My brother-in-law, David Cobb (http://www.dmcobbphoto.com/), stopped by today to see the pastel painting I had done of one of his photographs. You may remember that on my list of 50 creative projects was a fairly easy one: asking David for some of his landscapes to paint from. He promptly emailed me four lovely ones and so when I went to the last painting class of the term, I took along a goregous photo of the Badlands and their painted hills at dawn.
After we talked about that photo, I showed him some of the other pastels I've done this summer and some of the acrylics, and he asked me how I found the time for it. He knows I lead a pretty busy life and I still work close to full time.
"I make commitments," I said. And because it's really important to me to keep my word, I figure out a way to write and paint and do the things I say I want to do. In Diane DeMarco-Barrett's fun book, Pen on Fire, she encourages busy women to steal moments for writing. That wouldn't satisfy me--I want more time than that. So I make a commitment, like 100 poems or 100 prompts or completing my novel by Aug 1, and I announce that commitment to my creative community, and I make it happen. It's not always easy and in the spirit of William Stafford, I often have to "lower my standards."
But I know only too well that whatever we have on our agendas will fill up the day and so putting my creative desires on that agenda is really important to me.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
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