New Moon Studio Rhythm

I have to confess that the way my creative process works in the studio can look quite chaotic.

And it varies with the tides - or most likely the moon and hormones. :)

Sometimes, I get into a deep zone of intimacy with one piece. Other times, I am working on multiple pieces at once, moving from one to the other quite quickly.

I suppose I first really learned that rhythm - jumping from one piece to another - when I was working in ceramics years ago. You have to wait for clay to dry to different states between phases of creation, so it becomes quite natural to have multiple pieces going at once. It becomes a dance about timing and attentiveness.

I always enjoyed that flow of attention because it had a natural way of tricking me out of my own headiness, and right into my hands and heart and the natural layers of creating.

That's how it was this past weekend - my energy and paint was flying all over the place, on several paintings and journal pages, jumping from one to the next without much thought at all, letting the connection between them evolve organically and my own processing happen in the river underneath the dance.

I have to say, I believe life is like this, too. So I consider this good practice.

Above is a glimpse at a few of the in-progress pieces I spent time with in the studio this weekend.

Each one taught me something just a little bit different about how I roll and flow and bend, and what my natural inclinations and associations are. It felt feminine, curvy, sensual, responsive, dynamic.

But even more than all that - letting myself move in this free-flow rhythm with my art, without getting all hung up on finishing this, or making that look like something, or pushing my way through a piece - well, it just feels good in my body.

Nourishing. Wise. Light. And Fun!

There's wisdom in the rhythm of play that is just as important as intentionally contemplative or technical work. And I know, for me at least, there are times when nothing else will do to satiate my thirst...

but to loosen my hair, get my groove on with the moon and let the colors fly.