mood: reasonably blissful
I've started a new Sunday tradition, The Sketchbook Brunch. That's where I venture away from the studio and toward food, armed with inspirational books, and colored pencils and give myself carte blanche to play with design elements to my heart's content. This new possible but likely intermittent ritual was born less from a need to be around people than from my sheer stubbornness at not going to Whole Foods this week.
My new book on carving stamps and print blocks, Art Stamping Workshop by Gloria Page, and I ventured to FlatIron, a small, chic, bar-food dive in the nearby East Atlanta Village. Unfortunately, I didn't know it was Guns & Roses and Van Halen (the David Lee Roth years) Day, and I'm not much of a metal-head. - Ok, ok, I'll admit if you forced me to name my top 10 crank up the volume and sling my hair songs of the 80's, 'Cradle Will Rock' would at least make it to #23. - Fortunately my sketches were occasionally melded with the less familiar (read not played to death) chillin-warm strains of the Brazilian Girls and other more ethereal fluid sounds.
One of the basic staples of any person, who ventures into right brain activity, has become, The Artist Way. As I recently blogged, it's a book I tend to throw against the wall by chapter 3 as I do with anything else that orders me How to Approach Creativity as if such endeavors could be confined to rigidity and miserably limited terms like right, wrong, most and best. I dislike the book because of the absolutely required 'morning pages,' which hold all the same thrill and promise as did mandatory journal keeping in 8th grade English class. Being a working artist entails more than enough self discipline. Leave me what's left of my F-in' freedom for goddess' sake.
What I do love about The Artist Way are the terms like crazy makers those people, who claim they are being supportive when in fact they're taking your time and energy and sucking the life force out of your muse with their endless dramas and projections, and the artist date, where you thrive on the pleasure of your own company going somewhere or doing something that inspires your imagination. The sketchbook brunch definitely falls in that last group as did last Sunday's adventure to the Carlos Museum to see the exhibit, In Stabiano, fresco paintings from Roman villas of Stabiae. Incredible colors! Colors so yummy you could almost eat them, which must be why the majority of the most elaborate frescos in Roman villas were found in the dining rooms.
It's been my choice to spend the last 2 weeks in non-stop creativity mode. Every waking moment has been savored, working in the studio, redoing my site, dancing, hanging out with the world's coolest almost 7 year old, or working on my house. I've probably ticked off a few friends with my slowness to return emails and my refusal to 'talk on the phone at work,' but I haven't started missing people yet. I'm having too much fun spreading my giant wings, paint brush in one wing, torch in the other.
(Nod to Kate for the post title.)
Isis
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