Creativity

 Copyright Rhonda Davis

In 2015, I received my B.F.A (Bachelor of Fine Art).

Finally!

 I waited until my kids were on their own until I went back to school full time. It was odd being the age of most students' parents and there were some funny things that the students assumed such as I was a professor --because of course I had the grey hair and age on my side. But it was also a good thing. So now I am working on figuring out which end is up and getting a body of work together to enter shows. There is a safe security to being in school. Once you get out, finding the routine and habits that will assist your goals are a bit hard to find initially. I used to think I needed a lot of people around to produce, but lately I am finding that I really enjoy time alone to just think.

My studio space is in El Dorado in an older building downtown. Nothing fancy, but I enjoy it immensely when I am there. I am in the process of re-establishing a working schedule for the studio after a long period away. The drive is almost 45 minutes to get there from my house, but it helps put me in the mindset of when I am there, I am working.

 I also discovered that I am really bad at working from home. Mainly because of all the distractions (needy cat and dogs, phone etc) and the interruptions (cat and dogs), so I am trying to find a balance. That said, I am hoping to eventually find something closer than a 45 minute drive so I am not using so much gas.

We shall see. This will be the season of finding a routine and a way to work that fits my life.

Another thing I have been trying to do is keep a daily sketchbook. It has been a pretty mixed pot of hit and miss, but starting in September I will be posting daily drawings to my instagram account (rglazapple) so I have some sort of accountability. This blog is also my foray into written creativity. It has been a bit bumpy finding my voice and finding a format that conveys what I want to say, but it is like drawing; the more you do it, the better you become.

How to you express your creativity?

No Spend Days

One of the things I have been focusing on in my attempt to simplify are my spending habits. It is too easy to get on Amazon and click-click-click away money that can be better served elsewhere. I have decided that I am going overseas in 2019, but in order to do that, spending has to be curtailed significantly. The little things here and there quickly eat away at any potential savings, so I have started focusing on having "no spending days". 

At first I had one day a week, now I am trying no spend weeks, which last from Sunday to Friday. The exception to the "no spending" is gas for the car and food for the animals. If we run out of something important, like milk--then that is another exception. So far it has worked pretty well. There have been a couple slip ups but overall I am learning to use it up and make do. I got this idea from reading Cait Flanders (https://caitflanders.com/)  blog. Take a peek at her blog and peruse through the articles. It is something I do regularly and I am constantly finding things to think about on her site. 

Getting used to not pulling out the card and just buying something has been a bit of an adjustment. It has also been eye opening. I have frittered away a lot of money in small amounts. But the goal of going somewhere grand has made it a bit easier to stick to the plan for the most part. 

It is also helping me not add clutter to my life, which is something I will talk about more in depth in the upcoming posts. 

What have you been doing with goals and budgets? Any tips or techniques to share? 

Things That Matter

copyright Rhonda Davis 

One of the things about getting older is that I am finally getting some insight--if even a little--on what I needed to know but was too busy to hear when I was younger.

Lately it has come through loud and clear to me that attaching meaning and feelings to objects is not always the best thing to do. Not sure if this is just a Southern thing, but quite early on, I fell into the habit of saving things from the past and attaching personal narratives and meaning to these things. As a result, over the years I have lugged WAY too much around in my physical home and my mental home. The amount of clutter has reached a point where I have recognized there is a problem. Why do I have problems attaching meaning and feelings to inanimate objects? This is something I have had to really force myself to think about. I think the generation today is less likely to view a "family heirloom" with the amount of sentimental attachment as past generations. I wish I had grown up with that attitude!

Things are just things. 

This is what I am trying to remember as I divest myself of the pack rat habit of thinking that these things have meaning beyond their purpose. Don't get me wrong, there are objects that I won't part with for sentimental reasons, but I also have collected a large amount of objects that need to be purged so that I can claim back visual and mental space. This is where I have been trying to read more on minimalism and figuring out the best way it can assist me in this endeavor.

I have been looking at a lot of blogs written by people who are embracing minimalism or restrictive consumption and it has been eye opening. I come from a family of "I might need that later" people. So now I am trying to break that at the ripe age of 52. What the hell has taken so long? OR maybe it is the fact that I am realizing that things tie us down and keep us tethered.

Are you a sentimental saver or is it easy for you to have a minimum amount of possessions?

Over the next couple weeks, I am doing a big purge and will be posting thoughts here. Share with me your ideas. inspirations and struggles.