I stitched this weekend, well yesterday, on my bed, all afternoon long. I needed it. Since the beginning of the year, and since cutting back on teaching, I have been trying to adhere to a schedule, to treat my illustrating and writing like a real job. Monday, Tuesday and Fridays...writing all morning, do art in afternoon. Wednesdays....write social media-blogs and twitter and go to yoga. Afternoon....teach Art to kiddos. Thursday mornings...I cook for a soup kitchen and afternoon.....do art, take a nap.
I read others blogs and interact with Twitter in the morning. Problem is I get up 5 o'clock mountain time and the only illustrators up at that time are in the UK. But wow, have I found some wonderful artist and illustrators over there and have really enjoyed following them.
I made a pact with myself not to work on my manuscript on the weekends, but to work on blog post, peruse Twitter and do art. Saturday, I didn't listen to myself.
Spent most of the day, here, in my office, the kitchen table and outlined a prequel to my work in progress that is in revisions. The idea sparked by my work on Friday basically building a family tree for the characters, to keep track of all their names. But in the process, a story started to come out and excited, I devoted my Saturday to getting it down.
I should have stuck to my pact because now everything is off kilter and am writing this in the am on Monday and should be starting to work on my manuscript.
But stitching yesterday helped get things back in line. Too much grandiose thoughts can come when you are creating a world that does not exist and the brain hurts too much. I have to actively push words out of myself and onto the paper, with many fits and starts.
On the other hand, when all the design decisions are made, stitching is effortless, feeling the drag of the thread through the fabric I also can feel the release my tension with it and a balance to world. I stitch on my bed, while listening to a movie or the whole season of a television show I have seen before, so I don't have to look up at the screen so much to know what is going on.
One series I love and should buy to watch when it is no longer airing is PBS's CRAFTS IN AMERICA...
I could go on and on how wonderful this series is. I won't know, cause I am thirteen minutes late for work, which working on that manuscript is, but I will leave you with the words for the title song, an old Shaker hymn that I want sung at my funeral, I love it so much, to see the YouTube video go HERE...
"Simple Gifts" written by Elder Joseph
(From Wikipedia page... "while he was at the Shaker community in Alfred, Maine in 1848)
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- 'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free
- 'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
- And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
- 'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
- When true simplicity is gained,
- To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed,
- To turn, turn will be our delight,
- Till by turning, turning we come 'round right
I love hearing how creative people organise their time. There is a great TV series on BBC 4 in the UK called 'What artists do all day'. It's fascinating.
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