down time
The last couple of weeks have been relaxing, after the busy travel and teaching schedule of September and October. I'm still getting some things done--including much needed cleaning and organizing (therapeutic after weeks of living out of a suitcase) and working on my teaching schedule for 2011. The days have been warm and conducive to being outside, and I've been cleaning up the gardens for winter.

But overall I've not been ambitious about much...spending only part of the day in the studio, and not pushing very hard. No deadlines or commitments, and plenty of new work out at my galleries already, so the slow pace seems right. I know there are ebbs and flows to creative energy, and can accept that this is low tide.

Even so, my first few days back in the studio were frustrating; feeling tired, I made nothing but mud and mess. But things have improved since I began to focus on smaller work rather than big multiple panel pieces. Back in September I had a stack of eighteen 12"x12" panels (which I'd started in various workshops as demo pieces) mounted onto cradles. Happily, they are giving me what I need to ease back into painting. Since they were already well under way, some of them are reaching conclusion in just a few sessions. (The painting above, as yet untitled, is one of these recent 12"x12"'s.)

These lazy days are just about over though. A week from today Don and I leave for Barcelona and from there on to Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands. Packing and getting things ready to leave in the care of our house sitter will demand attention from here on out, and I can feel my excitement kicking in. Lanzarote, a volcanic island, has an extremely interesting geography. From photos it looks like the kind of barren, dramatic landscape that I love. I'll be working one on one there with an Northern Irish artist who wants to learn about cold wax medium, though he warns me we will not work too hard--we must take time out "to chill!" OK--I think I can handle that! Don and I are renting a car so that we can explore, and there will also be plenty of sitting by the pool at our little villa, and no doubt some delicious local cuisine. I expect to have internet access once we arrive on Lanzarote on Nov. 11th, and will post some photos and thoughts about the trip.  ¶ 8:31 PM