Better every day...

My postings have been so sporadic during recovery, but I am feeling better and better, so expect things to return to normal soon.   Food finally sounds and tastes good, and my energy is starting to return (yes, I have walked down to the studio and back up the hill several times now), and I eagerly look forward to having the stamina to actually spend several hours in the studio.

What I really look forward to first though is looking through and reorganizing the "stuff" that I use to create my art.  I don't think I've actually shown you a picture of what that collection looks like, have I?  Well,  there are full shelves, as well as various boxes and Rubbermaids overflowing around on the floor that house my goodies.  While I feel it is essential to have a big assortment to draw from, there is a fine line between being inspired and being overwhelmed.  So, often sorting, reorganizing and just looking through everything is a great prelude to actually creating art.  Creative foreplay is how one artistic friend described it.

Not only do I forget what I have buried in the piles, but different things speak to me at different times.  Something that left me cold 6 months ago may create shock waves of excitement now.  Other pieces tell me, point blank, that they need to go in the outdoor, out-of-my-sight box because they doing nothing for me.  Some may even get donated back to the Goodwill bins.

I consider my art a process, and this is part of the process, the sorting and searching.  It is a time that allows my subconscious to play with what it is seeing, while my left brain thinks it is organizing.  Usually this time is followed by a huge creative burst of energy with numerous pieces coming into being quickly.

Creative block can hit us all, but if you can identify what process helps break that block, you are on your way to having control over it.  Whether it is cleaning your studio, sorting your stuff, doing a magazine photo collage, doodling, dancing, whatever mindless/thoughtless activity it is that frees you up, identify it as a major tool in your creative process and use it whenever needed.

San Francisco Show

I look out the window and see the fog nestled between the tall Douglas fir trees...and now the sun trying to cut through the fog.  Fall is definitely here.  The leaves have left the deciduous trees, so the landscape will be dominated by the evergreen forest for the coming months.

Recovery continues in fits and starts....a few good days, a few bad days.  I finally feel like I might be through the worst of it.  Eating is still the big challenge.  What can I eat that I can digest?  What holds any appeal at all? When will I be able to eat enough to not keep losing weight?  I'm sure it will all resolve in time.

Email this a.m. brought the good news that I had two pieces accepted into a show in San Francisco called ReVisions: New Creations from Scrap.  It is a recycle, upCycle, reUse show and I am thrilled to be included.  I pride myself on rescuing "junk" and turning it into art, and I love that there are so many other artists turning waste into everything from jewelry to furniture to clothing to household items.

The piece pictured above, "Sacrifice", is one of the pieces accepted.

Still in recovery mode...

While I optimistically thought I'd be a lot more up and about by this time (3 weeks after major surgery), it just isn't happening that way.  I'm still resting, reading and napping a lot, not going much of anywhere because it is simply too exhausting,  and mostly trying to find foods that hold any appeal for me and then agree with me after I eat them.  The joys of gastro-intestinal surgery.  So please bear with the lack of posts for a little longer.  I'll try to at least write something every few days.

Today Nils took my piece "The Secret" to Corvallis for the Shrines and Reliquaries show, while I (you guessed it) stayed home and napped and read.  I hope to be well enough to go see the show before it comes down the end of December.

(Moment #3, copyright Diane Lou.  5"x 2 1/2". Private collection of Marlene Ankeny.)