Last year at SAW I came back ready to take on the world, recharged, and just a felt a big push in the right direction. A lot changed after squam last year for me, even my art. This year was completely different. I am not sure I expected to get that same big push as last year, but now in the post squam afterglow I feel like I am where I need to be, moving at the pace I am suppose to be moving at, and that trying to force any of it right now isn’t necessary. It was exactly what I needed at this exact time.

I have never felt like this before, and I am trying to make sense of it all in my head. The thought of working at my own pace and not rushing, not making up deadlines and setting overwhelming goals and to do lists is something I have always thought would be there. The feeling that I am behind no matter how much I accomplish. All those feelings somehow disapeared while I created, let go, and played in my classes. Somewhere between carving into clayboard, painting faces upside down in my journal, and creating books with duct tape and chipboard, all those irrational thoughts and feelings went away. Now four days later they have yet to resurface and I like to think that I left them behind to float off on Squam Lake.

So no big epiphany or major aha moment, just some little shifts that are already making a huge difference.

I am back from S.A.W. Need time to process all that the past five days held. A quick little list and some photos for now…

• time spent creating using new methods and mediums
• fell in love with journaling thanks to Judy Wise
• caught up with some familiar faces and
• met some new amazingly talented people (more on this later)
• froze my butt off in a room that was basically a screen porch
• sitting on docks
• having an inspiring first time vending at vendor night
• feeling supported within this creative community
• sitting by a fire creating art
• filling up on great food
• coming home exhausted but energized

That about wraps up my list for now, so many stories to share, more to come soon.

One of my favorite places to visit is Door County, Wisconsin. I’ve been going up there every summer for the past 12 or so years. Just about every night we spend up there we go down to Sunset Park in Fishcreek and watch the sun slowly slide down behind the water of the bay. It never gets old and I have to tell you I have a ton of pictures of sunsets from up there. I never get tired of looking at them and find that I instantly relax as I am taken back to those sunsets. I just spent a few days up there recently and though my life has gotten rather stressful lately with just a lot of stupid stuff that really isn’t worth stressing about I realize that I need to take more time to take myself back to those sunsets. To relax, to remember that there is an amazing world out there and I don’t want to miss all those moments because I am stressing out over things that aren’t really at the core of living…

Just my philosophical thought of the month.

Be back real soon with my regularly scheduled posts and some more art…

I find it funny how winter can take a massive body of water and quiet it down. Literally freeze the waves in their wake. This photo hardly looks like the beaches we spend time on in the summer. It looks like another planet. Especially devoid of buildings and other structures that make our cities and towns still feel like home even in the winter. If the wind would have died down a little it would have been a very eerie place to be standing. The wind seemed to take the waters place as I stood out on a large frozen piece of the lake.

Just puts you in awe of nature. Quiets the soul a little, and well quite frankly makes winter seem a little more magical.