A TIME FOR REFLECTION

How did this year go by so fast? I can't tell you all the things I thought I would have done by now, and here I sit, knowing that this is the end of fall...that next week not only brings winter and Christmas rush, but that the week after that brings a whole new year. I need a day to fluff out my feathers enjoy the brisk air and spend some time reflecting. LOON REFLECTIONS was started as a different piece of art while we lived in Alaska. The loons would call through the mist on the lakes in the delta and sounded lonely. Then we would hear another loon call back. They weren't really sociable yet, just announcing their arrival in the spring, or making their last calls in the fall before leaving. They were content to be alone a good share of the time. The air was heavy and full of moisture during those times. In the spring, it was a last chance to rest before the frenzy of mating, nesting and feeding started. In the fall, it was a time to rest up before another time of transition started.... to put away summer and fall and clear their mind for the time ahead.

As an artist, it is time not just to think about the year, but to clean my studio, to put my old work away in safe places or to display it on the wall, a time to put away reference materials from old projects and get rid of the clutter that keeps me from focusing on new projects. It's the job I have put off for weeks because it means stopping the "starting" of new work... time to throw out old pens that are dried, and pencils too short to use, and to rearrange my books.
It is my week to be almost alone so that when the holidays start and family comes home I can have a new energy to focus on being together.

I worked silently most of the day today, throwing things out, clearing spaces and rearranging , calling out once in a while to let people know I'm here, but not sociable. When the winter solstice comes next week, I hope to have a clear mind and a less cluttered space to work and live in.