Friday, 7 December 2007

MISSING - My muse! If you find it, please send it home.

I've been feeling so out of the loop the past week or so......I fear I have lost my muse. I just can't seem to motivate myself to paint or draw. The frustrating part is that I have lots of ideas for paintings swirling around in my head but even that hasn't motivated me to pick up a pencil or brush to get it all down on paper before I forget them. Believe me, if you have a memory like mine, you will definitely understand the need for me to do that. Admittedly, I have a ton of other, more burdensome, thoughts swirling around in my head too so maybe I need to clear the clutter of my mind first before I can free the creative spirit within. Any ideas? I do journal but I've even been lax there too. Note to self - I really need to get back into my daily meditations.

Maybe I'm just feeling overwhelmed and one of the reasons may well be this monstrosity of a fishtank and stand. Can you feel the love? My darling son, Beau, brought it home a couple of weeks ago after an impulse buy because he decided he wanted to upgrade from the two smaller fishtanks currently taking up residence in his room.
Just take a guess at who is going to be painting the latest addition for him? Hmmmmmmmm....I hear ya....my thoughts exactly, I swear....but what could I say? He was so excited about setting it up....well, that was until a couple of days ago when, Xena, his favourite fish died. Poor Beau was not happy and now this massive tank could possibly be home to a turtle instead of fish. I did explain to him that turtles have an expiry date too but he said he's over the fish.

On the new fishtank stand, Beau wants me to paint the same crackled effect (black with cream cracks) that I did on the other stand in his room. It looks much better in reality than in the photo.
At least I will be painting again but it's not the type of painting I want to be doing. This job is going to be fiddly too! :( I do love my son, honest I do......this is the same son who wants me to do the painting of zebras for his room after I've done all this other stuff. I might add at this point that Beau is a fabulous artist in his own right and I feel quite honoured that he wants me to paint the zebras.... just not the other stuff. Love jobs - let's just say that I have a love/hate relationship with them. Of course, I do have the option of telling him to go ahead and paint the massive, monstrosity of a fishtank stand himself but, when he did start painting the 'other' stand in his room, I quickly took over the task because Beau seems to have an uncanny knack for spattering paint everywhere.....and I mean everywhere! I remember the clean ups all too well. Black, spattered paint all over my studio? I don't think so.
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15 comments:

  1. Maria Catalina Wiley7 December 2007 at 20:12

    I feel for you, Serena. Not sure what is the best advice, as everyone is different . . . sometimes a change of scenery or doing something new is a good way of clearing the creative cobwebs.

    I think the black crackle effect will look fantastic on the fish tank - you'll do a great job on it I'm sure & I'll look forward to seeing the end result:)

    What can I say, kids have a way of keeping us very busy, and on the other hand it's nice to know that we are needed . . .

    I'll keep an eye out for that wandering muse :)

    cheers, Maria

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  2. Anonymous7 December 2007 at 21:57

    Thanks serena for visiting my blog! I totally understand the feeling of the muse disappearing. When you have children around or other people who need you, it's so difficult to put yourself first.I find reading other people's blogs helps me to rediscover myself and what I want.I'm trying to post something each day even if it's rubbish! I find this helps the momentum!:)

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  3. Northbrook Designs8 December 2007 at 01:42

    Muses are wonderful things. Mine has me so busy I have a ton of things going on all around me, all will be revealed soon. As for your muse Serena. She's there, but you have to clear a path so she can get to you. Get rid of the things that are cluttering up emotionally and physically and your muse will be back in action and doing overtime.....Ro

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  4. Judybec8 December 2007 at 04:40

    Oh my! Serena, you have some major work in your future!
    Sometimes it's good to paint "mindless things" (ie. walls - furniture --fish tank stands)-- it tends to loosen me up for painting on paper.

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  5. Serena Lewis8 December 2007 at 12:58

    Thanks for the advice, Maria. You're right.....it's nice that my son wants me to help him with these sorts of things. :)

    Jess, I love your blog and, like you, I am going to try and post more often whether it's painting related or not. It might help with clearing my mind too. Thanks ~ :)

    Ro, I can't wait to see what you've been up to. I am going to force myself to do something different on the creative line of things this weekend....whether it be knitting, bead-work or homemade Xmas cards. It might all help to get myself motivated again. Thanks ~ :)

    Thanks, Bec. :) Hopefully, it will work. Maybe I just need a break from teaching art so I can focus on my own things for a change. The holiday period may be just what I need to refresh myself.

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  6. Anonymous9 December 2007 at 02:39

    I don´t know what you can see. I´m really sorry. I like the acuariums . Namarië.

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  7. Africantapestry and Myfrenchkitchen9 December 2007 at 03:18

    If I may throw in my penny: have your son do his painting himself...cut up some black bags and cover everything so you won't worry. Then he can have his fun and be proud of his art afterwards and you can carry on doing what you want to do...I think your muse is hiding behind this tank. If you can get the tank out of the way(your mind) then you'll be able to see your muse again!
    Everybody is sketching and painting such beautiful Christmas decorations now, it got me in the spirit too...so then you go pick a nice Christmas decoration and draw it and colour it with coloured pencil (like your beautiful brussels sprouts)and post it for us!
    I'll be looking...
    ronell

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  8. Serena Lewis9 December 2007 at 07:24

    No hay necesidad de decir lo siento, Jou. He estado sintiendo un poco en los últimos tiempos y ha sido difícil de obtener en el estado de ánimo de la pintura o el dibujo. Tengo tantas otras cosas que hacer también. Voy a tratar de sacar algo de hoy y ver cómo va. No sé qué Namarië medios pero gracias. :)

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  9. Serena Lewis9 December 2007 at 07:29

    Ronell, you may be right about my muse hiding behind the tank. I have one more week of teaching class and I'm so looking forward to the break so I can focus on my own art. I am also going to make sure that tank stand moves aside, one way or another. lol I will make an attempt at a Christmas decoration today...thanks for the push. I needed it. :)

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  10. Anonymous9 December 2007 at 09:05

    Namarië. Es la canción (sing?) que la dama élfica Galadriel canta a Frodo en su despedida de Lothlórien.
    Namarië = Adiós = Bye

    Namarië Serena

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  11. Serena Lewis9 December 2007 at 11:08

    Gracias por su paciencia conmigo. Es agradable de aprender cosas nuevas. Namarië, Jou Mike :)

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  12. BoydGreeneArt9 December 2007 at 18:01

    It is hard when you get out of the groove to get started again. But the sooner the better. It helps me to get on the internet and search for artists to look at their work by searching western art or such. Can't wait to see some new work!

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  13. Serena Lewis10 December 2007 at 19:33

    Thanks, Boyd....after a lot of encouragement from my readers/friends, I did manage a simple sketch today in keeping with the festive season so will post it shortly. I hope to keep the momentum going now ~ :)

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  14. platitudinal11 December 2007 at 01:02

    Hi, Serena :)
    The things about Muses, sometimes they be such flighty creatures. Taking off vacation without telling us. When that happen, don't despair. Try doing something else like another hobby, and enjoy your time. When they see us having a good time without them, they start running home like mad. Will keep an eye on your wandering muse. In the mean time, take care!

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  15. stapeliad11 December 2007 at 02:20

    I think your muse must be out with mine. Because mine's been gone for MONTHS.

    Stupid muse.

    I need a new one. How does one go about posting an ad for a new muse?

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