Fall Stream

Fall Stream
Originally uploaded by linfrye

Daily Practice

According to Robert Genn, "Art is fluid, transmutable, open ended, never complete, and never perfect. Art is an event." I couldn't agree more ...

And while I"m so anxious to agree, there is also that very real part of me (as in all of us I believe) that struggles toward some 'goal, ideal, method, style' despite what we instinctively know to be true. I find myself lately dreaming paint, brush strokes, ideas. I study works I admire, books, lessons.

And in all that, while aiming for some goals I've set, I know I must never lose the joy of simply painting - the process, the very act of observing, seeing, noticing, feeling - that very inpetus that creates such delight and abandon - the 'flow or zone' that we tend to enter when our art and our hearts are joined.

I want to remember this - especially in the thick of experiencing the changes that come when one's work is moving in different directions in style, approach, outcome. It's a challenging time! LOL

We accomplished quite a bit yesterday in the garden - despite working in the rain most of the day. We harvested our first fall crop of lettuces, kale, chard, cabbage, and we spent some time cleaning the harvest, cooking and preparing a celebratory lunch. We began making tunnels and cages over the rows and beds of vegetables so we can add floating row cloth to keep the first frost, due in a couple of weeks, from harming the plants. Busy.

Today we take a vanful of guests to Duke Gardens for a lecture and tour of their Asian Gardens, and then visit the SEEDS project to see how other students are growing their plants. The weather should be sunny this morning and cool, changing to rain by mid-afternoon. Fingers crossed.

This sketch, done in that wonderful painting 'zone' reminds me of the walk C and I took a week ago in a new park our county has created. The new trail winds through woodlands simliar to those we live under, but then clammers down toward the river. The view we caught, with overhanging trees and a slow-moving current, wasn't as picturesque as this ... but that wonderful combination of water, trees, and wild grasses ..... serenity.

Have a great day!