Starving Artist Ink.

My springs seems to have come to a halt… a slight grey pause.. Foggy. Cloudy. Ugly. Dull.

I dunno, I should have expected it-what with the week of glorious sun kissed cheeks, reading in the park, laying in the sun warmed patches of the bed for an afternoon cat nap.

I was in full swing of painting-non stop… couldn’t stop. Couldn’t sleep. What’s sleep? Draw, sketch, paint. Picture. Draw, sketch, paint, picture. Sleeeeep.

And as quickly as the sun can out, the clouds soon moved in with their ugly grey-and up went my beautiful muse, hiding away.

I’m trying not to dwell on it too much though, or the fact that it has been past the 14 days that I planted my seedlings of mint. (the packet tells me I should be seeing some sprouts by now. HMPH!)

Like I said. Spring has simply come to a halt… and some mould seems to have moved riiiight in on top of the soil for those strawberries that were supposed to have sprouted by now too.

Perhaps I should just stick to fungus. How hard can it be? I did happen to see a starter kit on growing mushrooms. Everything else around here is grey too. (including my mood.) why not the plants as well.

1. i find that these lists help to loosen things up for me, when things have gone somewhat dry. just gotta get it flowing again.

2. i've actually been writing a lot. i don't know where it is all going, or if it will ever see the light of day.  but there you have it.

3. i'm feeling the need to be more quiet in certain things. just to protect myself, keep something close to me. –in creating. in that i threw a few things out into the universe, and the universe responded. and it was GOOD! so good. but so much.. so fast.. so intimidating.  i think the only way that i can survive right now is to fly under the radar for a while.

4. there is a change in the air.  the sun was bright and beautiful yesterday-and kissed my face… and oh boy, do i love having that sun kiss on my cheeks! i forgot how much i love that…

5. i meant to fall asleep with steven… and then i found myself devouring over two hundred pages of my book… le sigh. i am really tempted to go and read the rest, but my eyes are aching for a break for a while–my mind however-needs it all. right. now.  do you want to come over and read to me?

6.  i want to let my feet fall into the sand under my weight. and dip my toes into cool water… and let the sun make the skin on my face and shoulders feel tight and warm.

7.  it has been exactly thirteen days since i planted some mint in the window. the packet said fourteen days for sprouts. i am so impatient….

8.  i think that my sweet and lovely allergies just might be kicking it into drive earlier this year than expected. this should be fun.

9.  the birds sing earlier and earlier every morning… and the sun stays awake later and later each evening. it is pure bliss.

10. wishing you a day of peace, and smiles… and treasures-old and new.

creativity comes in waves… sometimes the tide is high, crashes into the rocks, making jagged edges smooth… other times there are droughts, cracked sand and dried up seaweed…

i hadn't really painted in a few years… i hadn't really created anything with my hands. i picked up the camera and started capturing, and got lost in it, loving every minute of it… being pulled into new opportunities, learning where i wanted to walk on that line, finding my harmony.

and then the tides rose when i opened a care package from my mom… a pencil and paintbrush in my hand-and i haven't been able to stop…. this muse has been riding on the waves from morning until the wee hours of the next morning. buying booklet after booklet of watercolour paper to satisfy my hands, mind, heart, her…

finding new opportunities… where my art speaks louder to other people. where they want to welcome it into their home, onto their walls, into their hearts.

it's exhilerating, confusing, amazing, nail-biting…

it's wondering what is so special, always comparing to others… it's wondering if i am good enough, because i am simply creating for myself. it's also wondering….what happens when these waves dry up?

i was having some major issues with all of these new opportunities. trying to decide how to swim in all of it. all the thoughts swirling around, until finally i was told to 'just create.'

…just create.

how simple is that?

…so that's what i'm doing.. and letting myself accept the other things as they come. but for now… i'll just create. and ride these crazy waves to their fullest, and hope that they don't dry up too fast.

She first told me her plans before she got the go-ahead from all of the sponsors she would need. A long list of to-do's, effort, donations. We talked excitedly…I was completely blown away by not only her generosity, but by how her mind works, her heart… what she has set out to do with her life.

There are times when we realise how little we are, how small we are in the world when you think about the millions of people living on our earth. The only thing that sets us apart to be extraordinary, is what we choose to do in our lifetime. Who we affect, what stamp we create on the earth with our words, and most importantly, our actions.

She is doing just that-and it makes my heart sing.

A woman, daughter, wife, mother, artist… Her words and images have always been close to me, I reached out to  her-and we became sister friends…family.

Quickly the ball was rolling, because her idea was freaking genius, amazing, inspiring.

The Emancipation of Artemis was born… Artists united to end violence against women.

I am so honoured… Jenn asked me if I would put together a logo for the event… Together we created her, and I am so proud to know cause she stands for

June 5th is the date… some of my most favourite artists (and myself) will be contributing their fine art photography to the event for sale. All donations and money made will be given to RAINN and V-Day.

Check out the details of where this amazing event will be held- here for now. (I will update when the website is born)

morning walks…
fresh showers
wind blown in
pink against cheek
steam off the lake
she sings from her perch

misunderstood, we part ways…

sleeping earth springs to life
roots tangled and twisted
reaching for the light
budding beneath clouded sky
sun soaked mud