Friday, January 26, 2007

Blockages

Tonight Blogger won't cooperate. Each time I try to post an image, it makes my whole browser shut down. It may be Blogger, it may be my computer, it may be the snowstorm raging outside and interfering with electricity. So I'll stick with words and leave images to your imagination as I don't want to lose this post for a third time.

Each day I drive to and from work, a journey of about 20-30 minutes depending on traffic. I rather enjoy that time to myself, cocooned in my car. It gives me time to think, to listen to music or to prepare for or unwind from the day. It also gives me time to consider what I will write in my blog. Some days I am bursting with ideas and am anxious to put words to computer. Other days, I draw a blank. Friends tell me to write anyway, to post images, to let my mind spill onto paper.

I can see how a writer's block is the same as an artist's block. During those times I must satisfy myself with snippets of nothing. I draw tiny vignettes that may be no more than 2 inches high on scraps of paper or sketch obscure objects, anything to keep my mind moving in the general direction. It may not have immediate effect but it eventually works and something flows, either words or images.

Tonight I'm not uninspired, but rather spoiled for choice and lazy. I know what I want to draw, but am too lazy to go through the necessary steps to make it happen. So I'm instead drawing an eye in pastel pencil on colorfix paper- one inch square. Its a test to see what detail I can fit into a tiny space. Quite a lot in fact!

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