I'm taking a break.

I'm such a liar. I said I would speak no more about a certain stack of papyrus pertaining to the dissolution of a certain set of promises, but here I am telling you once again that I have not completed my paperwork. I reconciled 3 months of bank statements and credit card statements, which was a step in the right direction. Hence THE BREAK, I am now taking. Earlier, I spent a few minutes in the studio working on a painting. I'm really amazed at myself now. You should be too.

Once upon a time, I would have scoffed at the idea that I could accomplish ANYTHING in the studio in less than a 3-hour time slot. Then one night when I was feeling sluggo, I bribed myself to work at least 1 hour in the studio even if I did not feel like it and found myself working at least 2 or more hours. So, here's the amazing part, and it has to do with the small paintings- I, who in a previous life would have dismissed anything less than a 3-hour time slot in the studio as negligible, have been able to walk in and make a few meaningful strokes on a canvas in the amount of time it would take me to open and sort the mail. This includes washing my brushes. Occasionally it includes putting caps back on paints, but not really. Which is all to say that I have accepted the oddity of making marks in the space in-between. And I do love the concept of between and all the things that happen there, so it's perfect. Ah, fodder.

And on the workshop... Cheryl who hosted it at her academy made sure the experience was lovely. Coffee and pastries to start, (lunch for me from a near-by vegan joint) and at end of day she served wine, and for us non-drinkers, some bubbly coca-cola. In between the food and drink, I was on conveyor belt. It was a great time, but 12 students was a couple too many to work with one-on-one. I have a good idea of how to tweak it next time, which includes being specific about realistic expectations for all involved, cutting the session short to chill out and relax while we evaluate everyone's painting in a group setting, and possibly suggesting a size limit on canvases for a 1-day workshop. Some students thought they would finish a painting in 6 hours and nearly everyone was exhausted. Many said they had never painted that long or hard and by 5 pm, some still had a long ways to go before a solid painting would emerge. A few played it safe and did what they knew best with regard to abstract painting and a few tried really hard to mimic the process as I described it. Twice I felt the need to warn everyone that at the end of the day, although their paintings might look like a disaster, it was a good starting point and not to give up.

I'm not sure I would pay good money to take a workshop from someone who said that, but then again, I wake up and live by that code, so I don't have to. Perhaps I made abstract painting seem too grueling. And no, the paintings didn't look disastrous, but seriously, 6 hours was a starting point. The good thing is that as everyone was packing up, I could see the next step for all of them. We'll see where it goes from here. I liked conducting a workshop. Lots of good energy and I felt useful. Good ole Protestant Work Ethic at work.