Fairfield Artist's Tour

Here's a little peek at some of the set up I had for my in home Christmas show.  I had some fun shots with people in them but didn't feel good about posting people's pictures without their permission so alas all you get to see is the empty dining room.  Set up will be a little different this time.

I have somehow managed to end up in a space where I am not feeling rushed or stressed (how did that happen??!) and just chugging along getting things done.  Maybe it's when you have so many things on the go, you just give it up after a while.  It's kind of like the really intense Zen retreats where they are trying to push you to experience the unreality of self by intense periods of sitting and lack of sleep.   At a certain point it just all dissolves.  I am theorizing now about where the stress went!  Just to keep things interesting this week I threw in a doctor's appointment, a haircut, a dentist's appointment and  a long ago planned evening at the Opera (this Saturday night) a first for me.  Oh and some friends will spend Sunday night here before flying to England on Monday.

Somehow I have managed to keep reminding myself that a lot of things just aren't that important, remembering the comments of the Zen master to his disciple.  I have also tried to focus on enjoying the process of getting ready!  This morning as I was sitting it came to me that it was important to not push away the stressed out, fearful part of me, that part of compassion (which we always seem to think should be directed toward others) was to embrace it all, the stressed out me (if that's what comes up), the settled me.  It's so easy to want to reject all that we deem unpleasant, undesirable but if we can be a big enough container (this is a term Joko Beck uses) we can hold it all, the good the bad and the ugly (oh, oh I might need to get out cowboy boots to do that).

So if you're in the neighbourhood, drop by and say hello.  Here's the link to the  website  http://www.galendavison.com/fast_2009.htm#L   for the tour so you can find me.  There are lots of wonderful artists in the neighbourhood and it's a lovely walk through the cherry tree lined streets of this old neighbourhood right now.  Many of the houses are a similar vintage to mine (1914) when there was a mini building boom in the area.  Lots of "Art's & Crafts" style homes and lots of variety.  The gardens are looking quite splendid in their Spring finery.  The local shopping street in the Cook Street Village is filled with places to linger and find treats: the 4 coffee shops (Cafe Fantastico on McKenzie has the best coffee),  Bubby Rose's Bakery is filled with delicious lunch goodies and bakery treats.  Then there's Ethiopian Food, Thai Food and Sushi in the old house on Mckenzie St.  One Fish, Two Fish (an offspring of Red Fish Blue Fish) has set up a cart next to the old Dry cleaner's and serves some tasty treats.  Then there's pizza across the street and a you can finish off the day with a glass of something at the Beagle if you are so inclined.  I've heard rumours that the weather is supposed to be quite Spring like (the other day it was snowing cherry blossoms in a gust of wind!)  I opened the front door and in they came.

So stop by if you can.  Otherwise I will try and snap a few photos without faces so I can post them for all to enjoy.

 

Having A Light Touch

I'm cheating again!  This picture is part of yesterday's piece.  These two leaves are image transfers of the original Bodhi leaf  that my friend got from India.  I am taking pleasure lately, in capturing portions of larger paintings and of course it makes up for the fact that nothing new came out of the easy bake oven in the studio today.  (Remember those little ovens and those little pans and cute little boxes of cake mix, ah, such fun!) 

It was a gorgeous Spring day (with cloud promised for later in the week) so a walk in the country was in order.  Then a little art marketing.  I've heard it said that artists spend as much time working the business end as they do painting.  Today I wrote a wee bio (which I detest doing).  Somehow they feel pretentious to me (and if you haven't noticed I can have a hard time being serious)  I always remember Miss Piggy's famous line, "who, Moi, pretentious?"  Anyway the Fairfield Artists Studio Tour (FAST) kindly put late ol' me onto their website.  So as things have unfolded I will open my doors and participate in that event.  So if you are in Victoria, mark your calendar for April 25th-26th and drop by and say hello.

It's interesting to me how things go.  My Zen teacher always says, "a no is as good as a yes."  And for me this is becoming a real guide in how to approach things.  It came up a few times as I sat in meditation and in conversations that it might be good to do some brick and mortar marketing things.  So even though the timing was a bit off, I followed the studio tour lead.  If things don't work out I will just let that one go, I thought to myself.  But as I went along doors opened and though it seems a bit of a rush everything points to it being a good thing to do.  The next part of it to remember is not let the cranky, perfectionist part of me get in there and make me crazy!  The Dharma will be in approaching it all (at least that will be the plan) with a light touch, just doing, not fretting (which worked well for my last minute Christmas Open House).

It is so easy to wind yourself up like a little spring bound propeller, thinking of all the things that need to be done.  But in truth it is just a matter of using your energy wisely, not wasting it on fretting (don't I know that one well!).  So this evening I will fill out the application for the "Make It" show in Vancouver and remember that a lot of the work I do for the studio tour will transfer right over to that event.  And again if it works out, it will be a fun experiment, a test of the craft show market. 

It is all good Dharma, remembering to keep balanced and focused and just do what needs to be done.  And there in lies the work of the heart which is there in everything we do when we are willing to look.  My aim will be to keep my intention in mind as time goes on, to have fun, enjoy the process, to practice touching lightly and letting go.  And sometimes that's easy to do when things are going well but how about when you're dragging your tubs of stuff to a venue in the pouring rain, or the hot water tank bursts before guests arrive, or you wake up with a scratchy throat.  How graceful are we then?  It is easy to be nice when people are nice to you, but a real test of the metal when they hiss and snarl.  Then what?  Do we sharpen our own claws?

So those are some of my thoughts as today.  Not to let that mind get racing, not to get so immersed in what I'm doing or have my eyes set so far down the road that I  hardly notice the lovely souls standing in front of me, not to  have my mouth so firmly fixed with grim, work ethic determination, that I forget to have fun.  And oh yes, no claw sharpening!