Turn on the Light

"I think the real artists are too busy with just being and growing and acting (on canvas or however) like themselves to worry about the end. The end will be what it will be. The object is intense living, fulfillment: the great happiness in creation." Robert Henri, The Art Spirit

Just before Valentines's Day I drew some very spontaneous cards and put polka dots all over them. They were oozing with joy and so much fun to do. Yesterday when I complained to a friend who received one of these cards that I was starting a lot of stuff and not creating much of anything, she nearly spanked me. Now that I'm intense about creating a line of cards I can market, it isn't going so well.

It has taken until just now to recognize I've been here before. How could it take so long? It's such a familiar spot. I've been acting like someone who's stuck. I need to start acting more like my joyful creative self who is having fun and willing to have no idea where I'm going. I definitely need to lighten up, put on some great music, dance a little, start with a big stack of card stock and abandon myself. I've learned this lesson over and over. Why do I need to start off by getting stuck in trying-too-hard-land again? Because that seems to be my process. If I don't create with joy, I grind my gears. Back to polka dots.

Baruch ata adonai...what a wonderful way to start the day. I've looked in the mirror and understood once again the reason I thought I was stuck. I have a couple of ideas of how to start in a new way, and it's only seven AM. Thanks for leading me to the light. Amen