the greys and browns of my winter morning walk
textures by Flypaper and Kim Klassen
I’ve been busy…still walking! No kidding, I’m still walking almost every day and it’s amazing what a big chunk of time it takes out of the day…especially when coffee is included as an incentive at the end of it. And because of it, I’m feeling great…the exercise, the sunshine and extra Vit. D (or alternatively, the wind, the rain and stinging pink cheeks), the deep breathing and oxygenation, the physical tiredness, not to mention all those happy little endorphins that are swimming around in the chemical soup. I wake up in the morning wanting, needing, to get out, to get moving, even when the weather is west-coast-wild. This is just not me, at least not any aspect of me that has ever surfaced before, but I’m thrilled with it and have a feeling that this me is here to stay. I have more to say on this and what I think has triggered the change within me, but I'll save that for another day.
I’ve been playing around in my art journals for the past month… I have several journals on the go and they’re all different sizes, so yesterday I ripped all the pages out, punched holes in them and put them all together under one cover, held together with rings. The cover is made but not quite finished yet.
I've been using my journals as a place to develop ideas as well as trying out different media and techniques. I can then decide from there if I want to change something up and take it another step...and sometimes I just look at it and think "well that was fun but that's enough of that".
…The cover is made but not quite finished yet. (the writing was just photoshopped on the picture!) Does anyone actually say "pizzaz" any more or am I just dating myself?
I’ve also been redesigning my blog and will be updating that soon too (in the next few days). So as usual, there's a lot percolating beneath the surface here, both mentally and physically.
I'll leave you with this quote by Neil Gaiman, which I really, really love...
I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.
Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.
So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.
Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.
Make your mistakes, next year and forever.
