, or an idea in my head. Maybe if the kids stay asleep a little longer, I can try it now, instead of organizing my art cabinet.

Well, we'll just see how our afternoon turns out.