This weekend, I am halfway
through two weeks of extreme commuting.
This last week Sophie had Zoo Camp in Denver, and this week Sam has sax
camp at the Denver School of Performing Arts.
Driving to and from Denver Monday through Friday for 2 weeks is not a
pleasant way to spend one's time, and it sure makes me appreciate my
friends who have to do similar commutes in LA and other big cities.
(2-3 hours in traffic per day) Wow, it is so exhausting!
However I decided to make the most of it! I am always complaining that I
don't have time to go to Denver to see the museums and galleries, etc.,
so I am trying to squeeze in as much culture and visual stimulation as
possible these 2 weeks.
I guess this will be my version of Staycation 2013.
So last week I made business phone calls from the zoo parking lot for 2
hours each morning, tried to keep up with my emails on my iPhone, then I
went to 2 art cinema matinees ("Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's", and "Renoir" – I recommend both for those of you who love luscious eye candy), took photos of the animals for an hour or two every day, finally visited the Art Students League in Denver,
sketched animals for a few hours, and was amazed by the number of
pregnant women at the zoo! Because we are members at the zoo, we can go
in 30 minutes before the park opens to the public, and that is when I
got my best animal photos.
Do you take reference photos for your creative work?
Is there a certain time of year that lends itself to taking your
favorite reference photos? This is the time of year when I take my
camera everywhere.
I am taking photos of the snowy peaks of the Rockies and the green
foothills.
I am taking photos of baby animals in the surrounding farmland.
I am taking photos of the masses of flowers that are blooming this time
of year.
These things are so incredibly inspiring to me.
I come home and go through my photos late at night when everyone else is
asleep, and start dreaming up color palettes and creative projects for
the coming year.
Part of being creative is having empty space in one's head, one's studio, and one's life.
It is like staring at a blank canvas, upon which we project images and ideas that well up from the subconscious.
A Staycation is an empty space in your busy schedule.
Leave it empty and see what happens.
What inspires you this time of year?
Feel free to share your thoughts here.
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This weekend is the Irish Quilt Festival, and eQuilter is sponsoring the Spirit Rising exhibit
there.
(made by quilters dealing with some type of physical challenge –
illness, injury, loss of sight/hearing, etc.) If you have photos of our
exhibit, we'd love to see them!
Check out my photos from Quilt Canada – wonderful colors and creativity from up North!
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Wonderful post Luana! 🙂