Permission to do Nothing

Liz just wrote about keeping it fresh, and I can't agree more. Kristin here, and I just had a wonderful artist date with a friend that left me inspired to work. I blogged about it on my own blog.

But sometimes I'm NOT inspired to work, and it's always a struggle to find that balance between pushing oneself to keep going, and giving oneself permission to take a break and feed the soul in other ways. Maybe it's because it's the end of the calendar year, but I am always prone to making lists and plans between Thanksgiving and New Years and stressing about how much I wanted to do versus how much I actually did do during the year. And of course Christmas has it's own lists so adding art projects to that doesn't help anyone.

My plan this year has been to give my self permission to work on everything except my artwork (not having any pressing deadlines helps a lot!). Then, come the day after the day after Christmas, I will clear away all the wrapping supplies, the debris of present making, and the cookie recipes, and I will once more focus on my art. I the mean time, I've knit up several presents for family members and a few things for myself. I've made a good effort towards a tree skirt I've wanted for several years but which has been at the bottom of the priority list, and today I cleaned bathrooms that were long overdue.




Merry Christmas and best wishes for a creative and productive New Year ahead!