The Artist’s Way

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I am going through a long stretch of creative block. I’d say it probably started sometime in late 2004 when the first rumblings that we might be relocated began. It solidified when we had to start cleaning up and clearing out our beloved house in order to get it ready to sell. This involved among other things, shrinking my studio down from the half-of-the-basement sized it had achieved, to a small alcove about 5 feet deep and 10 feet wide. That was painful. I didn’t really get rid of many supplies, I just packed them up.

Then I had a quite lovely studio space in New Jersey, but my creativity continued to hide. My husband was so colossally unhappy with his job, and the place wasn’t “home”. Fortune smiled on us and a job opportunity came up back in Hartford and we were able to move back “HOME”. But the process involved the same packing up and vacating the house with the dogs for long stretches of time. Moving is energy draining to say the least.

Flash forward around 6 months, and I have a wonderful studio space, but I am still blocked. I still haven’t completed enough finishing touches on the studio to work there, and I am still afraid to attempt to bring any of my ideas in polymer to life. I have ideas, not as many as I had before, but an occasional flash of a design will come to me from time to time.

Well, I have finally committed myself to changing this situation. It’s just too painful and it’s definitely affecting other areas of my life. The less creative I am the less fun I am to be around. Also I had a health wake up call recently when I found out that I am pre-diabetic. So I started changing my eating habits and taking the iron supplements I was supposed to be taking and my energy level is improving.

The tool I am using to help unblock my creativity is Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. I have thought about doing it before, but the time wasn’t right. Now I feel like the situation with my relationship to my art is as critical as concentrating on my health.

I am only in Week One, but I can already feels some glimmers of hope. I have done some work on the studio, putting away and organizing books and supplies. I have hung some great pictures on the wall from a couple Quilting Arts calendars. The morning pages are surprisingly helpful. I am sure I will write about some of my experience with this program as I go along.

This weekend I am off to a retreat at Our Lady of Calvary Retreat House. I have gone for a weekend retreat with some friends for 15 years. Last year was the first year I missed and I felt the loss. It’s timely to be able to be quiet and listen to the still small voice within. I am bringing along some inspirational reading, some knitting, my morning pages notebook and a sketchbook. I can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to the massage I signed up for. I have had some amazing experiences at the retreats over the years and sometimes it’s just about gathering with friends and leaving the worries and responsibilities of everyday life behind.

It’s time to give thanks for all the gifts I have been given by using them.