I'll meet you there

Everyone has that one friend

It's Friday night, I have a cup of tea and a marzipan Ritter Sport chocolate bar to my right, battery-powered candles light up the paper snowflakes stuck to the window panes. The fairy lights are ablaze in the fireplace (the gas fire disnae work) and I have some globe lanterns dimly lighting a trail up the wall, woven in and around the art.

I took a good long walk today with a friend. We walked along the Firth of Forth and the River Almond. The colours were so beautiful, purple-blue hills in the distances dotted with warm rust and tan sands while the water changed from a baltic blue to green. The clouds and skeleton trees high above framing it all so perfectly.

Once home, I washed the dishes - plunging my hands into the warm soapy water was a joy. I thought of Thích Nhất Hạnh and meditations past. Anything can be a joy with a certain type of mindfulness. After the dishes, I had a meeting with an art collective of which I am a member. We are the Abstractionistas: A Scottish all-woman collective aiming to debate, challenge, make and exhibit abstract art. We have been meeting regularly online since October. We are in the early stages but it is already feeling exciting and hopeful. I will, of course, keep you posted on our activities and our public presence as it develops. 

I have been listening to new (to me) music, as you know discovering new music is the portal to painting for me. The band I am into right now is Heimat and my favourite song of the album I discovered on YouTube is Weider Ja!  It's especially good with headphones. Everything is better with headphones - well, most things. I have also been enjoying the music of Nina Harker. 

I did a few drawings this week, some small and medium-sized ones, I wasn't in the mood. However, there is really only one way to get in the mood and that is to make some art, draw a line, make smudge and see how it feels. And it feels a hell of a lot better than not making anything. 

Yes, Mary, I cut down your zinnias.

Humour is very important to me and it may be getting more and more important the older I get. I have been laughing a lot and when I can fit that into my work, it is a real joy. I can't afford to take it all so seriously. Life is too fucking short. 

I also managed a Tuesday Studio Video Visit again this week. If you missed it on Facebook you can see it here. 

Besides, all of this, I have been enjoying cooking and walking up a storm. These little rituals keep me grounded and my mind clear. I hope you have little rituals, I hope you have passions and new discoveries and a group of peers to discuss things with whether near or far. One day at a time, one step, plunge your hands into the hot water and wash one dish, draw one line, take one picture, make one snowflake, listen to one new to you song. Feel better. Move forward. Be here now. I'll meet you there.