The old phrase about the difficulty of turning a very large ship, such as an oil tanker, has been repeated many times. What nobody seems to consider is the effort required to get teething moving in the first place. I became aware of the relevance of this today, as in different aspects of my life I have begun the task of getting back under way again.
After the manic exhibiting activity of July I determined that I would have a good break from art and its demands. This was not so much because of the physical, but the emotional effort involved. I have not been idle, as I don’t know how to do that, but I have been diverting my efforts into fresh projects …. particularly woodworking DIY. I’ve begun the task of sorting out old correspondence and clutter. A good deal of the restraining force has been applied, of course, by thew consequences of my accident, several weeks ago, in which I injured my shoulder. Today, for the first time since the beginning of August, I began to feel the first stirrings of new direction.
A good deal of that sense of renewed purpose has had to do with the fact that my shoulder has recovered to the point at which I have been able to go to the climbing wall again. It was definitely a restricted session, but I did work up to a fairly straightforward grade 5. Possibly of greater significance has been the email message I received this afternoon taking forward an idea which has been “lurking” for sometime, for an new exhibition of my “Green Man” material, in Skipton in October. I’m actually getting quite excited, and looking forward to getting going again.
All I need now is an inspired idea as to what I might paint.