Bernadette

“Bernadette, are you done? You can’t honestly believe any of this nonsense. People like you must create. If you don’t create, Bernadette, you will become a menace to society.”

— Paul, "Where’d You Go, Bernadette?"

"Where'd You Go, Bernadette"
by Maria Semple

I loved this book, everything about it. The quirkiness of the characters. The laugh out loud dialogue. And the underlying truth – I would be a menace to society (or at least my household) if I couldn’t create. I would be Bernadette, except I might choose a warmer locale to escape to.

I don’t expect much from a day -- a hot cup of coffee in the morning, a run, and a glass of wine at night -- but I would sacrifice all of my creature comforts for the time and space to draw, paint and create. I am so grateful for this season of life!

Failure

Watercolor capitalizes on mistakes.

“Failure [noun]: A critical action in the process of growth and the acquisition of experience. Synonymous: Create personal growth. To learn. To experiment.”

— from Roadtrip Nation

I have a hard time with the “f” word.  Talking with a friend this weekend, I realized how many decisions I made in the past that minimized risk.  I settled on an art history degree instead of pushing myself in the studio. Certainly, not a poor choice in the grand scheme of things, but a safe choice, nonetheless.

I think that single decision has defined me for years. So here I am, a year into this experiment in my own home studio, no longer uttering “I can’t”, but whispering “I’m willing to try.” And failure will come with the process.  Somehow, my forty year old self accepts that fact better than the scared kid I left in college twenty years ago.

“Consider this: Failure is nothing more than a result. It may not be what you hoped for, but it is an unchangeable fact. You can’t fight or hide from facts. Experiencing failure is like downloading information. It’s a new fact to process. You now know something that you didn’t before. Results — favorable and unfavorable — lead to new actions, more informed actions, more calculated risks…”

— Roadtrip Nation

Compelled to Create

Upcycled cardboard decor by my ever-creative daughter, Mae.

This image speaks volumes about my fourth grade daughter.  She is crafty to a fault -- funny, I didn’t recognize my own compulsion to create until I witnessed it in her. On any given Saturday, I find her rummaging around in the recycling bin or pulling up crafty videos on YouTube. Hours pass before she emerges from the craft room, sculpture, painting, or organizational tool in hand.

Her three dimensional “M” is an upcycled Minted box from last Christmas (I can’t believe I held onto it and I have no idea where she found it!)