An Empty Garage, (and some things with which to fill it)

An Empty Garage (Or My Studio, when I get my butt in gear and set it up.)

So I've moved into my new house, but I am not settled. I am distinctly UNsettled. I want to get back to work and be creative and make it cozy and decorate and paint pictures and start doing large pieces and explore and expand and grow.

But I'm still all kerflumoxed.

Oh crap. Not the process again!

Why can't life just go smoothly and allow me to pick up my art exactly where I left off? Why do I have to go through the reimagining and rededicating and revisioning? Why do I have to build up my routine day by day? Why why why?

Because that is the process.

So here I am, in a lazy state of recovery from the stress of moving and switching jobs and taking care of kids and new schedules and trying to find a new babysitter and all that. And I.

DON'T.

WANT.

TO.

WORK.

SO.

HARD.

blargh.

But I do know what my ultimate goals are, and they are to live the creative life and write and paint and teach and make money off of these things. To live in a comfy, colorful and beautiful home. To have happy and strong kids. To have a community of creative souls. To enjoy life. To live in joy.

So sometimes I just have to get over my laziness and resistance and get back to work.

But then again, I don't want to force myself to do something as a chore that should be fun.

So let's reframe it all. Instead of looking at all the work I have to do and dreading it, maybe I'll think about things that I am excited about doing. New projects. Old projects. Fun things.

Like what I am going to do in that nice big space of a garage that I have claimed for a studio.

POTENTIAL PROJECTS

• Painting Large Pieces. (I have space. I can finally paint big!)
• Using wood and metal and various hardware to make sculptures along with paperclay and sculpey and felt other familiar materials.
• Painting my old found white dresser a vibrant teal. (I've already bought the paint.)
• Furnishing my empty garage with easels and tables and a couch and/or chairs to make it a comfortable space to create. (The landlord said he'd put in a new window on the west wall.)
• Perhaps starting a new 100 in 100 Days project (I'm scared of taking it on.)
• Getting back to reading tarot cards. (I don't talk about this much, because I haven't done it often since having kids, but I used to have clients in NYC and I enjoyed it.)
• Learning how to do resin jewelry.
• Learning how to encaustic painting.
• Finishing my little doll and turning her into a kind of hearth goddess. (I need to get some art supplies to finish her up.)
• Having a place to be creative and exploratory, and perhaps also, away from the computer so I don't get sucked into the interwebs.

These are just the projects that come to mind. They are exciting. I should really get on it, before I get stuck in a rut of not being creative. Start the juices flowing so that life can be juicy.

I think I need to remember my baby steps. Maybe I'll start painting in my journal, first, so that I can get the practice back without all the stress of feeling like I need to produce something fabulous.

What projects would you like to take on? What would it take for you to get excited about them?