Issue #30 Head Space
I began today with a pretty firm grip on this week’s newsletter.
I had chosen my poem, thought about drawings, chosen a related poem from the archives, vaguely started writing an essay that tied the two together – you know, did stuff that was sort of an expected part of the process.
I felt reasonably on top of things.
So I dialed out of “creating” mode for a bit and texted a friend.
And procrastinated in that direction for about an hour.
Then tried to return to work.
And was not feeling it.
So I read a couple chapters by my favorite authors to help me get into the groove.
And did some chores.
And played some solitaire on the iPad.
Even closed my eyes for a bit.
I felt relaxed
Then I felt guilty.
My husband and I have a deal on Mondays where he stays down at his studio for most of the day to help me have the chance to focus and write.
And here I was, just goofing off and wasting it.
Only, it turns out, I wasn’t.
Because, in the middle of my guilt tripping, I realized that, during all those other moments, I had been letting my mind wander. As it puttered through the swirling chaos, little thoughts stuck out and jumped sideways and insinuated themselves into the front of my cranium and wormed their way down to my fingers to be typed into snippets of prose.
One way or another, I had actually been taking notes on those random swirly bits the whole time.
My brain was marinating.
Soaking itself in a pool of subconscious inspiration.
Climbing into this baking dish of creativity is only possible if I am doing things that look very much as if I am not writing.
I can be cleaning, or reading, or playing solitaire. Or simply lying still.
In fact, those things actually help by grabbing one part of my brain and freeing the other part.
But everything grinds to a halt if I am worrying about others, problem solving and/or fretting about deadlines and obligations.
As a result of this “goofing off that is not goofing off,” I wrote a poem that I liked much better than the one I had planned to publish today.
And reminded myself to stop making it so easy for guilt to grab me by the socks and shake me into self-criticism.
I am so lucky to have a husband who is also a creative and understands all of this.
Thank you, dear ❤️
Copyright© 2023 Anne Morse Hambrock All rights reserved.
Food For Thought…
Famous Feet
Six out of eight of these feet are famous. (Hint, the little ones are the not famous ones.)
We took a road trip this weekend to attend a pop-up gallery event for cartoonist and painter extraordinaire Jerry Van Amerongen.
Jerry is the genius behind what was once called “The Neighborhood” and now goes by the title “Ballard Street”. If you are lucky enough to see this gem regularly in your newspaper, congratulations. If not, please check it out over on GoComics here. (Consider subscribing to it - you won’t regret it.)
Jerry consistently cracks me up - here is a sample:
Jerry came late to cartooning after a career in corporate sales and marketing. You can read more about that by clicking here.
A few years ago Jerry pulled back from the daily grind of the comic and leaned into painting.
Some of his work looks like this:
(These are three different paintings I have smashed together into one photo)
The show was great and it was wonderful to see some old friends and make a couple new ones. And I bought a small painting that we will cherish.
The feet, if you are wondering, are, from left to right, Tom Richmond (MAD Magazine), Jerry, me, and John Hambrock (Brilliant Mind Of Edison Lee).
Late Nasturtiums
The garden is winding down for real now - we have snow predicted for the weekend - but the nasturtiums are still going great guns. I’m going to try to eke out as much time to admire them as possible before November turns them into mushy wilted popsicles.
Keep The Messages Coming!
A big “thank you” to all of you who have messaged me commented or hit “like” after reading my poems and commentary!
I appreciate the feedback and knowing how often I have struck a chord with your lives.
Archives
Remember, you can always hit the “archives” tab to see more or catch up on posts you may have missed.
