. . . two words! Or perhaps we can call it a phrase. It's been something that kept flitting through my brain all of December once I realized it was getting that time of year and that, as has been the case most years, I struggled to remember what my current resolution word was. Oh yeah - "refresh" - which stayed in my mind about half the year I suppose. And actually, I did continue to look at things with a fresh eye during the months of limited use of my right arm and shoulder, unfamiliar pain and physical therapy. I had to come up with "fresh" ways of moving, sitting, accomplishing all sorts of everyday and mundane tasks, and my physical therapist prodded me to think about my body and pain in fresh ways. It may not have been in the forefront of my mind, but perhaps that notion of "refresh" was planted and operating in my subconscious all along.
But that was 2018. My imposed limitations ended up having a freeing effect on me overall, as I didn't have the energy or ability often to maintain my usual somewhat rigid and researched approach to life. I realized I was becoming more comfortable with just winging it to get through things. Once that thought came forward, I was uninterested in searching out any other word for the new year. Everything on my mind for the upcoming months feel like the sort of things best done by winging it. And so, my resolution word/phrase for 2019 is:
WING IT!
I know. Shocking to those of you who have followed this blog for any length of time or know me personally. I am seldom a "wing it" person. I prep. I research. I consider all alternatives. I plan. I mull. But I must move along, feel a strong urge to get with it and not worry so much about consequences. Will I still find myself doing due diligence? Oh yes, I'm sure. But for the less important things, the fun things, the let's see what happens things, I'm going to try to set aside all that stuff I generally do (which is often just generated by fear and procrastination) and try to wing it a bit more. I'm hoping it results in a lot of things tried and accomplished and a big smile.
 |
| Sketchbook by Geninnne's Art |
Two Christmas gifts I received have the potential to get me back in the studio more and sketching more. The first is a boxed set of cds, hours of a favorite author, philosopher and mystic of mine talking about his books and beliefs. I only listen to this sort of thing while working in my studio so there's a double pull I'm hoping will work towards re-establishing a regular studio practice. Fingers crossed. The second is this lovely leather sketchbook cover with moleskine insert. A cousin, who is quite artistic in her own right, bought one for each of us to use for sketching. We live too far apart to see each other much, but stay in touch the modern way, through the internet with the occasional old school letter through the postal service. We have gotten so close over the years, and I love this new connection we have with the twin sketchbooks. How can I not get busy and sketch when I know she is sketching away in hers as she takes her next trip? Throw aside every misgiving I feel when I think about picking up one of my many sketchbooks. We'll just wing it in this one as I've done with its very first page today.
Wishing you a marvelous start to the new year and everything you need to weather the rest of 2019. Let's make it a great year!
And if you are interested in reading about my previous resolution words, go to last year's post where there are links at the end to those older words.
10 comments:
Wing It!! What a great resolution that is sure to spawn more completed work….but I’ll bet your nightime dreams will be full of planning!
I like 'wing it'! Just DO it! Don't be so concerned with the potential outcome & see what happens! Our fiber arts group had 'What if...?' as last years theme so we saw some really interesting outcomes trying various techniques that were new to most of us. Jan in WY
Wing It! I love it...and good for you for letting go of some of your formerly-necessary structure. Guess you could say I'm winging it these days as well, going with the flow, and really attending to what my insides are telling me about this, that, and the other thing. The body knows...the head wants to try to understand and usually talk the body out of what it knows. Glad you've found a silver lining to your year of physical limitation. Limits are good. There's a lot of freedom in limiting ourselves, oxymoronically. Hope it's a great year for you. xx
Mary! Have you been peeking inside my brain as I try to fall asleep each night??? ;-) I'm hoping the "wing it" mentality will also apply to more than just my creative life. I've never been very spontaneous, more comfortable in a scheduled day to day life. But that hasn't always served me well and so maybe, just maybe, with "wing it" whispering in my ear, I'll be more apt to toss plans on a whim and let a little less of life pass me by.
Jan, that's exactly the spirit I hope to recapture this year. Once I had so many exhibit opportunities here, I started focusing more on working up exhibit-level pieces rather than experimenting. Not totally, of course, but I do think I did a lot more of that "what if" thinking and trial runs in the period before I became an exhibiting member of POAC. Just looking through old blog posts reminds me of how much more experimenting I once did. Time to stretch out of this constricting box!
Thanks, Connie. You are so right about there being a lot of freedom within limitations. I've watched with interest your own journey of letting things drop away and really listening to your heart and body. Perhaps it's a natural part of aging but probably most of us fight it. I'm done fighting I think! There's a real peace that comes when one lets go and wings it. :-)
Love it!
Happy New Year to you!!
Thanks Francoise! Good to hear from you. :-)
I’m not a resolutions sort of person, and I only set a word of the year once, and it didn’t really stick. But I admire people who are able to use the word to take action. I love your choice for this year. I have been doing improvisational piecing a lot this year, which I guess could also be called winging it, and I love it. So I’m right there with you on your word choice.
Glad to hear it Cheryl! I've never had much luck with improv piecing, at least I've not been too thrilled with the results when I've tried it. But it may be that I just didn't give it enough of a chance. It really does require that mindset of winging it I think, so maybe this is my year to try it again!
Post a Comment