My Grandson Graham spent two days with us this week.  He is so much fun to be with.  He is funny and creative.  He likes to learn new words and finds some of them to be hilarious to say.  Like the word funnel.  That totally cracked him up.  One of the things that I miss about teaching art full time is learning from children how not to be afraid or over think during the art making process.  They begin working and go with the flow. Graham will be three in April and loves working in the studio with me.  A couple of weeks ago he stuck twigs into a hunk of clay creating a wonderful sculpture.  Yesterday, in celebration of Mama and Daddy coming home from Chicago he decorated a party hat that we made out of paper.  He would rummage around the marker box looking for the color he wanted to use. He would push the markers around saying, ummm, ummm, ummm, until he found the one color that spoke to him.  Then he would announce, that one!  He used mostly blues and blue greens.  Then he grabbed a red and added a few touches of that color.  Markers were followed by a few flourishes with a purple crayon.  Next he wanted to cut paper and glue pieces on top of his line work.  He really liked working with scissors and was very good at cutting little pieces to add to his party hat.  He was very happy with his hat and couldn't wait to show it to his Mama and Daddy.

When things are going well in my studio that is the way I feel.  I don't know if anyone will like my work.  I don't know if they will understand or feel the same joy and satisfaction that I did in the making of it.  I love working with color, shape, and lines.  Even if I create something that is representational for me it is still mostly about the process.  The color relationships, the feel of the brush on canvas or paper, the energy of drawing and line work, or putting in place the last piece of a collage.  Then stepping back to take in the finished piece.  I am learning to be like Graham; fearless, free from self judgement, absorbed in the process, and happy with the finished work.

I am taking a giant leap of faith by becoming a full time artist but I feel that this is what I am supposed to be doing.  My mantra these days: Leap and the net will appear!