My month long pause has ended on an exhale. I am back to creating and am currently working on a couple of short stories as well as putting together some ideas for a large mixed media piece.
The inspiration for the piece came from an awakening of sorts. By chance I stumbled upon an artist’s site, wood carvings by Robyn Gordon. When the page opened I was shocked. It was a strange form of recognition. For a moment I felt I was looking at my own work. Not that I have been copied or am about to copy. There was something in the style, the images, the materials, that made me inhale in surprise. Things I had been holding onto – small sketches, little pieces of metal, wood, stone, words, small carvings and sculpture all fell into place inside me.
And in the same intake of inspiration I started a Pinterest account. Pinterest is an online pinboard. It enables you to collect images from the web for inspiration, to show your interests etc.
I’ll be using mine to remember things that inspire me, pass on info and connect with others.
Later this month: the movement toward April. April is National Poetry Month and I want to celebrate it once more with daily poetics. More on this later this month.
A pause in breath is a small suspension in time.
To be fierce is to know when to bow to the pause – honour the state of suspension instead of fearing it. the breath does continue. the horizon unfolds. some kind of life goes on.
I am hanging onto my word, searching the shape and sound of the letters to strengthen my energy and creativity. It’s tough work being Fierce.
Last week we had a lot of snow which is not typical for us on Vancouver Island. It lasted for a few days and made a lot of people stay home. To accompany the weather I experienced “brain freeze”.
Often bad weather gets me in a creative productive mode but this time I was distracted. I watched the weather change the sky constantly as squalls swept down on us. I photographed the snow disguising our yard. I ate things like soup and veggie stew and bread. I went deep into myself and instead of finding inspiration I seemed to go into some weird kind of semi-hibernation mode. Very little creative action occurred. I got a little worried, then upset. and then I realized it was more likely a small time out. I needed a break, a time to gather information and inspiration. It was nothing permanent, nothing defective. Sometimes being Fierce is to be quiet, listening and observing. Sometimes it means to pause.
Last week I sat down and started making a list of goals. I rarely do this but need to do this. Setting goals provides a focus, a framework for action. I’ve learned the goals have to be specific and should be broken down into steps. Saying “I want to write a novel” is not enough fuel for action. Saying “I want to write a story about a woman waking up in a different world” gives a lot more information and ground work. Now I can break it down, ask questions – who is the woman? how old is she? what was she doing before she went to sleep? etc. etc. These questions become mini-goals on the way to the big one, the novel.
The same can be said for any goals – artistic, financial, business etc. I can say I want to achieve financial freedom, write a suite of poems or paint 20 pictures but unless I break it down into steps it remains a bit “pie in the sky”.
And then there’s my word for 2012: “FIERCE“. How fierce have I been lately?
According to dictionaries everywhere fierce is about things “menacingly wild, savage, or hostile” or “violent in intensity, eagerness” with the opposite being about mildness.
I chose my word for its intensity and strength. I want and need to push through my blocks to creativity and productivity. This word is my sword and shield. One of my goals is to make a talisman or charm of the word to wear. A reminder for me when I feel lost and am facing a blank page or canvas. It might also serve to make me into a poet warrior. Fighting for the recognition of small words, carefully chosen and intricately worked together to create mood and story.
And why do I feel that it is a fight? How much poetry have you read lately? I was surprised and annoyed when I checked several big online bookstores and realized none of them had a poetry category. Obviously not a big seller and yet poetry can incite, inspire, paint pictures and tell stories.
More later on my fierce battle plan.
in with the new.
I’ve decided to totally revamp my studio website. It’s gone through a few revisions over the years and then I decided to create a website in my name. I now mostly reside at dlclay.com. So I am going to revamp earthwordstudios.com and create a place for study and community. This is going to take some time!
In the spirit of change I am clearing out some handmade books still in inventory. I’ve created a new page for them here.
I call them sanctuary journals. 
And speaking of writing and words -
I’ve read in more than one blog about the concept of picking a word for the new year. Susannah Conway’s word is BRAVE. My friend’s word is STEADY. Mine is FIERCE. It’s time to get some warrior in me – and in some art work.
… to be continued…
