Play is Good

I know I am feeling a little guilty lately for not posting more serious art...but play is good!  PLAY is when you let your spirit run wild without a lot of regard for the outcome.  Many of us start painting that way and love it...and then we get serious and while we still love it, well, we tend to worry a lot about the outcome.  And artists of all genres must refuel...enter: the need to play, playmates and play dates!!

Here's my friend Cheri (blog here) who kindly indulged me many hours of summer play.  Cheri has perfected a way to make beautiful tile stepping stones (which sell as fast as she finishes them) and agreed to let me watch her technique...only she insisted on hands-on for my lesson!  It was definitely fun for me and a big education as it took me days to finish one piece of something she manages to produce many of.

Cheri suggested a coloring-book style drawing of something simple to start with.  Here's my daisy.

 This is slow work for a beginner and of course we had to discuss all the world's problems (which we quickly solved in a matter of minutes), stop for tea and lemonade, pause to admire our work and so on...part of play is slowing down, going with the flow not a deadline.



Grouting was sorta like frosting a cake, sorta like fingerpainting and a lot like a mess!  And yes, I am well aware of what my tee-shirt reads...I just have to remember to mix the grout til it looks like pudding, or was it oatmeal or...?

And here, many afternoons later is my final piece all sealed and ready for the garden.  Of course now I can only visualize it as part of a walkway of flowers all leading to a secret garden of yard art.  At the rate I managed this one I should have that dream come true in about 20 years...or maybe Cheri will take on a mega-commission?  That's another reason artists should play in each others' sandboxes: you learn to appreciate and respect what it takes to create beauty in another media.  Paint me "very respectful."

So now I can return to the "serious" part of my art in prep for a street festival in November...the easel finds me refreshed and ready to pick up some of my old familiar tools and go back to work with new eyes.  Thank you Cheri for the playdates and lessons!!