Saturday, February 26, 2011

Ten minutes on the stoop

Well, we decided to put off our Charleston trip because we just have too much going on here at home... Some day we'll get there again. 

So, this morning I took the camera and sat on the front steps for 10 minutes and just snapped photos of what caught my eye, starting with very happy and toasty feet in my felted slippers
While I sat there, I was thinking about how my creativity seems to go in waves (which is not a new observation - I think I've even blogged about it). I seem to be very focused for a while and then I get inspired and want to go into more and different directions.
I start doing that and then there's the fine line between being totally inspired and completely overwhelmed. When I get to the overwhelmed part, it's not long before I start to focus again on one or two things. Expansion and contraction - again and again. I find it somewhat frustrating as I am always yearning for continuity.
But then I got this image of us breathing - we breathe in and everything expands, and then we breathe out and everything contracts. It's all part of the same breath, isn't it?
I just need to change my point of view, my focus. Sometimes I want to focus on all the possibilities and then again I want to look at just one thing in more detail.
Maybe if you don't focus with a wide angle, you miss out on what's possible and what might be your next creative endeavor.
And at the same time, if you forget the close-up view, you'll miss the magic that is in the details.
I also find it interesting that when I am in one of these phases of being overwhelmed by all the possibilities, a new area of focus appears.
Maybe those times of expansion and seeming chaos are necessary for moving forward. Even though I sort of pull back again, my focus always has changed slightly and it propels me forward and often into new directions.

I remember when I started painting - that happened after about a year of not knowing what I was doing or what my new purpose was (I had just left a career and we had moved to a different part of the country). Over that year and the next, I sort of learned to lean into that feeling and that's when a new direction emerged and my life became better than it had ever been.
Back to my 10 minutes on the front porch - do you notice something with the birdhouse? It seems that the final lease has not been signed yet. Will it be the bluebirds or the chickadees?
And last but not least, I started knitting the border on my soft lacy scarf and made it into a ruffle - I somehow needed it to have a more feminine look. It came out very nicely and can now be found in my Etsy shop.
That's about all the news from here for today. Now I am going to my studio/office to spend some time with our tax returns. Oh, the fun of it...

I hope you are all having a beautiful weekend! 

16 comments:

  1. Art is so mercurial; it does wax and wane and learning to work with that flow and not try and push it one way or the other is probably the most difficult thing to do.
    I always find after a drought, I am renewed and creating overtime. I think sometimes when we are overwhelmed, or brain is just saying "I need a day off to pick ONE of these things to focus on!"
    Yep, been there, flitted through that! ;-)
    Love the yard photos....beautiful!

    XXOO~~♥
    Anne

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  2. usually I am very focused, but lately, like you I find myself overwhelmed with all I want to do. Part of the problem is that I am working too much and don't have much time, so I need to pick one, clay or painting, then I want to do something sparse, but no, busy :-). Or I just want to sit down with a good book! I think for me I just have to pick one and not worry that it is the wrong thing.
    Lovely photos and post. I Have this day and I have not yet decided what I will do, but this post may have helped me relax :-).
    xoxo

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  3. Hi Silke,

    Love your post today and the beautiful pictures. Thank you!

    I have been in a transitional mode in my art lately. I've had the feeling of being stuck and not able to move forward and so I started working on something different in the past few
    days, and so far this is helping me through the
    "being stuck period". Renewing, changing and evolving are all good!!

    Blessings and hugs,

    Susan



    I loved your previous post on Savannah!!
    My favorite coffe shop is the Gallery as well!
    I always go there first in the AM and then to
    sit in the park across the street. Ahhh bliss!
    My hubby and I love it there so much.

    Enjoy your day!!

    Susan
    xxoo

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  4. Liebe Silke,

    wir wünschen dir ein frohes Wochenende

    Angela und Elisabeth

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  5. I like the ruffle you put on the scarf!! Nice views from your front porch. Are thos violas and johnny jump ups? Such sweet little flowers!

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  6. Oh your post is amazing...I love it!! Especially love all your 'spring' plants..gives us hope here in the midwest...where the snow is still falling along with the temperatures.

    Blessings....
    xoxo Gert

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  7. I think we are all evolving and finding our way, or maybe I should say feeling our way, through life. You are doing extremely well. You're even taking time to enjoy -- and share --the flowers along the way! Love the new ruffle on the scarf. It is the perfect finishing touch.

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  8. What a great post. Written for all of us who have no great adventures in the future but must find our joy in daily life. Have a beautiful rest of the week-end.

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  9. Oh Silke, this happens to me all the time! I think it's great to use the "wide angle" lens so we can see everything and not narrow our scope. I just move onto something new if my creativity wanes or be inspired by a book or other's art. :) I love the ruffle you put on the scarf. It makes it all cute and frilly. And look at the sweet chickadee - wonder who will take up permanent residence! Have a great Sunday! Theresa

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  10. Hi Silke! I think sometimes you just need to let your creative bucket fill up again. Fill yourself up with images and words and thoughts. Stew for a little while. Simmer. And then something happens. :) I have been feeling like I need to focus on two things. Just focus and see what I can do with them. Now all I have to do is figure out what the two things are. :)) Such lovely photographs! The scarf is gorgeous! xox Pam

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  11. I loved how you compared these phases with breathing - the tides came to my mind. All of nature is full of rushing in and pulling back, and we are a part of this. So, just go with the flow.

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  12. when i'm in a groove, i remember this: do what you do, don't do what you don't do. there are things i must do and the rest i get to choose. i'm still resisting the word 'focus' though, silke. with my writing, sometimes i push myself and sometimes it flows effortlessly. with my garden, same thing. i know my chores and i know my preferences. and definitely: sometimes i soar and sometimes i crash! :)

    what a panorama, silke. what a great notion to take 10 minutes and one position and SEE!

    love
    kj

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  13. beautiful, my friend. well, until you mentioned the tax returns and i remembered i still have to do them! ha-ha.
    have a lovely monday!!

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  14. Lovely photos, Silke, your slippers do look very nice and toasty warm. I have yet to try felting. Spring is definitely in the air, isn't it?

    I love this time of year, only it makes me dread the summer for than my fun is over!

    Have a wonderful week!

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  15. Great post, overwhelmed, yup, but I am learning to sit with the tension until the next creative wave comes along. Love your felted slippers. xox Corrine

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