Artist Date Binge

"An artist date is a block of time, perhaps two hours weekly, especially set aside and committed to nurturing your creative consciousness, your inner artist. In its most primary form, the artist date is an excursion, a play date that you preplan and defend against all interlopers."
- Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way

My creative well overfloweth my friends, hence a third post in as many days.

After a few weeks spent in productivity mode pushing through items on the to-do list both at work and at home, I felt empty and creatively drained. It was time to replenish the well and without intentionally setting out to do so, that's just what I did.

A Thursday night spoken word performance, a Friday workshop called Market Readiness for Visual Artists & Artisans, and a few urban hikes drew me from the linear and the logical to the conceptual and the intuitive. Poetry and storytelling, connecting with other artists, and street-level discoveries handed me a much-needed dose of right brain inspiration.

Call it an Artist Date binge - slightly overwhelming, but entirely satisfying.

What do you do to switch from the logical to the intuitive?

An Update to my Pondering...

Inspired by a comment on my Pondering post encouraging me to do it all, I looked at the list of items that have been mulling around in my head and thought to myself "What am I waiting for?" So here's my update:

• jigsaw puzzle - complete
• financial independence - created a financial to-do list for the next few months and Savings projections for 2009; completed a few actions on the to-do list
• moving forward with my dream of operating a creative studio made of straw bales - brainstormed on what it could be and what needed to be done to create it (via mind map)
• hosting a Creative Salon - brainstormed on what it could be and what needed to be done to create it (via mind map)
• making a pot of homemade winter vegetable soup - done and yum!
• creating a painting a day for one week - two paintings down, five to go
• cleaning the kitchen, office and bathroom - all in progress
• joining Facebook - done and will you be my friend?

Not bad for a few days eh?

Although having kids and achieving financial independence might have to wait a while, some of the items on the list are quite achievable. All it takes is a little motivation to take action (thank you Kirsten!). I might crash tomorrow, but right now taking action feels pretty gosh darn good.

Brimming with Possibility

My cup overfloweth, I feel a need to write.

My head and heart are swimming with ideas, fears, hope, anticipation, love, gratitude and dreams for the year to come. I haven't chosen a word, nor have I written down goals or intentions. I've simply been letting myself swim in possibility.

Nurturing connections, community and creative projects; experimenting with the Portfolio Project; Squam (oh yeah!); road trips, camping trips, solo trips; transitioning towards meaningful work; volunteering, hiking, being, showshoeing, praying, giving, reaching, dancing; cooking and sharing healthy meals; learning, healing, laughing, loving - not to mention a possible wedding come June (you betcha!). I am blessed with opportunity.

I'm enjoying this percolating of possibility and contemplation on how I will shape it into something specific. It's a pre-requisite to yearly goals and to-do lists - a Brainstorming phase if you wish. Of course being the productivity geek that I am, I know it won't be long before I pull out the coloured markers and mind-map my way to 2010. That's just part of the fun.

Possibility indeed. 2009. Bring it.

How Bright Are You?

"Bright people have the capability of freaking out faster and more dramatically than anyone else."
- David Allen, Getting Things Done

I knew I was a bright person! ;)

On Productivity ...

Sis and I got a chattin' today over the phone and, triggered by an earlier post of mine, the conversation fell on the subject of productivity.

It got me thinking about why I geek out on productivity books, blogs and list-making; my intent lies not in wanting to produce more, it's more along the lines of wanting to produce something. Period.

When my head starts spinning with to-do's or my soul binges on a flurry of creative inspiration, I can easily get overwhelmed. When I feel overwhelmed I either get stuck in a state of inaction or set forth in so many directions that loose ends abound and nothing gets done. Minimal forward movement.

Soooooo, as I indulge in a little self-reflection (I think, therefore I blog), my intent is not necessarily to learn how to do more in a day - I enjoy rushing about as much as I enjoy vacuuming individual strands of Cassie fur off the couch for 60 minutes straight (!). My intent is to find a way to alleviate the anxiety and feelings of inadequacy that come with having so many good intentions sitting stagnant; to practice patience, capturing thoughts and projects for a rainy day; to manage the abundance of ideas for which I am grateful in a way that simplifies my life and keeps me moving toward my goals.

Or maybe, just maybe, it all boils down to the feeling of satisfaction I get when I cross "Write blog post" off the list.