A Brief Recap and Then....................

I suppose its time to fill in some blanks from the past month or so.  I talked up the Hands for Haiti event and on my end it was a success.  I heard the event itself went really good and that the food was amazing.  The centerpieces looked great on the tables and I was in shock to know that my art was going to be in front of so many people, complete strangers.  That is one of the nuances about creating art that I so enjoy- that the work has a life of its own once I complete it.  It was like these centerpieces were my teenagers who went out for a party.  Three of them didn't make it home, but I heard that they found some good families to start a new life with.

I haven't written much about my cycling adventures around this valley I live in, so now is the time.  I don't currently own a car, so my bike has taken on a whole new level of importance.  I've been living this way for about a year now and I have no regrets.  Besides the financial benefits, riding my bike everywhere puts me in direct contact with the elements and wildlife in a way that I would never see or feel in a car.  I get a real sense of satisfaction knowing that I got to all my destinations by means of human power.  Distance and time take on a new feel, suddenly places aren't so far away as going by car makes them seem.  True, some mornings I don't feel like riding in the cold, but after about ten minutes I'm all warmed up and so happy to not be on the freeway.  Instead, I can connect to my imagination as the hawks soar overhead and the rythmn of pedaling takes me to my destination.  It has essentially become my personal therapy session.  I highly recommend reading a book called "How to Live Well Without a Car".  It helped me see the possibilities of this kind of lifestyle.  And soon enough I discovered that there is a whole subculture based on bike-centric living.  I'm excited by this energy and I'm leading by example.  Its a choice and one I'm happy to have made.

Artistic Struggles or Subconscious Amnesia

  I find myself struggling to keep to a working studio schedule.  After an intense peroid of concentration to make someone's deadline (successfully), I have lost my rythmn artistically.  I've had some good ideas and made a few sales here and there, but I've just been worrying about the mundane things of life, like taxes and mortgages- how boring.  I'm sad about this and I want to trust that the flow is there waiting for me to step into it.  I did have a successful day in the studio today, but only because Horse reminded me that I've dropped all the things that make me me.  I made some more faces (as big as will fit in the kiln) and put some handles on some mugs.  I have plenty of clay right now, so there is one excuse I can't use.  My jaw is tight with anger as I get ready to sleep.  I want to succeed as an artist, but is it all about money or pleasing other people?  Or is it about self-expression and trusting that what I need is already happening?  Stay tuned, I know I will be.  earthawk studio, staying alive for another day.  Tomorrow is a ride to wine country as I get back to country bike commuting.  Riding is a way for me to get in touch with how I really feel- wait this sounds like another post.  See you tomorrow (with some pic's,too).