Monday, June 20, 2011

Sometimes on Sundays I get a little lost in my day

Sundays are a day of rest, relaxation, prepping for the upcoming week, and with a little luck, some time spent in the studio.  I find I try to get a lot done and somehow get lost in the work to be done without reaching items on the to do list that I had hoped to make time for somehow.  Today was no exception!

Today, I lost time due to having a late night Saturday night and thereby requiring some extra down time to pull myself together once I was able to pry my eyes open Sunday, a little before noon.  I had managed to get up a few hours earlier than this to feed the ever exuberant Molly Cat.  She had been running in the bedroom, making sounds that spurred me into action to head into the kitchen and fill up bowls with treats, kibbles, and fresh water.  Satisfied with seeing her bowls newly filled, Molly Cat sat on the window ledge in the diningroom and hid behind the curtains to peek out at visiting birds who are chirping on the balcony.  For me, it was time to head back to bed hopefully to catch just a few more moments of down time.

Shortly after noon, I finally could get up and head into the shower to really get myself into the waking up process.  A wonderful grapefruit shower gel pulled me into an awareness and slathering the coordinating body moisturizer on my arms and legs completed the sensory process necessary for me to become somewhat alert after a not so restful night.  Fragrance is an important part of every day.  The aroma of freshly brewed coffee gives me an immediate jump start.  The scent of shower get can either assist me in finding some sleep on a turbulent night or lift me into consciousness if that is what my soul is requiring at that time.  Later, the smell of fresh laundry, the aroma of fresh muffins in the oven or the tantalizing smell of soup bubbling away for that night's dinner hour tells me that I can rest easy and move on to an artistic journey should that be something I am hoping will transpire.  The fragrances, aromas or scents that I encounter all lead me down pathways on my journey that eventually lead me back to my key focus, my artistic journey.

Looking at my time versus what I needed to get done made me knock a few things off of my list and I proceeded to make a quick shopping list of items needed over the next 24 to 48 hours.  I know that I need to head over to the shops to pick up some fresh items for meals in the first few days of the week so I could cut down what I really had to purchase late on a Sunday afternoon.  Even then, I was running much later than I had planned and I knew that finding studio time was not likely going to happen especially if I was going to put up a blog at some point today.  The posting of the blog meant a lot to me and so here I am late in the day, tapping out some thoughts about a journey gone astray on not only this particular day, but through the previous days of the week just past. 

Going astray seems to be more and more part of my life these days for some reason.  I lose focus of what I want to accomplish only to be overtaken by something that needs my undivided attention right away.  I wish I could stay on track with what I originally plan to do each day, but somehow, I run into obstacles that hold me back.  These obstacles can be appointments, trips to the shops for a few items that I need to make it through to the next pay week and the subsequent shopping for items that are purchased on a monthly basis.  Other obstacles can be unexpected visitors showing up at my door, a plumbing crew who gives me 24 hours notice that they need to access my unit for building upgrades only to not show up on the appointed day or on the next day when they promised they would be in bright and early, appointments with specialists who are looking over my medical issues or trips out to shops in outlying areas that sell art supplies.  These art supply shops are also sometimes sourced out by online searches for specific supplies mentioned in blogs that I follow or by other artists who chat with me online.  While I try to get as much done as possible each day, it seems to be the unscheduled interruptions that take me off track much to my dismay.

I mentioned previously that I am working on making a template for an art submission to be done on a specific Japanese paper.  The paper has been ordered, but has not arrived as yet due to some unexpected delays.  This means that I cannot develop a method for cutting the paper into layers or colouring it with specific progressions of shades of paint.  What I can do is work on putting together what the first concept of the design will look like and what colours will be used and the progressions of each colour to hopefully enhance a three dimensional effect.  It sounds like a lot of dreaming and it may prove to be so if I am unable to put the ideas into concrete procedures to produce what I see in my mind.  The exact layout or design is still being debated by a team made up of Molly Cat and myself.  I have the deciding vote but will seriously consider anything that Molly Cat might come up with should it look something like I have depicted in my sketch books.



So, here I am late on a Sunday night or early on a Monday morning depending which side of the Atlantic you reside on.  I am trying to sort through which Dover publications I will peruse later once I have had a few hours of sleep and worked my way through a quick but thorough tidy up of my flat.  These books will be set aside and I will work on some sketches of what my mind thinks I should incorporate into my Japanese submission for the art exhibit in a few months time.  The week is looking like another write off due to another doctor's appointment along with the plumbers promise to return on the same day as the appointment.  The building manager has promised to accompany the plumbing crew and make sure that Molly Cat is safely placed in my art studio so that she cannot adventure into any holes cut into my walls for the upgrades.  She did this once in our old flat earlier this year only to stick her head out of one of the holes in response to my worried calling of her name.  Cobwebs strung ear to ear on her little head, I have to admit that while I can see the humour now, I can also see the potential for danger of a little furry body exploring and getting caught up in some obsolete pipes or whatever lies behind the walls of this older building.

I will try my best to get some artistic work done in between these scheduled and unscheduled interruptions, but I have to be ready to jump and take advantage of any quiet moments in which I can sit down with a box of watercolour pencils, oil pastels or whatever medium calls out to me at that time.  I will work on developing my art submission, I will bring reading material to any appointments and I will promise to make the most of my time.  I will continue on my artistic journey and make some new discoveries whether they pertain to colours that coordinate despite my misgivings or find new ways to play with paper.  There is so much out there that I want to discover for myself.  This is the week that I declare war on losing my focus and grab any allotments of time that present themselves.  The journey is going to get back on track even if I have to roll up my sleeves and talk firmly to some tardy plumbers or visitors who show up unannounced.  I control the progress of the journey so I need to put some ground rules in place.  While I have to accept that there will be some delays due to unexpected events taking precedence in the scheme of life, there are other equally non negotiable times when I can and do have the power to say "no" and I will.  Now, I just have to work on my will making me as strong as my determination to progress.

I hope you all have a productive week in any and all things meaningful to you!

Sincerely,  Rutheemac

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