Hallelujah, Hallelujah, The Difference One Minute Can Make!

Yesterday, I spent the whole day with my BFF, Helen. We celebrated her birthday by attending the SOFA (Sculptural Objects Functional Art) show in Chicago (WOWWEE!). Spending 12 hours with someone -- especially if four of those hours are traveling in a car -- tends to produce some deep conversation that there is no way to unearth during say, a lunch or coffee date.

One of the things that I dredged up (upon seeing about a ka-jillion aisles of the most ingenious jewelry amassed under one roof -- there was sculpture there too?) was the question of what my art could become if only I spent even one hour a day at my bench. (Sounds like it should be easy, huh?)

I do know that going to events like SOFA (in a very Julia Cameron/The Artist's Way way) fill my creative well and I'm endowed with a noggin-full of ideas spinning and whirling, topsy-ing and turvy-ing madly about.

It creates the fire or desire that I think Eric Maisel (Ph.D) writes about in his book, A Writer's Space: Make Room to Dream, to Work, to Write. (BTW, I love these how-to-write books, I just substitute the word 'design' for 'write' and 'piece' for 'book.')

He shares: "Writers who write (I'll interject: designers who design, jewelers who jewel?) are dancing bundles of desire. . . . They crave; they itch; they lust; they are alive. . . . without all that dancing, pressing desire they'd sit quietly like old folks lined up in the corridor of a nursing home." (Note-to-self: my studio and its contents will NEVER fit into a nursing home room -- I will do what I have to do to stay out of one.)

Another few snippet from Maisel's book:
". . .
Every day I rekindle my desire. Somehow.
Hallelujah."

(Note-to-self 2: Somehow is key. I will 'show up' at my bench every day even if I have to trick myself by gently promising: "Brendaisy -- just go down there and clear a hole to work. I promise, it will only take a minute.")

(Commitment-to-self:

Step One: I will rekindle my desires by doing/reading/seeing something inspirational (books, shows, trips like driving to SOFA) once a week. (Yes, Julia, I am listening).

Step Two: I will spend just one minute (WINK) in my studio each day!


(Thanks, Helen! Your birthday gift-trip had a bounce-back affect to me!)