{breathing space}

I doodle. I’m a color-er and a sketcher and a person who writes cartoon bubbles above underwear models in catalogs. If it’s been a long time between artistic endeavors – even the goofy ones like making my own comics from the sale pages – then I know that something deep down is Off and my switches need to be flipped. Random artwork is the surest way to tell that my brain is re-engaging, in balance, and ready to work.

2012 has started with a fairly solid thump – some painful things to deal with, and some typical events I have to deal with all the time re-emerging just in time to start the year off right, all of which interferes with the writing. If you’re a person for whom writing is a transcendent and spiritual journey, these sorts of things can take a real toll. If you’re a person for whom writing is a job, and sometimes you have to punch in and do your best with your eyes bloodshot and half-mast, with your breakfast on your shirt, with salt tracks staining your cheeks, and when you’re feeling like something someone stepped in — well. You know how it goes.

If no one minds, I’d like to cast a vote for starting a new year in September – officially. All of that lovely sunshine and leaf-turning surely breathes new life into a body. Why we celebrate with champagne and fireworks when all is gray and dark and grim… oh. Well. The Deep Dark certainly explains why it is that we make a fuss at the New Year – or at least, one of many reasons. But, let’s find another reason to celebrate, and just start the year in September, yes? I mean, crisp, blue skies, fresh days at school… Yes. So, this isn’t the new year, this is just the bottom of the seasons; much like the bottom of the barrel, we’re scraping along, finding a lot of splinters in with our provisions. And still we move on. Our brains re-engage. The orchids bloom, the snowdrops show a green half-inch above the ground, and Life Goes On.

The cue to me that all will be well is art. When I can make it again, I know I’ll be able to breathe. I’ve been doing a little bit of beading, a little bit of knitting, and a bit of painting. This rather benign looking squash will end up with “Veggie Diva” in lights behind it and with an orange feather boa across its backside – well, as much backside as a butternut squash might ostensibly possess. And with bright red lips and glitter mascara… Well. These things happen to veg, usually well out of our sight.

There are long-term projects afoot, things for which I’ve had to learn new vocabulary such as “beat sheet” and “production breakdown” and that sort of thing – confusing and frustrating and fairly scary, but challenging in a tentatively positive way. I don’t know what I’m doing, but I’m not sure how much of a difference that will make in the long run. I’m trying to stay in a very Zen and Que Sera kind of place on this one: what will be, will be, what is intended will be. Om.

Despite feeling like each word is being pulled from beneath a twenty-two ton rhino who is happily reclining and has no intention of even shifting for my benefit, my novel is moving along. Sloooowly. But moving, and with no major false steps that I can sense. Progress is being made. In honor of it being the year of the dragon, I will turn my fire toward creativity (not blow it on anyone), and keep the flame of originality in my work.

What about you? Are you knitting? Painting? Throwing pots? Making beads? Making pretzels? Frying doughnuts? (Are you going to argue with me about the definition of art vs. craft? You could, but then neither of us would be creating.) If you have twenty-five minutes and a needle, there’s surely a simple project you can embroider over at Wendi Gratz’s blog. Let your creativity fly! It might take you awhile to finish anything, but art gives your hands something to do while your brain works out all of the details of what’s supposed to happen next. Happy week.♥