Keeping the Wheels Rolling

Sometimes I am full of energy. I jump out of bed and my mind is racing before my feet even hit the floor. I easily construct timelines and view complicated schedules as a fun challenge. At home I am fun, patient and light hearted. I roll with the punches and even when situations are turned upside down I can still find the good in it all.

Those are great days.

I am currently in a different mode. I'm tired and craving a little more slow time. I am pretty sure that I'm setting the world record for Most Trips To Easton Per Week. You might think that this would make my day pretty mundane, but just the opposite is true! Better than any casino is the gambling that I engage in every time I guess how long my drive to Easton will be! Last Friday, my first trip to Easton took 11 minutes. My second trip took 24 minutes. The third, a half an hour. Sigh. Can I just go home now???

I have to be my most disciplined at this time. Everything takes extra effort and I really just want to eat a giant bowl of pasta and nap on the couch. If the Jen Wagner Mosaics company offered paid vacation time I might be okay, but the reality is that if my feet don't hit the floor running then I will have some explaining to do to my landlord and the electric company.

 However, I have a super secret weapon that allows me to thrive during these times. It's simply that I love my work. I dig deep, make things happen, juggle everyone's needs and schedules, talk to a million people, and stay up late to get it all done. I take my exhaustion and frustration and create from it. And I have truly found that the victories are sweeter, and that it's at these times that I can amaze myself. When I am cruising easily through life, I am often moving so fast that I don't even appreciate what is being accomplished. When I have to work harder, I savor every hard fought battle, and use it to fuel myself to take on the next task.

That, and  I usually take one day to indulge in some Bravo and spaghetti. But just one day.

Is there an app for that???

Yikes! I am just coming out of a state of mind known as the Plein Air Easton! hangover. The week of Plein Air was, as always, exciting and fast paced -  full of fun events and lots of opportunity for us artists. This year I was allowed to co-ordinate a multi-media show called The Out of the Box Art Exhibit and Sale. The event was a success! The energy was amazing! Exhilarating! Oh, and also......exhausting.

The week of Plein Air flies by - I always have fun but it can often feel like I'm trying to survive the week as much as enjoy it. The kids are given a stern talking to - they are busy trying to make a few bucks at their annual lemonade stand - but they know not to test me during this time. Arguing, whining, complaining and all other annoying behaviors are banned during this week. Any infraction of this rule will result in an overzealous lecture from their stressed out, preoccupied mother. I always promise that it will all be over and things will go back to the normal, acceptable level of craziness the following week.

Another side effect of that busy week is that absolutely no housework or yard maintenance is accomplished. Miraculously I cannot even see the dishes or laundry that need to be done, grass that needs to be cut or demon weeds that threaten to take over flowerbeds or even the driveway. Mosaic "stations" pop up all over the house. It is normal to have two or three projects in the living room, several stations in the family room, where most of the frame painting takes place, as well as multiple projects on the back porch and in my studio. I am grateful for this temporary blindness -without it the mere thought of housework at this point in time can send me straight to Crazy Town, a place where logic and reason don't exist, and overwhelmed, exhausted, emotional responses dwell.

When it's all over - there is a long period of rest. And then re-emergence into regular life. It can be shocking - there is work to be done everywhere! And there's no food in the house! And we have no clean clothes! Oh my! A bit overwhelming, and has me asking, do I really have to do all of it??? Is there an app for that?

I'm Back!!!

Yay! I'm back! Where did I go? Oh wait - maybe you didn't even notice! Hmmm.....that's okay - all is forgiven. Just to give my generation one more reason to be ashamed of my less than savvy tech skills - I accidentally deleted my last blog. Once I realized this error, I did attempt to correct it. I called my computer guy (i.e. I texted my 10 year old who was reading a book upstairs) and asked him to assess the damage. After thoroughly checking the situation out - he announced that my blog was lost forever. At that moment I vowed to create a new one. A better, more interesting, more attractive blog. Then the summer mural season took over and three months went by in what seemed like an instant. It was not until now, Monday, Oct. 29 that I have been able to realize my intent. All it took was a hurricane to shut down roads, schools and any other distracting forces in my life. The hurricane has not only allowed me to create this new site but also focus on finishing the last few pieces for my gallery opening this Friday at Grafton Gallery in Easton. It's not always easy to put myself out there, in the blog world, the art world and, well, the world in general. For the last few weeks I've been wishing for more focus, the ability to bring to life the ideas that grow in my heart and in my head. As I hear the wind and rain against the window I know the time is here. So I'm here, cutting glass, creating, typing and being happy.The storm doesn't even phase me.