51 things to do

Wonderful Janne has posted her new to do list, inspiring me once again to generate my own. You may or may not recall that I did a kind of cheater list in the spring, mostly naming things I had already done since I only had 9 days before my birthday. This time I have 6 months to go, so I have to put some actual ambitions down! I've decided to put some limited time frames around some of these to make them seem more possible. They may grow to more than that, or they may not. The point is to feel good about oneself, right?

1. Journal every day for one week.
2. Finish a project a week for one month.
3. Go to the gym every day for one week.
4. Whittle down my middle!
5. Make a dress from the Japanese pattern book I bought.
6. Finish the portrait panels on my Oaxaca quilt and start the center panel.
7. Be a faithful daily blogger for a week.
8. Go somewhere outside of the U.S. (cheating! I already have a trip to Canada planned!)
9. Learn how to ice skate.
10. Get a bike.
11. Go on a bike ride.
12. Finish Marilyn's purse!
13. Finish my water lily felted scarf.
14. Figure out how to be at least a half-time artist.
15. Revamp class proposal and try again.
16. Do more experiments in my doll-making adventures.
17. Make drawing a part of my every day life.
18. Learn how to knit socks.
19. Make a felt hat.
20. Give up chocolate for lent. (Oh, the horror!)
21. Send out ten mail arts.
22. Have a blog giveaway on my own.
23. Do a doll exchange.
24. Realize a lifetime goal: write a kids'book.
25. De-clutter. (Boring? Not if it makes my studio space more functional and helps the work flow!)

26. Come closer to living in my dream house with its dream studio.

27. Explore your options.

28. Believe the fortune cookie.

29. Apply to sell at a cool street fair.

30. Write an artist bio.
31. Submit something to a juried show.
32. Submit something to a gallery.
33. Read all (well, a lot) of those Etsy tips and bump up my Etsy presence.
34. Write an outline for an autobiographical novel.
35. Start and finish an online class. (I signed up for a Carla Sonheim class today!)
36. Be assertive and upfront about what you would like.
37. If something is truly going to be useless and you REALLY don't want to do it, even if you are "required" to do it (but nobody will be hurt if you don't do it) then give yourself permission not to do it by virtue of the fact that life is too short.
38. Send Emily a funky care package.
39. Enjoy Willow's last year of high school!
40. Take the reins of your own life and make smart choices.
41. Don't stress out by biting off more than you can chew, as in: take it easy on yourself with these lists and do it how you want to do it!
42. Celebrate the things you've already accomplished!
43.Ok, number 42., I will! Now I'm going to list some things I've already done in the past six months/the first half of my "51 years old" year. Such as: my journal was featured and published in LK Ludwig's book, Creative Wildfire!!!

44. I put myself out there and found an awesome new boyfriend. (That's YOU, Robbie!)
45. Explored the summer joys of Portland with said boyfriend. Did you know that Portland has a gazillion farmers' markets and street fairs during the summer?
46. Became a hockey fan. Who knew that watching a bunch of aggressive guys buzz around like swarming bees on the ice could be so much fun?
47. Made more new friends: Hi Karen and John, Mike and Cori!
48. Helped create a community garden and grew a nice crop of tomatoes in spite of chilly summer weather.
49. Took a lot of walks in the park with "our" five dogs! (Big ones, too!)
50. Wore flowers in my hair. A lot.
51. Felt immense joy. Often.

Wow, this is inspiring! I can't wait to get started on some of these! Thanks for the boost, Janne!

Art & Soul 2010

Art & Soul name tag I made for myself

For a variety of reasons - economy, life, etc. - I didn't know if I was going to go to Art & Soul this year, and I very nearly didn't. But the soul was hungry, starving for the art connection, and thus it was prescribed. My therapist COMMANDED me to go, said I had no business NOT going, what was I even thinking of?! (She is SUCH a good therapist!)

So I had to decide which class among classes would be the most beneficial to me at this time,
and I chose Sculpting a Sketch with Jane Wynn. I am so glad I did. Jane is a wonderful teacher - very knowledgeable about her subject, very experienced as a teacher, and so encouraging to her students. Also SUPER TALENTED, of course! She really knows how to convey her message to her students, because everybody in that class created an amazing drawing.

The best part of a class like this is getting into your quiet spot where you disappear into the physical and the emotional of the act of drawing. It is kinetic and rhythmic, like a heart beat. I believe more and more that each of us has our calling - that activity which nurtures our soul and identifies the very core of our being. When we are separated from it, some of us experience that crackling sound between our synapses and feel the tensing, sinewy pull on muscle and bone, our mind and body on the verge of spontaneous combustion, explosion, fragmentation into particles of dust being randomly thrown across the continent by a tornado. At least, that's how I've been feelling lately. But in the timeless world of pencil on paper the molecules reconnect and relax, and I feel whole again.

I can scarcely believe that I spent my whole time in class working on one tiny little drawing. But I did. This is what I did in class.

This morning after scanning my drawing, I noticed a few areas that needed a little more work, so below is the same drawing with some small changes. Can you find the changes? (Just kidding, we won't pretend this is a Highlights magazine.) But hopefully teacher will be pleased that my critical eye continues to develop.

Thank you for a wonderful class, Miss Jane.