This is one of my favourite spots on our property. Our leaves are falling now but this place is sheltered from the wind and the leaves should last awhile here. Deer liked resting in this spot last winter.Do you ever stop to look back over your artistic journey? I had the opportunity to do that this week as I redid my resume. I was submitting a resume and a course proposal to a college that offers a summer school program in the arts. I am looking ahead at the possibility of new opportunities for 2009. Anyway, as I prepared to write my resume, I looked back over the last year or so to record my accomplishments. You know what I discovered? I have accomplished more than I thought! Isn't that nice?! If you have been reading my blog for a while, you will know that my husband and I bought and sold homes in the past year. You will also know that my Dad was sick this summer and that I was out of town staying with him. What surprised me, is that despite all of the upheavals to my life in the past year or so, I have managed to be quite productive. I am so glad I had a reason to look back or I might not have realized this.
So my suggestion for the day is that you find a few minutes to pause and look back over your own life. What have you been doing artistically in the past year or two? Perhaps you have taken a workshop, read some art books or magazines, perhaps you have tried a new technique or two, perhaps some new surfaces, perhaps some new subject matter. No matter what you have done, you are now further ahead on your art journey than you were back in the Fall of 2007 or 2006. Take a moment to celebrate this. We all tend to feel overwhelmed by our ideas for new projects, or overwhelmed by everything we haven't yet tried or don't yet know...so stop for just a bit and savour what you have done. You will probably be surprised like I was.
Now for a few more pictures...
This next picture is of a trail that leads off from our backyard.
The view above...
The view below...
I love this tree. It makes me think of something animated from a children's movie - a talking tree. It also makes me think of a guy in a rubber tree outfit, with the face about three quarters of the way up.
2 comments:
You have a beautiful place! I'm sure you find lots of inspiration from it.
I'm glad to hear you accomplished more than you thought!
Thanks Valerie, yes I do get lots of inspiration from living here. I especially love the peace and quiet.
We are in rural Ottawa which is really the best of both worlds. Everything I need for shopping etc. can be found as close as 15 minutes away and I am just 30 minutes from downtown - if I am going to the National Gallery, National Arts Centre, or skating on the canal. Did you know that Ottawa has a 4.8 mile long skating 'rink'? The Rideau Canal runs through the city and each winter it is cleared of snow and the surface flooded to create a fabulous rink. If you skate the whole thing up and down, you will have done over 9.5 miles. Vendors sell hot chocolate and pastries along the route and there are places to sit and rest as well as ice sculptures. There are lovely old fashioned street lights that line the canal and I especially love skating at night. Wonderful and a great way to get out and enjoy winter.
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