by wendy | Nov 11, 2021 | Direction, Encouragement, Encouragement from the Word, Lifestyle Encouragement, Prayer, The Art of Encouraging
Building a dream is hard work – in fact, it is probably the hardest work I have ever done! It requires planning, waiting, changing plans, waiting some more, actual manual labor, oh – and did I mention waiting?
Every time I discover that I need to wait more, discouragement rears its ugly head. I actually had to talk myself out of the tree of despair today as it began to settle on me that my building might not be finished before cold weather. I reminded myself that it would be okay. There is no time limit on dream-building. I will just have to make an alternate plan – and wait.
It is actually quite interesting to discover that waiting builds character. It gives me time to refine – and redefine- my dream. It causes me to slow down and savor the moments of building my dream instead of rushing ahead and missing the steps along the way. Waiting causes me to spend more time in prayer – seeking guidance, asking for help, expressing gratitude for what I have. It gives me time for creating and exploring new ideas. Waiting strengthens my resolve.
Building a dream is hard work – and I suppose it should be. If it were easy and came quickly, I might be tempted to let it go just as easily. This way, the planning, revising, manual labor – and even the waiting – will all undergird the final spectacular result that I have been dreaming about. And that is worth waiting for!
by wendy | Nov 11, 2021 | The Art of Encouraging
Connection
We spent all day today driving from one side of our state to the other visiting two of the colleges that accepted my step-daughter, Renee. We wanted her to be able to make a clear comparison between the two, having previously visited them months apart. After each appointment, I tried to ask Renee to share her thoughts about the schools, but she struggled to verbalize her feelings. Renee is an internal processor, she prefers to weigh things out quietly for some time and then share only her ultimate decision. I, on the other hand, need to discuss things out loud in order to think things through thoroughly.
I have a variety of interests – teaching, painting, writing – but my favorite activity is to visit with people. I sometimes view that as an extravagance instead of a necessity, but I am beginning to understand that my time with others is a valuable part of my work life as well as my personal preference. Coffee with a friend is actually an important piece of my creative process. I need to paint, write, and plan in peaceful solitude, but once I have an idea in mind, it comes alive more fully after I share it with someone. Hearing myself explain the idea and listening to feedback concretes the idea and helps me tweak it to perfection. I love collaboration and since I don’t have a team of people to work with, chatting with my friends fills that need for me!
It’s not only talking through my ideas that enhances my creativity, but listening to the ideas of my friends fills me with even more. I gather energy from listening, offering encouragement, and simply being together. A life lived in relationship with diverse friends makes my wheels turn. I am inspired, empowered, and energized.
After reading several articles, I am beginning to believe that spending time with friends is not just a leisure activity, it is one of the most valuable tools to keeping my heart, mind, and even body healthy and alert. It seems that connection is one of my keys to creativity!
by wendy | Nov 11, 2021 | The Art of Encouraging
I have finally begun to enjoy music again! This will come as a huge surprise to some who know me well. I haven’t enjoyed music in a long time – about 5 years to be exact. I think it because I didn’t have any quiet space in my head – ever – and the music was just more noise.
I have always considered myself to be an extrovert, until recently. I think I may be both. I learned that an extrovert is one who becomes energized by being with people and an introvert is energized by being alone. I love to be with people, but I really need alone time. Though I tend to process ideas by talking them through with others, I need that peaceful solitude to think, plan, and create. When I don’t have enough space between interactions, my brain just becomes a jumbled mess.
I have so many thoughts running through my head at one time! I am often planning classes, writing stories, thinking of new projects, scheduling family activities, wrestling with new ideas, thinking about friends, praying constantly, all at once. I have been known to joke that I have thousands of new ideas per second – and it really doesn’t seem to be much of an exaggeration – but when I don’t have quiet time to sort it all out, I feel like I may explode.
Since I have returned to working from home, I have more control over the quiet in my day. I can vary the time I spend interacting and the time I spend reflecting. I feel like my soul is healing. I still prefer to paint without music – but I actually turn on the music occasionally when I am alone. It seems that quiet is one of my keys to creativity.
by wendy | Nov 11, 2021 | The Art of Encouraging
I was interviewed today by a young girl from my community. As part of her Art Badge, she needed to visit an artist’s studio and inquire about their process and materials. She and her mother asked great, insightful questions, and I enjoyed answering them. It gave me a chance to think about who I am as an artist and to reflect on the why and how of what I do.
As I finished a piece today that I have been working on – in my mind for a couple of years – but physically for a couple of days, I realized that more people might like a glimpse into the workings of an artist’s process. I am sure that we are all different, and I am constantly evolving my own creative system, but here is the journey of my latest painting, “The Roost”.
I often begin thinking about a painting when I see something that captures my attention. About five years ago, Jerry and I went on a missions trip to Costa Rica. We travelled along rough dirt roads from one remote village to another, and I was fully enamored with the small rustic homes and rural jungle life. On one of the trips to La Gata, we passed a tiny house with a fence across the front yard. A rooster was perched on the fence, and though I only caught a quick glimpse, that image burned in my mind. I knew instantly that I wanted to paint something similar.
Several years later, while visiting a local friend, I took these pictures of her chickens roosting on her deck rail. It was dusk and image quality was not good, but it reminded me of that rooster in Costa Rica. I realized then that the image I was interested in capturing was really about the roost and not the particular breed of chicken. I found a board that seemed just the right size for the painting and covered it in black paint. Though unsure of the background color I wanted, I decided black would be a good place to start. I left the board black and it sat unpainted for a couple of years longer.
Finally, this week, I decided to paint these chickens. Usually, I paint a background and then chalk in my subject before adding the details, but I have striving to loosen up and allow myself to experiment and develop the image as I paint. This time I used the brush to “draw” my simple outlines. As I began adding splashes of color to the background, I could see leaves developing. I started thinking about the bush outside my kitchen window where we often find our chickens roosting at night. Just last week, I peered in between the branches and found myself eyeball to eyeball with a hen! She was not happy with me for invading her privacy!
Finally, I worked between these two photos, as well as some generic chicken photos from the Internet for reference, to create the final painting. In the end, I realized that I was not trying to replicate three specific chickens but instead a conglomeration of memories and experiences. I love the attitude and atmosphere these chickens create – it is exactly what I think of when I imagine “The Roost”.
