Seismic shifts

The recent earthquake back east got me thinking.

At first I, like every west coaster, scoffed at the reaction from our east coast citizens after they experienced a 5.something earthquake. In California, a 5.something is a snoozer. Turns out the quake truly was felt more strongly and widely than one would have expected due to the age and density of the rock. These factors resulted in a rather small earthquake having a big impact.

This is a little like the transformation that has gone on in my "inner landscape" of thought. Small shifts in thinking have resulted in changes that have been outwardly significant. If you've been a dear, devoted follower of my blog over the past year, a couple of examples of small earthquakes occured when running through hot and cold pockets and when I listen to my heart - but then consult my brain. Turns out that not only can old, hard rock move and change, but so can my ingrained thinking!

All of which resulted in my trying an exercise the other day. I imagined my life the way I would like it to be in my dreams - as a successful artist/writer. I asked myself what would a normal day look like if I had achieved notable success? I would get up, have coffee, plan my projects, map them out, work in the studio, break for exercise, work in the studio, break for a stretch/lunch, work in the studio, call it a day, cook dinner, enjoy the evening with my best friend.

So what? I do that now. Mental earthquake! I realized that I will always have something I am working towards, there will always be obstacles and resistance - I don't need to be so afraid. I can embrace the struggle of getting there a little more. The obstacles are like hot and cold pockets of air that I run through - neutral. It is my reaction to them that determines if I have a positive or negative experience. Concrete result of this earthquake: I'm totally excited about several projects I'm working on in the studio and if I'm afraid of economic realities, I can get a part time job - no shame there! Meanwhile I will keep moving toward my goals, and enjoy the process a little more.

Speaking of process - sometimes when I don't think I'm accomplishing anything of note in the studio, I put out all of my work studies to remind myself of what a wonderful job I am doing. I thought I would share some of them:



Style/technique/color studies


Value study/first wash


Way cool fun playing around with adding watercolor washes to these fantastic line drawing cards that you can get here. I've had so much fun that I'm thinking about changing the paper I paint on. I'm also excited to try different mediums.

Here's to seismic shifts in thinking.