Getting Settled

Lian, teaching me how to "get settled"

No matter how good it might be, moving is extraordinarily difficult.

I think I am kind of like a plant. Transplanting must be done carefully, and it cannot be rushed.  It takes me some time to settle into my new space, to let my roots grow and get used to the new environment and attune to its energies.  So now that I have unpacked, I am learning how to navigate within my new living space, how to find my way around the neighborhood, and establish a new routine.  All this is very draining...at least for me it is.

I have been doing a lot of walking.  Walking is a great way to plug into the energy of a space.  I do a lot of sitting and observing. This is hard for a person who likes to be working all the time.  There is a rising anxiety that occasionally wakes me up in the middle of the night.  I panic: where am I? Why aren't I getting more done?  I need to be working!  Then, I get my breathing back to normal and settle back to a fit-full sleep. 

I keep reminding myself that each person has a process, and taking time to connect to a space, to a location, is part of mine.  Today I will be painting the my studio space walls.  This will help with connecting. The plants outside are sprouting and soon it will be time to plant herbs and vegetables, this will help as well.  Gradually, I will find myself aligned with the energies here and making art will be part of the daily routine again. 

DoAn
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Fall into Winter

This is the view I woke up to this morning. I have officially experienced the effects of living in the north land! I remember as a child living in Vermont that I felt enormously blessed if it didn't snow before Halloween. There was nothing like working several months on a costume only to have it destroyed in the snow or freeze while wearing it.

Fortunately for the kiddies (and those young at heart) an Indian Summer is being forecast, which means temperatures in the 60s and perhaps higher for Halloween and the days following.

This is one of the things about nature that I absolutely love. She always keeps you on your toes and makes you remember that nothing about Her can be left for granted. She is much much bigger than me or you or any one person and for that reason, She should be respected. She is our mother and our keeper. She blesses us with life, food and shelter. She also takes it all away, sometimes in an instant. I believe this is one of the important lessons the autumn season teaches us. A lesson that is important to meditate on. I am going to have a cup of tea and ponder...

DoAn
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DoAn Art is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of DoAn Art must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. 


All artwork and text © Copyright 2005-2011 DoAn Art (Antony Galbraith) unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Antony Galbraith.

A Life Condensed

Now that I have closed and packed up my studio in Cincinnati, I am focused on downsizing the rest of my belongings. To keep my moving cost down and to fulfill my wish of living lightly, I have marked a block in blue tape that is about nine feet long and six feet wide and six feet high. I must fit all my belongings into this space. Whatever doesn't fit must go.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn, that after I had packed all but my kitchen stuff, I had only filled half the allotted space. I was not surprised to learn that the majority of my belongings are my art supplies! My paintings alone will probably fill up the remaining half of the moving truck.

You may be wondering, why am I restricting myself so? Well, with this move, comes a major change in my lifestyle. I believe it will be easier to start this change by severely reducing what I own and letting go of things that I don't need. My lifestyle change will focus on healthy living, non-consumerism, environmental sustainability, and quality living. I will be, in many ways, rebuilding my life from the ground up.

Since my studio is packed up, and my ability to create art is severely restricted during this transition time, I will share my thoughts and plans for this restructuring until I get my studio set up and I am back to work on my art again. I would like to share a link to an essay that I really enjoyed. The essay deals with the issue of living a non-consumer, higher quality of living lifestyle in the midst of a consumer, quantity driven society. It is written by Colin Beavan who is also known as No Impact Man. Colin and his family lived one year in Manhattan, maintaining a low to no impact lifestyle, and now he shares his experience and ideas for how to live more responsibly in the world. Please check his essay and the rest of his website out:

No Impact Man: "From Work and Spend to Work and, Well, More Work"

DoAn

Taking a Break...

The last two weeks have been particularly draining to me. It is one of those times when the events of the world just seem to be taking a toll on me. I need to take a little time to sort things out and find my center once again. A lot of changes on the horizon and I want to be in a frame of mind and spirit to welcome and move with grace through the transition. I am going to take a little break and resume blogging next week.

Below is the address for Mr. Angel Torres, the man who was paralyzed as a result of a hit and run accident. I wrote about this incident in the previous post, where cards and donations can be sent. Thanks to Jennifer of Catalyst Art Galleries for doing some detective work and getting this address. I hope you will send something to show Mr. Torres that there are still compassionate and caring human beings out there.

Angel A Torres Relief Fund
c/o Webster Bank
108 Farmington Ave
Hartford, CT 06105

(photo by Yu-Chung "Johnny" Ku, digital manipulation by DoAn)

Stopping to Smell the Flowers

On Monday morning Lian and I took a walk to the park. It is our morning routine. It gives me some time to wake up, enjoy the quiet of the neighborhood and observe the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) changes in nature. For Lian it is a chance for exercise and to see if this would be the day that one of the neighborhood kitties would finally stay and play with her, rather than high-tail it into the bushes. She is always hopeful.

This morning, when I stepped outside I noticed a very peculiar smell. The sun had only been up for about an hour, and there was a very heavy dew covering everything. The air was still, with no discernible breeze, and this scent was thick and cloying. Now, for me to even notice a smell means that it had to be very strong. Ever since I suffered a concussion a few years ago my sense of smell has become rather unreliable. Many times I can't smell a thing. But this scent was one I couldn't ignore.

My first thought was that there was a fire somewhere, because the smell was everywhere that I walked. It didn't seem to dissipate as I continued to the park. It also made me think of the way that smoke from a house fire seems to hang low when there isn't a breeze to whisk it away. However, I realized that there was a sweetness to the scent, which is not something I would normally connect to a fire.

It wasn't until I arrived at the park that I began to suspect what the source of the smell might be. I noticed an enormous number of honeysuckle bushes lining the park, all in full bloom. There were many of all sizes, some as big as small trees. I realized, that there were also several growing all along the route that Lian and I take to get to the park. I walked up to one of the bushes and took a sniff of the delicate white flowers. That was the scent! Sweet and delicate. But when the scent is multiplied by thousands of blossoms...it had become rather over powering.

It was a moment of joy for me, as it was one of the few times that I could actually smell something. I find now, that because my olfactory sense is quite diminished, when I do actually smell something it becomes a moment of minor celebration. Back when my sense of smell was normal, I don't recall thinking much about my sense of smell other than this thing smelled good or that thing smelled bad. Now, I can totally relate to the phrase: Stopping to Smell the Flowers! There is sound wisdom in that phrase.

By doing so, I got to enjoy a moment of pure sensual delight that I rarely get to experience. And, while we were stopped by the bush, a small purring kitty came out and actually brushed up against Lian. She was so happy! So happy in fact, that her excitement sent the cat fleeing back into the bushes again. Oh well, it was just a moment...but no less meaningful!