Monday, July 14, 2008

painting time is thinking time

i continue to paint the big drawer thingie (købmandsdisk--danish just has a better word for it!) in the kitchen and the slow, methodical work lends itself to thinking and flights of fancy. i think i'll be a bit sad when it's finished (which is soon) because i actually feel that the repetitive, not particularly creative act of brushing creamy white paint on wood has awakened inspiration within me at last. 

so many ideas are coming to me--writing ideas (something fun on great restaurants in out-of-the way places for scanorama), ideas for starting a creative "support group," so i have people to do creative stuff with (this means you, janni!), home decor (i'm thinking petroglyphs) and some ideas for more gocco notebooks (also thinking petroglyphs), new earrings, and yes, even scrapping! i printed a whole lot of pictures last night and made what i can only characterize as a breakthrough scrap page. (not because it was particularly good, but mostly because it's the first one i've made in months, despite continuing to buy supplies like there's no tomorrow.)

and although the desk looks a mess, it's just the kind of mess that i've been longing for...

ideas i had ages ago are returning to me...stamping cavafy's ithaca on the stairs is one of them. i'm also getting new ideas...a treasure map painting on a wall in the garden. small colorful tea-light holders hung all over the garden. bright print fabric pillows and cushions and tablecloths. 

all these months of gathering bits of inspiration and tacking them to the board beside my desk, seeking inspiration online and in magazine and books is finally paying off. i just had to give myself time to let the ideas gel.

if only a great name for my etsy shop would come to me, that's currently the obstacle that's stopping me on that front. perhaps it will tomorrow when i finish up the painting.

or perhaps it's all just paint fumes...

4 comments:

Andi said...

Repetitive activity like that lends itself to thought and inspiration for me, too. In fact I've begun taking a morning walk, and just the act of putting one foot in front of the other gets me thinking and inspired. Good luck with all your projects!

Phyllis Hunt McGowan said...

Sometimes you write a line that just begs to be a book title! What about one for Home Decor, called 'just the kind of mess that I've been longing for'

:) Or something like that.

I'm sure the name for your etsy shop will come to you when the time is right. Meanwhile, think about that book ;)

LuzinhaFolch said...

Awww darling I'm so happy with your comment on my blog!
It's so nice to know that I inspired you a little.
And please if you need anything just let me to know ok?
xoxo
Lucy

d smith kaich jones said...

Julie - I agree with you SO MUCH! There is nothing better than painting a wall or gessoing canvases to relax me.(Drawers, in your case.) The no-pressure-that-this-has-to-be-art, the repetitiveness, the immediate gratification - all are just too good. It's meditation.

:) Debi