Creative Self-Care — it’s a struggle

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Frankly, any kind of self-care is a struggle. I find that concept intriguing. We are constantly classifying our society as basically selfish, aren’t we? We laud as selfless heroes anyone engaged in humanitarian efforts.

Taking my care of my less-demanding needs is most difficult. And those that aren’t demanding at all—like journaling, drawing, and painting—so easily fall by the wayside. And yet when I do them, it’s like All Good Things rolled into one. I mean things like taking a walk in the sunshine (or a light rain), lying still and listening to music (or better yet, dancing). Funny how these simple things are practically considered luxuries. And any one of them seems to fill the need I have for self-care.

So why is it so hard to do?

21 Nov 2017

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New Habit — art class and words

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I’m taking an art course—sort of on Facebook and sort of through email. That is, the lessons arrive in my email box, but there’s a community page on FB where we’re supposed to share what we’re learning.

The course is called Get Creative and Heal Your Heart (I think you can find it through that link). What I really like about it is that it promotes thinking as well as visual creativity. I’ve been working my way through the first lesson on the FB group and the lessons I receive via email. Read More →

Interest By Design

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One thing I’ve learned about design is that uniformity can sometimes be boring. You might say perfection is boring. (Is it even possible to be perfect in artwork? in anything?)

When I’m designing a pin loom square pattern I often have to struggle with interest vs. uniformity. Clarity usually carries the day. Sometimes uniformity is your friend. Usually a motif looks best if it’s centered in the square. Many designs look best if mirrored on both halves of the square.

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Journaling through Life

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The other day I was trying to write a blog post about . . . well, let’s call it art. It was also about the compulsion to create and what to say about other people’s work. The more I wrote, the more . . . I wrote, and it was getting out of hand. There was too much to think about, to say, to express. Maybe I need to write it on paper, not type it. Certainly I want to keep pondering it.

Anyway, here are some recent art journal entries that have tried to expand on those ideas either verbally or visually. (Can verbal refer to the written word as well as the spoken?)

This was my response to the attempted blog post. Luckily I’d already drawn the picture and left lots of room for writing. Otherwise there might not have been a picture.

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