Apparently it's been a month since my last blog post. Perhaps you have all given up on me. I thought I'd better pop in to let you know I'm still alive.
Recently I've been watching a series of videos by Koosje Koene on Art Therapy for the creative block she has been experiencing. It had not occurred to me that I might be suffering from the same problem. I used to write newspaper columns and really hated having a deadline. I took up blogging so that I'd have a place to say what was on my mind without the pressure of having to force it. If you look back over my previous posts you'll see that I normally post about once a week. That's not because I sit down to do so, but because something pops into my head that I want to share. That hasn't been happening lately.
Maybe I have been suffering from creative block and just didn't realize it. Or perhaps my muse has just gone on vacation for a while. She certainly has not been whispering stories in my ear lately. But I have not been as upset about it as Koosje. I don't like to force things.
Creative people have to create, however, and I've been doing that in other ways. I noticed poppies showing up all over Facebook right from the beginning of November. It made me want to try to paint some of my own. I had painted poppies in oils in the past but thought it might be fun to experiment a little.
I've never painted with knives before and thought I'd give them a try.
This quick little acrylic was enough to let me know I will be using
knives a lot more often in the future.
The other thing I've been playing with a lot lately are alcohol inks. (When people hear me say that in person they frequently ask me what I'm doing with alcoholics!) I don't have much experience with the inks yet but I have learned that while I may have an intention, I do not have the control. Actually, that's what makes them so much fun. I'm enjoying the experience of being freed up by what the knives and ink produce just as blogging has set me free from deadlines.
This past weekend I was in Hull, Quebec for the 25th anniversary of Capital Conquest. That's a major martial arts event with instructors from all over the world. Though I was only there as a spectator while my hubby taught a seminar on self defense using a cane, I was invited to take part in a little calligraphy seminar going on in the hallway. I was introduced to several styles of pens and got to experiment with each one. I can tell you now that I will be writing again soon, but it might be with a pen created from a pop can.
Recently I've been watching a series of videos by Koosje Koene on Art Therapy for the creative block she has been experiencing. It had not occurred to me that I might be suffering from the same problem. I used to write newspaper columns and really hated having a deadline. I took up blogging so that I'd have a place to say what was on my mind without the pressure of having to force it. If you look back over my previous posts you'll see that I normally post about once a week. That's not because I sit down to do so, but because something pops into my head that I want to share. That hasn't been happening lately.
Maybe I have been suffering from creative block and just didn't realize it. Or perhaps my muse has just gone on vacation for a while. She certainly has not been whispering stories in my ear lately. But I have not been as upset about it as Koosje. I don't like to force things.
Creative people have to create, however, and I've been doing that in other ways. I noticed poppies showing up all over Facebook right from the beginning of November. It made me want to try to paint some of my own. I had painted poppies in oils in the past but thought it might be fun to experiment a little. 
This past weekend I was in Hull, Quebec for the 25th anniversary of Capital Conquest. That's a major martial arts event with instructors from all over the world. Though I was only there as a spectator while my hubby taught a seminar on self defense using a cane, I was invited to take part in a little calligraphy seminar going on in the hallway. I was introduced to several styles of pens and got to experiment with each one. I can tell you now that I will be writing again soon, but it might be with a pen created from a pop can.
Thanks Linda. I just found that I'd rather enjoy creative hobbies than turn them into jobs that take all the fun out of them.
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