Best laid plans right? I spent weeks thinking about what to bring to my residency at Hambidge, drove with a song in my heart to the lovely state of Georgia, spent a night with friends (who were so very gracious and delightful) and then break my foot.
In three places. No denying it. It was a stupid fall down three little bitty steps. I just wasn’t paying attention. So I drove home (without a bathroom break!) and have set up my alternative reality. I cancelled the residency, cancelled a workshop in Portland, cancelled a vacation with friends on the Pacific coast, and cancelled another workshop in Sisters, Oregon. I spent the day cancelling flights, rental cars and hotel stays. And now the slate is clean.
This is the view from our screened porch. The weather is perfect, the scene inspiring, there are no deadlines. All I have to do is figure out how to slow down. Stop. Rest.
Time is short. It’s not in my nature to fritter away each precious minute with rest, or contemplation. I’m not a napper. I am an active sort. Busy is better, the list is long, the tasks rewarding. I like to see results, progress and growth. So now I need to redefine what that is. How does this inactivity shore up an overloaded mindset? What is it I am trying to accomplish with my art? What needs to be sorted out? Simplified? Stopped?
AHA! Moments and Layered Chaos, Paula Kovarik
Two of my pieces (Aha! Moments and Layered Chaos) become one through disruption. I did this mockup (using Photoshop) prior to leaving for my residency.
Was this idea a precursor of what actually happened a week later? Perhaps. I am paying attention to the invisibles in life. The uncanny. Maybe I’ll get my rotary cutter out to put this piece together.
Don’t fall. There are other things that are much more exciting.