Finishing Something - how good that feels-free flow creations

The last session in week 7 of Walking in this World is about finishing something before you start a new. 

As artists, we often complain about our inability to begin.  If only I had the nerve to start X- a novel, a short story, a rewrite on a our play the photo series we're thinking," of. I would like to suggest that you start somewhere else-start with finishing something.

To funny that this comes up...I have my mileage from the year of traveling to and from place that I get to deduct on my income taxes and I'm almost done but not quiet...this just popped into my head as I'm re reading this session and typing it out..

I think this is true in other areas not just for artists. There must be some obscure law of physics that revs into action when artist finish something. The moment we finish something, we get a sort of celestrial pat-sometimes even a shove-a small booster rocket of energy to be applied elsewhere...

Now I've heard personal tending to reorganizing the medicine cabinet or cleaning out a glove compartment is like doing a esteemable act...an action for self...which then builds self esteem.. so no wonder you feel good..

Julia shares...How can you begin your thesis if you can't finish your mending or or fill out your grad school application if you shower curtain is stained and torn, half on and half off it's rings, while the new curtain waits expectantly folded on the toilet tank?   here's where I question...only because I see the difference and just want to point it out...Some people will rush around and do all the homestead chores and then feel all drained out to do any art/creative work...but the differences my be that they are avoiding the creative work...with fear to start...and they have this anxiety that reves up and blocks them a bit...you know what I mean rushing and taking care of it all so that you have a block of time to create with out thinking about the homestead chores to do. 

Verses finishing a un finished task and what that feels like to complete something...and they usually are small tasks that are almost finished but you got distracted for some reason and never finished them...

Julia shares...No wonder we drag our fee at the thought of starting something else...We've had too many false starts, too many half-finished, half hearted projects.   And then I wonder is it just a.d.d.  that causes it? 

Story from the book week 7 - Christian, a young composer, had great enthusiasm and a great many projects. He was always racing ahead on some new musical theme, going full steam until something else caught his eye an that something became the focus of a new burst of energy.  Christian was the kind of young artist often called "promising," but he was too fragmented to deliver on that promise. 

"Clean up you arranging room the older composer advised him...Make systems. Put everything in order and give every scrap of work it's proper place" 
Although he felt that he was wasting time and energy that he could be using on writing music, Christian grudgingly complied. As he began to assemble three ring binders and put all the work on each project carefully into place, a curious thing happened: self-respect began to rear it's noble head.
"I certainly have done a lot of work"...

Is that way I hear from my mom..."Finish what you started"  an my obsession qualities has me making sure I try to do that well..not always but when I say I'm going to do something I'm on it...or is it just my obsession qualities...? 

Christian felt a buzz of new energy. It felt like optimism but a bit more focused than optimism. It took him a while to name this new emotional component, but when he did he saw it was something different from inspiration, something more solid and firm then hope.  "I felt determinations" Many things that has seemed vague and illusory now seemed squarely within his grasp. 

Julia shares...On a concrete level, it can be done by the careful husbanding of what we have...this means that buttons get sewn on, hems get tacked up, smudges get scrubbed off door jambs. We make the very best of exactly what we have and we find that almost behind our back the Great Creator redoubles and reinforces our efforts and makes something even better. this is where the old adage
"God helps those who help themselves" can be tested and found to be true.

A body in motion remains in motion, and nowhere is this law more true than in creative endeavors. When we want to grease the creative wheels, we do very well to muster a little elbow grease elsewhere.

Finishing almost anything-sorting your CD collection, pumping up a bike tire, matching and mating you socks-create both order and inner order. "Now, start something," finishing something says" 

Well I know just what this is talking about...and the determination feeling too...give it a try and see how it works...now to get back to the adding up for the mileage...I documented it but my stopping came up when I had to pull out the calculator to add and subtract numbers to get the total mileage of that trip or that day..when I guess I could have done that from the start when I record it as of now driving to my job today...I can deduct the mileage which is about 17 miles but do I do that or take the time...not I'm usually running around or rushing...so my choice on it but I do know when I finish that I will have a better feeling about other things..

 Long posts lately.. I know...so this is a taste of what we will be working on today...really moving into the pieces instead of just working on the back ground...I've really moving slower on things as I've used gray white and black on this piece but the word of caution is the black..it's such a strong dominate color that you have to watch how you use it, especially when your creating a certain mood to your piece...a bit is good or a little dab will do you...so the last couple of classes we haven't even introduced the black because of that..

Can you see the pastel lines in there? and there is collage papers and a few image transfers already too.

I had a shadow going on in the bottom left hand corner you can see the warmer almost brown tone to the piece can't you..?  Here in this piece the intermingling of the mediums is beginning to happen.. And that is where we are going to be...as of learning what medium to have on the surface for what effect...confusing I know but we so easily for get about the process in many aspect of our lives that I so love to break it down and really look at that...it's where the meat of the creation is...and to get people to slow down and not want to be so instant...which is counter balancing how to create this because the are very spontaneous piece of work...but what I mean is to break it down in to small steps to learn and then you can speed it up and have some fun with it...I think we will practice smearing on paint to with our spreading tools..so we get the hang of that...