Breathing Space

38 Before 39

Sis and I at my first official art show opening -

a manifested experience that graced my 38th year for which I am oh so grateful

Tomorrow I will be 38 and frankly, up until last week I've been having a bit of a rough time with it. It's pretty damn close to 40 and it's prompting me to ask myself some pretty intense questions.

Life's Big Questions aside, I thought I'd have a little fun with a birthday list of 38 things I'd like to do before I turn 39 (that's twice I type 29 instead of 39, tell me that doesn't mean something!).

Here goes:

1. take voice lessons
2. hike a new-to-me trail
3. sit by the ocean
4. take a plane somewhere
5. create an e-book
6. lose 10 pounds
7. create and give art workshops centered around intuitive art-making and creative play
8. write and submit an article (or a query) to a magazine - hopefully get it published
9. find the user manual for Matilda, my trusty point & shoot, and learn how to use her manual settings
10. host a painting or tea party
11. see a Cirque du Soleil performance
12. take a solo trip - it doesn't have to be far
13. try a new recipe
14. clean out my filing cabinet
15. paint on a big canvas again - at least 30x30, maybe even bigger
16. take an art workshop, or two
17. show my artwork in a local venue
18. find a pair of stylish, dressy, warm winter boots
19. find or create an occasion to wear the party dress my sister gave me for my birthday (I feel so beautiful when I'm wearing it!)
20. find a pair of party shoes to wear with my party dress
21. do my morning pages at least five days a week, every week
22. host a few dinners, potlucks or game nights with D.
23. see live music performances, maybe a few Bluesfest concerts
24. go to a movie theatre
25. visit the National Gallery of Canada (here in Ottawa, no excuse!)
26. go to NYC
27. make peach preserves
28. visit my parents and family in New Brunswick
29. hike a second new-to-me trail
30. send cards and notes via snail mail - target one a month
31. print photos from our wedding to fill our wedding photo box
32. print favourite photos from last year (trip to Gaspé, '70s housewarming party, art vernissage) and create a souvenir album I can flip through
33. throw a belated birthday party
34. go dancing
35. put $5000 aside in Savings
36. do something with my series of Mandala line art created in 2005-2006
37. get my hair and makeup done professionally
38. continue posting here at least twice a week, even if it's just a photo or a quote

Wow! I didn't think I'd find 38 things.

It's an aggressive list, but that's usually how I roll. I strongly believe in the power of writing things down to make them happen and if even only a few of these were set in motion today that would be a success.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Begin

lily-of-the-valley (2010)

"We have attached so much rigamarole to the notion of being an artist that we fail to ask the simplest and most obvious question: Do I want to make this? If the answer is yes, then begin."

~ Julia Cameron, Walking in this World

What could you begin today?

5-Day Challenge: Day 5

I did it! Five days of going to the table and five pieces started!

Yesterday's results were, um, interesting. I ended up painting an abstract cityscape - I think - and it's very green:

cityscape - work in progress, 16x12 on mat board

The jury's still out on this one, but I'm OK with that.

The point of this week's little experiment was not to finish five paintings, but to simply show up at the table and that I did. I even learned some lessons and gleaned insights along the way - fodder for a post to come no doubt.

Thank you for stopping by and for leaving me words of encouragement as I reported on my progress. I had a lot of fun and I intend to do it again.

Maybe next time you'll join me?

5-Day Painting Challenge: Day 4

Day 4, still painting - and LOVING it!

Yesterday I had about forty-five minutes at the table again before heading out. I tried to continue Frida's face from Day 3 but it just wasn't happening.

So I picked up a piece I started in early February but never finished (also seen here when I blogged about Art-making Mantra #2):

work in progress, 12x12 on cardboard

The piece has been sitting on my studio shelf for five weeks. I liked the movement and lines in it so I kept it out hoping I'd eventually see - perhaps in a sudden flash of inspiration - how I could transform them into something interesting.

A few weeks ago I borrowed a kid's art book from the library called Looking at Pictures. On the very last page I flipped to a photo of Cézanne's Bathers. Bing! My inspiration.

Bathers by Paul Cézanne

Fast-forward to Day 4. After a fruitless try at Frida's facial features with about a half hour left I finally pulled out my library book with Cézanne's picture, my pastels (water-soluble) and a photo of another painting, by Degas this time for good measure, called The Tub. And I played.

No perfection necessary, just fluid lines loosely transformed into a woman's shape:

still a work in progress - now inspired by Cézanne, 12x12 on cardboard

Lesson learned: Even a small half hour can make a big difference.