Art Show Gifts

Recently I entered two paintings in a local art show. Mind you, I hadn’t submitted work to an exhibit in two years. Life just got in the way. Concentrating on choosing the right framed watercolors from my studio (a clean corner of the basement), I felt my excitement mounting at the thought of showing my work again. I used to eat, sleep, and breathe art before I got a real life. Yet, every time I step back in the stream of art my pulse quickens. I’m in my element again.

The art opening was glorious, and I was thrilled when one of my watercolors sold. Validation! Joy! Connection! All those feelings mixed together into a cocktail of delight. I was still on a creative high, when one month after the show ended a second watercolor sold. Sometimes it’s the smallest thing that turns into the greatest gift. The first gift of connection between artist and collector was wonderful then to have a second one follow was the tastiest icing on the cake.

Creativity and wellness message for today: Accept the gifts of recognition in honor of your creative expression, let them fill your heart.

Easy Does It

At the end of my morning excercise routine I heard a little voice inside me say, “That was easy.” Smiling I realised, it was! Being on a budget currently prohibits my membership at the local Y. I miss swimming, the meditative  and repetitive laps, wetness of the water enveloping my whole body, silence when I dive like a whale, hold my breath and swim very deep. What I have instead is “Mama’s Budget Stair Master and Weights.”

I live in a two-story house and being a creative-minded soul I devised a workout of going up and down the stairs and on each floor lifting hand weights as I traverse that level. I set the kitchen timer on the stove, crank up the volume on my library books on CD, and set off. It really is easy. This routine tucks nicely into my available time before work and it is right on budget.

Years ago in art school a professor commented that my rough sketches held more emotion than my finished drawings. He was right. The immediacy of my initial concept conveyed more authenticity then the ones I labored over. I’m reminded of his wise words this morning. My excerise routine came to me in a flash of inspiration. I didn’t edit or belabor it. I didn’t try to make it better.

Creativty and wellness message for today: Easy does it, let your answer to today’s problem be the one that pops up first.

Creative Thoughts

On this cold, icy winter day I’m thinking about how my mind works. Over the years of being a creative thinker, I’ve learned that it is usually my first thought that is my best thought. Experience has proven this for three reasons:

1. There are no edits yet when a first thought bubbles up to the surface of my conscious mind.

2. That first thought (even if it is “off-base” or silly) can free up my brain enough to lead me to my next thought.

3. Action steps I may take on my very first thought often times lead me to my very best thoughts.

I’ve helped support myself and my family on my creative ideas for decades, I’ve learned to trust my first thoughts and to let them lead me to where I am going.

Creativity and wellness message for today: Allow your first creative thought to lead you to the next.