In Spite of It All

Forest Twilight
Berol pencil, Judith
May '09

Happy Mother's Day to all mother's and caregivers!
This was one of those challenging weeks, you know the kind ~ when you vow to do something important and monkey wrenches get thrown at you from all directions.

I vowed to make a magnificent obsession of my drawing and art, adding edge & stretching myself. Well, the day job was extra demanding, my house & garden were nagging me, I went to dog-sit my friend's 8 dogs, and I felt I was neglecting my editing, never mind the art. Okay, there are hours, days, and weeks like that. We all have them. I realized Friday, after I dragged myself to an art opening, that even artists who've made it, have their challenges when I observed the famous artist looking very pale and probably nervous. Then, in spite of exhaustion I came home & drew 3 drawings, one of which is above. I also realized that I have made it as an artist and writer, maybe not as far as I dreamed I would 21 years ago when I got my M.A. in art. My persistence (I was born with that, whew!) is paying off, and some years it's been baby steps and tiny progress in confidence. Oh, yes, in those years I finished raising two fantastic, creative children. So, my week went better than my monkey mind was telling me. And, I did get some garden & house work done too. Course, I love the garden part, so it wasn't nagging me so much as me itching to get out there as well as into the studio!

I hope your next week is full of creative fun in spite of anything else that comes your way.