How to Find Time for the Good Stuff

Hello!

I'm so glad to see you today, it's lovely that you stopped by!

I've been busy in my sketchbook this week, the ideas are starting to come back - and what a relief it is to feel the flow again!  I must thank each of you who shared your own theories on how to restore a weary/missing mojo - I think I will be trying a few of those out myself next time I have a quiet spell.

So, this week I've been squeezing in a few drawings of seabirds, harbour window ledges, boats, pebbles and the like but I keep coming back to a garden with washing billowing about in a spring breeze.  I wonder if you can make out the sketch above?  I'm thinking of drifts of snowdrops, blossom laden trees - that kind of thing; an optimistic, bright little picture.

And I cannot wait to get this onto canvas...but here I discover another problem:  Time.

Which is why I'm reading this book.

The author of this book is Tsh Oxenreider, and she is an ordinary Mum with an ordinary family yet she has a canny ability to make life in general much more simple so that there is more time to enjoy the fun stuff.  Brilliant plan!
She also writes a great blog called Simple Mom which is worth a visit.


To say that my life and home are cluttered at the moment is an understatement.
So I have started to tackle almost four years worth of accumulated Stuff.  I cleared out a few drawers and bagged up some old clothes for the charity shop - we also have lots of baby toys that we are putting on one side for a car boot sale in the Spring.  I'm feeling much lighter, releasing old stuff is a Good Feeling!


I am also becoming more concious of how I choose to spend my time.  I watch tv and surf the net, and then complain I haven't time to paint! What??! Yes, it would appear I haven't been making the best choices when I think about it.  Not that there's anything wrong with either of those activities, it's just that both of them can swallow up lots of time without you even realising it.


But hey ho, I can make some changes, and a big one Im looking at right now is this:

I have to change my (somewhat expensive) habit of buying 3-4 glossy mags each month.  I am planning on donating my current piles to the local doctors and dentists waiting rooms.
I save them because there is usually an article or picture in there that I want to keep...but as the months float by I forget all about the article, or even which magazine it's in and then I don't have the time to look for it and these small magazine mountains sprout up around my house.


So my solution is to stop buying so many, maybe just one now and again as a treat - and I promise to cut out the article I want to save when Ive read it, and stick it in my Inspiration Book for safe keeping.


And just before you start thinking, oh listen to Mrs Virtuous here with her tidy house and her nice diet plan...oh please - let me tell you that the other night I demolished half a packet of Oreo cookies topped with generous dollops of dulce de leche...that's right, and my lounge looks like a branch of Toys R Us has exploded all over it.  That's how it goes, I'm only human after all and am fabulous at being messy and falling off the healthy eating wagon :D


But it's good to tidy up and climb back on right? :D


I hope you all have the brightest of weekends - will you share your decluttering secrets here? I'm on a roll at the mo and would love to hear your tips and suggestions please!


Sending love
'til next time...


Julia x

Time

A delicious new year has dawned, full of promise and opportunity...but I find myself feeling impatient and wanting to press an imaginary fast forward button to propel me into the future.

I want things Im dreaming and thinking about to have already manifested, for the paintings Im doodling in the back of my mind to already sit colourfully in frames...for the new business venture my partner is undertaking to have passed through the tough fledgling stages and made it into a strong established company.

But life doesnt work like that.

We each have to traverse some rocky terrain at times in order to achieve what we desire or dream of. We have to deal with all manner of emotions that arise as we walk the path towards creating something new. For me, as well as joy, happiness and elation these feelings can also be deep frustration, anger, fear and terror...

I feel frustration that I dont have enough time to paint, print, write, whatever. I feel cheated and pained by lack of time.

I feel angry that when I do have a few hours to paint, it doesnt always happen that I feel creatively inspired.

I feel fear and terror at the sensation of nothing happening...at times it feels like life has stalled, is not going anywhere and there is a heaviness that remains in my belly.

But deep down I know I hold the key to make new pockets of time, to barter with myself over what would be a more nourishing thing to do...change the beds or sketch out some new painting ideas for half an hour while the little one naps....? Thats an easy one, the beds can be done later with the little one helping as she loves to throw herself in the duvets and makes changing the beds so much more fun anyway.

I can also trade an hour of evening tv for more creative time.

Already, the pressure is off - no longer am I fearing never having enough time to do what I want, Im making it happen bit by bit. And if it transpires that I dont feel inspired at that time, it can wait. Time is flexible, we can shuffle things about til it does feel like the right time.

Slowly the feeling of fear and terror subside, as with each step towards making time and creating art I feel as if I am moving forward. Time travels alongside life, and unfolds at its own pace - there are no fast forward buttons, all is as it should be.

This year promises miracles and opportunities, Im looking for them right now - I am lucky to have 24 hours this day to play with, and I intend to make the most of them.

What about you?

Jx

Journeying through time

Taken from 'Bird in the Hand' available in my Etsy store as a print and as an original at http://www.juliacrossland.co.uk/

At the moment Im exploring feelings and meaning in my work - Ive been compelled to follow these ideas after watching my daughter at play with her art, and feeling my own need to let go of rigid ideas I sometimes have when creating my own.

I am really happy with what is evolving, this is the second of a series of fairy angel paintings which are depicting messages of positivity and joy.

I wanted to keep the work simple and playful - again I used a variety of mixed media such as glazes, crayon and paints etc and really 'let go' of trying to create a perfect piece of art.

I am using my angels as a learning experience, a chance to try and paint more freely (I can paint so TIGHTLY at times!), a chance to indulge my inner child whilst at the same time adventuring with more a illustrative style.

This is really working for me right now - I feel swamped by ideas and most evenings Im doodling furiously in my art journal before they evaporate ~ when you have to fit in art around a little ones schedule its the best thing to do as in the past I have had sparks of inspiration, only to have forgotten the detail a few days later without having a chance to get it down on paper.

Im also trying to be a little more organised with my time, instead of watching hours of mundane tv, Im being gifted an artists daylight lamp which means I can spend time painting and creating when my girl has gone to bed. I was thinking how much time dissolves away, on simple things like telephone calls, dealing with emails etc...Im trying to find a way of cutting these activities down to a minimum (no more messing about on facebook for long spells anymore lol) so that I can devote more of this precious time to what I enjoy the most - my art.

I hear alot of people say that they 'never have enough time' - but we each forget (me included) that we are the keepers of our own time, and it is absolutely our own choices that dictate how we use it.

Time for lunch.

See you soon x