Lucy

Our wheaton terrorist, I mean terrier, is now one year old, and still very much a puppy.  We took her on a cruise with some friends, and their aging lab, Belle. Poor Belle! Lucy is a non-stop play toy, and Belle was worn out by the end of the day.

We can learn a lot from dogs.  Dogs live in the moment. None of this worrying about the future! They play when they want to, eat when they need to, and love you unconditionally. Lucy is always happy to see me, even if I have only been gone an hour. She tries so hard to be good, and not jump, but she has this bouncing, springing action that she just can't seem to get under control.

Someday, maybe Lucy will be calm enough to be a good studio dog. Although she has confiscated a few tubes of paint, and has sported various garish colors in her fur, she is still much too active to watch me paint. I have been thinking of creating a piece with her paw prints in it, but the concern over the chemicals in paint have held me back.  

This past weekend, Lucy helped me realize, for the zillionth time, that life consists of moments. Most of the things that worry us are trivial, and unimportant.  She also shows us how easy it is to unconditionally love one another. If only people could be like dogs - minus the butt sniffing!

Artfully yours,

Cathy

Getting Things Done....or not

I have two receptions coming up in a few weeks, to introduce my friends and clients to my new studio space. And while I have new work, the reality of operating a studio, shop, a home, taking care of a puppy, making prints and cards, and the sheer fact that a million things always need to be done, and everything is happening at once, means that very little "making art" is getting done.

Or is it? I mentioned last time about filling my well. Now my well runneth over. I am realizing that there will never be enough cards made, that clients can order prints, that I don't have to sweep the floor every time leaves are tracked in, and I don't have to cook all that much. But, I need to paint before I lose my mind!

While I can search for creative ways to do the laundry, the fact remains that I must paint to stay sane. Brushes full of paint seem to have a magical healing power, and the very act of making strokes on the paper, canvas, or anything seems to calm my frazzled nerves. It is an addiction. I can go several days after creating something, but then I start to lose it. Tonight will be a painting night. The puppy is exhausted from walking, digging, getting a bath, training, playing, and acting like a little terrorist. Once the laundry comes out of the drier, it is my time.

Must be boring reading this. Just ordinary stuff. Life is pretty much ordinary stuff. That is a good thing. I think it is important to find meaning in the ordinary stuff. Then, when really extraordinary things happen to us, we don't expect them, and they mean a lot more. So, in the course of an ordinary day, I make time to find meaning in all the little occurrences. After all, every load of laundry is different - I am always amused by what I find that comes out of the pockets! Peace and cheers, keep the faith.

Lucy

Dick and I got a new puppy this past weekend. We needed a canine friend after Dakota departed this earth. Lucy is quite a handful! She is a wheaten terrier, and right now, a furball baby.

Lucy has taught me many things in the past 36 hours - that I can get by with a lot less sleep; that my eyeglasses are tougher than I thought; that puppies are eating/sleeping/pooping machines! I never meant for "Lucy" to rhyme with "poopy", but there you have it.

She is also helping me to fill my well. The grass in our yard has come to life. Lucy lives so "in the moment" that it is teaching me to do the same. I have to! Ironically, I couldn't keep up with her if I didn't live in the moment!

Soon (hopefully), Lucy will be a great studio mate. But for now, she is like a little duck, following me around, crying when I disappear, and hopping all over the place when I magically return. As soon as she stays still for more than a millisecond, I will include a photo. May take a while! Cathy