January
Light a Spark in the dark.
Early January for me is a fallow time. I’ve usually lost direction with the distractions and excesses of the festive season but nonetheless the thought of any New Year’s Resolutions fill me with dread. All I want is to do is to hide like a reluctant snail in a comfortable shell and pretend not to hear the disapproving voices in my head.
I was recently told by a psychologist who had done her Masters Dissertation on Self Help and Motivational books, that she had found every single one to be based on the Alcoholics Anonymous 12 steps programme. This has slightly coloured my attitude to the endless messages that arrive encouraging me to motivate my way to the ‘BEST YEAR EVER’. The voice in my head grows deafening until I argue with it that I have piles of unfinished projects left over from resolutions made 2 years ago.
I know that I need physical light and clear skies for my feeling of wellbeing. Bill Bryson wrote about while living in England that he felt like he was always inside a tupperware box as you could never see the sky. My artwork is about looking for the light & during a lightless grey January it feels as if my oxygen supply has been cut off and my eyes are failing me.
I try to remind my miserable self that life is just energy and energy never stays the same & 'even this will pass'. My Yoga practice has also recently taught me about 'tapas', which isn’t the same as a delicious bite sized Spanish snack. It means to heat, to burn, to shine from within, to accept pain and discomfort as a means towards achieving a mental, physical or emotional goal & it's my lesson about getting through January!
So here are my big creative takeaways about this time of the year.
Make small decisions, not big ones. (Tackle bite sized chunks)
Just show up to your practice regularly.
Ignite your fire by limiting how much you work. Try out the 30 minute limit; Do 30 minutes but STOP working after 30 minutes. It’s a discipline.
Remember that your art is a practice & practice is not meant to be perfect.
Add kindling to your fire; get inspiration from sources other than on your phone: read widely, walk, write, ponder, look at real physical art or museums or forests or beauty or ugliness wherever you find it.
Sustain your inner fire: be really present during your practice.
Be really present in your solitude & allow yourself to feel alone or even lonely and bored.
See what happens then write down all those ideas that crowd into your mind.
Throw some sparks out to the universe and see if they ignite
Don’t think you have to build a roaring fire, just keep the glow going and the light will return.
I'm still looking forward to February!
Guiding hands. Woodcut and Gold Leaf