Bodies in motion...

...stay in motion.

This is what went through my mind the other day when, as I was running with my little sidekick in her jogging stroller a neighbor said, "You have so much energy!" I laughed (a sort of panting, half laugh), but the fact of the matter is that I exercise in order to have energy. It's a vicious cycle, but the less I exercise, the less I feel like exercising, so the less I exercise, so the less I feel like exercising, etc.  I'm sure you all know what I mean. As I ran along thinking this it occurred to me that creativity is the same way. If I'm creating, I'm constantly inspired and ideas seem to flow. If, however, I sit around waiting for inspiration it never comes and my well runs dry.  

In painting, as in exercising, there are days when I feel like I just don't have it in me. However, I've realized I very rarely feel better because I "rested." Instead I usually feel annoyed with myself, short-tempered, off-center. So, on the days when painting seems like a monumental task (because anything you're committed to will, at times, be hard work), I tell myself I'm just going to "show up." I savor the ritual of laying out my paints on my palette; I dab at my colors, mixing, experimenting; I touch up just this tiny section. Usually, by this point, either I'm feeling better and back in my element, or I've uncovered the real source of my resistance ("I hate this subject," or, "I'm bored with this size," or often, "I'm scared I won't be able to pull this off."). 

You're allowed to walk. You're allowed to take it easy. You're allowed to have off days. The important thing is to keep moving. 

I was rewarded by a beautiful sunset at the end of my run.

*Note: I'm in the process of changing blogs. Please follow me at erinhardin.wordpress.com. Thanks!

"Life I love you, all is groovy..."

"Rough"
Watercolor on paper

"Slow down, you move to fast;
You got to make the mornin' last
Just kickin' down, the cobblestones.
Lookin' for fun and feelin' groovy."

-59th Street Bridge Song
Simon and Garfunkel

Exploration

Just a Spoonful of Moss

Sorry I've been M.I.A. I've been off exploring exotic and far off places. Like, for example, my backyard. Hanging out with a toddler is great for training the eye and soul to notice and delight in little things. On our explorations we picked up dozens of acorns, some with "hats" some without. To most of us, one or two of these treasures would have sufficed, but not so for my 14 month-old. She had to have as many as she could hold in her tiny hands and when one would slip out and roll away, she'd chase it down crying, "Oh no!" My favorite discovery was this cheap, cafeteria style spoon partly buried in the dirt with moss growing in the bowl. We live in an older house and finds like this always lead me to wonder how they got there. A little boy digging in the dirt? A family picnic in the yard? What do you think? Any ideas?

The art of lying fallow

Whew! Y'all. This last month has been crazy! Good crazy, but still, crazy! With the Eclectic Art Social Club show at Parkside October 19th, my daughter's (kind of big) first birthday party October 28th, and Moss Rock Festival this past weekend (which I realize I didn't even TELL y'all about!), I feel like I've hardly caught my breath. Throw in normal, everyday life and needless to say, things like home-cooked meals have taken a backseat.
I'm aware that not everyone feels this way, but I actually like to cook. Especially if I can take the time. So that's what I'm doing- taking some time. Slowing down. Getting my house back in order. Spending time with my husband, baby, and dogs. And making chili.
I have some new projects on the horizon. Ideas are simmering in the back of my head for new subjects, new techniques, new formats and I know I'll be back in my studio in just a couple of days. But for the time being, like my tiny summer herb garden, I'm lying fallow and regaining my strength.

Because of a ducky...

So this morning I was cleaning the bathtub and I noticed my baby's rubber ducky sitting on the side of the tub. Inspiration struck. I would write a song about a rubber ducky! Just kidding. But, I would take some PICTURES of a rubber ducky! So I got the tub as clean and shiny as I could manage and started my bath toy photo shoot. I was having so much fun I decided to move the party to the sink, which meant I needed the sink clean and shiny. Then I moved on to the kitchen sink. When it was all said and done I had cleaned two bathrooms and the kitchen, all for the sake of pictures of a rubber ducky. Hey! Whatever works! It may be silly way to clean, but it was definitely a lot more fun!

Emerging talent

My eight-month-old Fiona's first masterpiece. She kept wanting to eat the crayon, but who can question the eccentricities of an artistic genius? *wink*

Stu Stu Studio

Yes, the subject was a Phil Collins reference. Sorry. I think I've gotten a little loopy being pretty much housebound with a sick baby (she's much much better, by the way). In addition making me loopy and forcing me to make bad '80's music puns, being home so much lately has made me practically wild to fix things up around the house. Namely- my studio. Check out my Pinterest page for studios I'm really coveting. See you over there!

Work in progress: Movin' right along!

Thanks to my wonderful baby getting on a nap-time routine, I've really made some progress on Bright Idea. I've decided that in a weird way working around baby girl's schedule has actually made me a little more disciplined. I know that I only have an hour to paint and I get right to work rather than letting other stuff get in my way and distract me. Here's how it looked my last post:

The next time I painted I mainly focused HERE: 

And here it is now:

I think all I have to do is figure out those silly corners that are giving me such trouble. Any tips anyone?

Work in progress (or "Guess who's back!")

I have an announcement. I, yes I, mother to a 5-month-old (and disorganized owner of 3 dogs AND now aspiring Pilates instructor- more on that later) am FINALLY feeling back to normal and am painting again. So, back to my work in progress, tentatively called Bright Idea. You may remember MONTHS ago, back before I wasn't so pregnant that painting was an aerobic endeavor, I started a painting. You can see the first posts here, here, and here. Well, I've gotten to work on it a few times lately and here's the current progress:

I'm going to have to stop categorizing my progress by day (day 1, day 2, etc.) because sometimes I get to work for 10 minutes, sometimes 2 hours, but the important thing is, I'm working and it feels great!

I need some help, though. The corners are bothering me. The bowl that I placed the lightbulb in to "pose" for this painting has a lattice-type pattern around the lip. I'm not sure how I feel about it in the painting, though. So talk to me people. What do you think? Is it distracting? Interesting? Does it add to the picture or is it just pointless? 

Tell me what's going on with y'all, too? Life changes making time for art difficult? How are you coping? Update me. 

Whoa! I have a baby!

Created using the ZenBrush application on iPad

Well, as you probably gathered by my subject line, I had my baby! A beautiful, healthy baby girl born October 29th.  I expected it to be an adjustment, but wow...I feel like I'm really just now getting my feet back under me. I haven't gotten to do any art since she was born, but I think we're finally getting into a groove. I'm loving being a mom, but I can't let what makes me, me completely disappear.

With the new year and new life stage, I've also had some new thoughts on art. As a fairly new artist, I've been trying to follow all the rules. One of those rules being, "Your art must have a consistent theme." I agree that themes are good and I agree that it's best if my art all looks like my art, but that's not something that can be forced. I've got some new ideas that I'm excited to explore- new textures, new painting surfaces, new themes. I'm not the same person from minute to minute, so how can my art be the same for the rest of my life? There are different aspects to me and there are different aspects to my art. With time, I believe those different facets will all join to form one big, consistent, crazy quilt of a picture... with time. 

And as usual, my attitude about art and about life change in sync. I'm not a super-organized person, I'm not a super-schedule oriented person, however I tried to make myself that way believing that that was the way to be a productive artist. Instead of being productive, though, I usually was just frustrated that scheduling was not working out as planned. I've realized in the last couple of months, though, that I need to capitalize on the fact that I'm flexible and enjoy.

So, here's to life and all of its changes and stages. Here's to art and adaptation. Here's to 2012. Happy New Year!