Whether in art or life

Scottish National Portrait Gallery 

So here we are, it's almost the holidays or the festive winter break, Solstice, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and whatever else you may celebrate. Perhaps, you enjoy Festivus.

The next two weeks may be quiet and weird with extra heaviness to navigate for some and for some, it will be light, bright, and easy. For many it will be a combination of nostalgia, guilt, religion, and capitalism. I used to like the holidays more - not the shopping part, or the wrapping part, or the logistics in seeing all the people that needed to be seen. I enjoyed the sparkling bits and the magical parts. At some point, things ceased sparkling in the same way and seemed much less magical. And each year since, if I have managed to find the sparkle in some way, it has been a real triumph. And I do manage. I am sitting here in a festive corner of my own design and my sparkly resilience is on full display. I enjoy my rituals and familiar ways of doing things even with certain adjustments.

I used my somewhat dulled creativity to conjure up my festive corner, using mostly what I had on hand to change the look and feel of the space. I enjoy putting things in groups and making it "just so." I probably should have been a set or window dresser or interior decorator. I miss creating spaces and vignettes.

Art is about making things "just so" but in a loose way. So that's what I will endeavour to do, create space and make it just right, whether in art or life. 

I plan to use this time to check in with friends and family, rest, recalibrate, and enjoy the time off from my job. I plan to have a residency of sorts while the world is a bit more quiet and return to my art, which has been a bit sidelined. When I write next week's post (my year end review) you will be curious by what I mean by "sidelined," as it probably won't seem that way to you, but I can be a bit of a task master. 

However you spend your day next Wednesday, I wish you beauty and peace.

Thank you for being here, the world needs you and the gifts you bring.