A Template for Goal Setting

Goal setting. Sounds simple. Is it really? What makes the difference between wishing for a dream and actually getting it? If you are like me, you may be very familiar with to do lists. But once upon a time I read a book on setting goals that really made a difference in how I actually made those lists. One word, one tweak in perspective made a huge, huge difference for me.
We've all heard of visualization. Imagination is the ability to not only see ourselves there, but to feel it as though it is already real. Visualization is very , very important, but that wasn't the word. I had been visualizing forever.
Plans. Yep, I had 1 year, 5 year, 10 year perspectives. That wasn't the word either.
Perseverance. Important. Endurance. Very good words. Any artist knows we need these. Still not the word.
The tweak, the word that I needed to hear, or actually to read, and understand was the word operational. Not a very fancy word. Not that mysterious. But that word changed the template I use totally. And it kicks off the 7 steps I use to set goals.

1) Define goals operationally.
This is literally taking time to walk through the goal and the behaviors that go with it. What specific behaviors or operations (functions) will exist that make up this goal? What will I be doing or not doing when I am living the goal? How will I recognize it when I have it? How will I feel when I have it? The more clearly and specifically you do this part and break it down into almost tangible parts, the better off you are. But focus on the doing parts, the behaviors this time.Picturing yourself in place is fabulous. Picturing your actions, even better.

Why is that different? Because it makes your goal instantly attainable in some respects. It means that some of our goals are about having, but most of our goals are about doing. How we would spend our time and our efforts if we are "living the dream".

No matter what the goal is, it has a set of behaviors and circumstances that we desire. Once those are identified, bringing those behaviors into our now begins the actuality of the dream. It becomes part of our now. The more we engage in those behaviors, the more that feeling of having our goal is reinforced.

Want to be a professional artist? Up your game? Be a tennis pro? Rockstar? Art collector? Writer? Work from home? What behaviors make up that goal? Start defining your goal in terms of that and you find actionable steps to take in your behavior. You begin to play like you belong there. And that is huge. HUGE.

I started doing this years ago. What changed? The way people perceived me. And if you think that is a small thing, think again. What else changed? I moved some ladders off the wrong walls. My focus became targeted on the how I structured 6 facets of my life. Everything became focused on how I could live the way I saw myself living when I reached my goal. I sought people and places where my dream was accepted and encouraged even more. In short, because I was putting in place the activities and behaviors of "what if I had my dream", in small but sure ways I actually began living it.

My 3 Most Important Tasks this week include a trip to what I call my war room to review and revise the goal sheets. It's time for a strategy check. I consistently have 6 goal sheets in place to cover 6 facets of my life. I update them as things change, or revise them when my target shifts a bit, the goal is reached, or it no longer applies.

Next Monday I'll go over some more of the 7 parts of this template.. It's my version from Dr. Phil's Life Strategies, a book I highly recommend.

Yes, you guessed it ...Organizing Monday is here.

Lines Are Lyrical

Next come the lines and circles of plants piercing the surface.

Not this kind of plant, but follow the lines in this photo. They set up a rhythm.

I'll usually do a drawing similar to this one...

... Or this one, to find the rhythm. Not sure I will this time.

But these blobs will become all kinds of greens.

This painting is about layers and the play between them. I don't want to say too much. We'll let it develop and see what happens. But I will be playing with that blue rag some more, maybe finger painting a bit. I want to delight in the textures and rhythms. Pick colors, push glazes, and splat where I need to splat. You know, try some new ways to put on the paint and make it flow and float. Just like those clouds in the sky.
In part, I have to thank Sonia, for reinforcing this play. Even though I was headed this way, she helped push me over that edge... In a good way. So thanks. You are a remarkable friend, darling.

Oh yes, we need music. It is Naughty Friday, go soak up some fun.



Ahh, time to lighten up ....have a good weekend.

Between The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

Ahhh, a breath of fresh air.

And here is some blue.

Yep, there's that rag.

I needed to make blue sky. And I needed to get so into it that I was practically finger painting. Remember finger painting? Seriously, remember how good that felt to pick up full-bodied color and smear it around on slick paper? It didn't matter what you ended up with , the doing of it was pure response and process.

That's what I wanted. Except I am not a kid, and I was after something specific. Well, not too specific, but I wanted floating clouds and sky. And I wanted smooth, so the rag of pure cotton worked really well.

How much did I want it? Well, I didn't have a rag, so I cut up one of my cotton tops. Since I don't have many clothes anymore, the very act of cutting the front out of one of the first purchases of clothing after the storm is not insignificant. But I needed the rag more than I needed the top which was stretched now from all the washing. Snip, snip.

How much did I want it? I stopped everything else to spread newspapers out on the table and mixed a solution to thin the paint for spreading consistency. I guessed. Oh, I put the right three things in it. I have been to school, but I have not studied with Frankenthaler. I have seen her paintings and prints up close at the National Gallery and at the home of a neighbor. So I guessed.

How much did I want it? I tuned everything out. Everything, well, except George Harrison singing "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea". And pulled up the photo from my friend. I have similar photos and have walked these edges of puddles and wet places lots and lots. So I am quite at home there. But this photo, her photo reminded me of something I loved and was missing.

But here is the difference for this oil painting. I want the medium, to work as freely in oil as in watercolor. I've been trying for awhile to deal with thick paint. I love the richness of it. But the flow. I missed the flow. Okay, I have a thing for viscosity. And one of my favorite painters in the world is Cy Twombly. Go to the Twombly Gallery at the De Menil Museumhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif in Houston. The skies and light are let in a bit overhead so the paintings are experienced differently as the day progresses and the light changes. They breathe. I want that for this piece. I want every mark to be fluid. So the sharp marks and the shadows that are crisp will be like notes on sheet of music.

This piece is for me at this point. And I like that. I want this painting to feel like a clear running stream while I am working on it. It is a performance piece, but it is also faith and movement, just like finger painting. Sometimes art is hard. This is not an easy profession. Sometimes it feels like being trapped between the devil and the deep blue sea. Sometimes you have to just work through it and sometimes you just have to jump into that deep blue sea and swim.

I think a little Jack Johnson ...might be nice.



Yes, he's surfing through the waves and there's ukelele. Hm. I seem to like that at the moment.
Back to the blue for me....

A Little Progress is a Good Thing

One step closer to goal.

Already the next piece is calling.

Oops, I broke the seal.

This morning I woke up with a relentless need to make a diluted cobalt blue glaze and pull it across a clean canvas with a rag, not a brush. Huh? Yes, right in the middle of my horizontal gonna get up in a sec planning, this tap, tap, tap, you know you wanna, would not go away. It started yesterday. In the middle of my diligent work on the shady undersides of the palms, the image of me applying the blue, caressing the canvas almost, kept popping up.

I blame my friend Patti. It's pretty much her fault. Hers and the Phillips Museum. And Julian Merrow Smith. Sure why not blame him too. And John. Yes, let's get a whole blame posse going.

Remember this week is more about staying out of my head, staying in the moment and just getting one thing done after another? 2 minutes, 1 most fabulous thing, all that. Just being present in the moment, not over thinking. Just doing for gosh sakes. How hard can that be?

Hmph. Hands on hips, the artist taps foot and tilts head. Well, actually that is the point at which I broke the silly seal on the next canvas. My muse is not shutting up.

A photo from Patti, a summer show of Diebenkorn's work from his Albuquerque years, Julian's play with edges and John's proclivity for "random is good", are all talking to me.

There will be blue on that canvas by dinnertime tonight. And I will move to the next little part of the palms. Oh, my to do list is still good, very, very good, but this blue is pulling me into a flow...and THAT is exactly what I was after.

Moral of the story? Sometimes a little progress and a luxurious blue are the next right thing to do. We are playing with edges and flow. A musical muse for this? Yes, here we go:



Ahh, come on Brush let's go find that rag and paint some blue. What you thought art was easy?

The 1 Thing Today

This is a 2 minute post. Today, the 1 thing that would make me happiest to accomplish ( my horizontal planning worked this morning) is this part of the painting will be refined. It needs to go darker. It's a tucked away spot that needs to be subdued, but strong. This morning it spoke to me loudest. The other 2 on my list of 3 Most Important tasks are steaming the silks and wading through the mountain of email. I am making tea, my delete finger is ready, the paint is practically mixing itself, and the cheesecloth for wrapping the silks is on its way into the house. But this little piece of the painting, that's what will make me happy today. I'll update later this afternoon.

Tell Me Oh Little Buddha

I am looking for freshness and peace.

And this little guy ain't talking.

I'll try my spa routine in a minute.

Hm, passion or the toss of a coin?

I had one of those dreams last night. No, not one of those dreams. I like those. This was one of those dreams that made me furiously angry and unsettled. Ever have those? The scenario goes along, things are kind of weird, but passably believable and somewhat curious, and then one thing tips the scale. Suddenly there I am throwing everything I could get my hands on and being rather vocal about my, uh, displeasure. I was so angry I woke up trying to catch my breath.

Yep. Not my favorite way to wake up on a Monday.

This is a day for clarity, for 2 minute wonders, and for those Most Important Tasks to be all lined up. Hmph. Usually right before I get up, I think of the one most important thing I need to get done that day. What's the one thing that will make the biggest difference that day? That thing that when I lay down that night will make me feel happiest to have accomplished? Well, that wasn't happening. Couldn't picture it. I was still anxious, confused and provoked. As I lay there in bed, I tried another trick, calling the stillness as Eckhardt Tolle suggests to be totally present in the moment. I opened an eye. Nope. No stillness. I was totally present and in a really pissy mood. What now Eckhardt? Maybe that little gem from Leo's comment thread about making tea. Yeah, just get into the zen of ritual, make some tea, and get on to my post for Organizing Monday.

My thoughts were having none of that. They were more like a herd of kittens just sprayed with a water hose.

Okay. It was just a dream. It is absolutely ridiculous to let something like that intrude on my day. But it is here and now, tapping me on the shoulder, no, pinching me viciously, saying, "Hey, look at me. It's important." "Okay", I say. "I'll look at you, but Mister, you will not get anymore of my day than you deserve." As my dear friend Patti knows, I process things as they present. Keeps the stream unpolluted as much as possible. Kind of like picking up litter before it can become a massive blockage in a clear running brook. I tend to like the way light trickles and gurgles as it passes over smooth river stone.

You see the things that make an artist really good at what we do, also make us vulnerable. When we open up to be responsive, let our muse run free, get in our zone, it makes us open to other input too. Not all of that is good. It can be overwhelming. What to do? I could follow my passion which is now muddied a bit, or I could toss a coin and pick any one thing on my list of important things to do. Today, it would not make too much difference. BUT, and here's the big but, as I move into these things that I do, these rituals, and get anything done, all the while considering the message that is trying to get through, the flow is getting clearer. Some of the dream and the issues with it are starting to make sense. And yes, the message is important.

So little Buddha is smiling at me. His silence made me toss a coin. Coffee won, not tea. This post, not the other. Now spa shower, and then a random pick from the list of Most Important Tasks and one that may seem insignificant, yep, I am tossing that one in too. The dream is not winning, any one of these is going to make a difference. Randomness is a strong ally at times. It gets us out of our heads. But now I know what was bothering me. Hm. Now how to deal with that?

Damn, little buddha is silent again. Aughh, I am heading to that spa shower. Yep. It is Organizing Monday.

Artist As Personal Trainer

Back to the jungle, this tangle of palms.

This area must go much darker.

This area I must leave alone.

And this I must tame a bit, but not too much.

I was getting too tight with this painting and the small blackberry piece as well. Progressing, but getting tight and tense. That is not good. This tangle of greens is to be a meditative piece with hints of the call of the wild. The lavenders are celestial. The browns are grounded to earth. All the bits here and there are to call to primal self. And somehow it must have transcendence. So even when refining, even when being exact, tight is not good.

A few years ago, I had a personal trainer. Ahh, life was good. Neal kicked my butt, repeatedly. We did Super Slow weight training. In a 30 minute session we would work my muscles to total exhaustion. I mean total exhaustion, the kind where you have to sit down afterwards or fall over like a little baby. Each machine we used was loaded and set so that in just a few ( read grueling) reps, we had shaking, quivering,"Uh, Neal , I can't do any more", me. That's when Neal would lean in a little closer, look me in the eye, and say, "Jan, I know you can do it, just one more." Neal lied. There was always one more after that, and then another. We only stopped when the muscles would not move. My mind wanted to go on, my heart wanted to continue, but my muscles were having no more. That's when nice Neal (as opposed to devil Neal) would reappear, and say, "Whoa, we're there." (Don't even get me started telling you about crunches and squats.)

I miss Neal. Not only was my body in great shape, but my mind was right there with it. After those sessions came the water, the rest, the recuperation that gave me springy, relaxed muscles that could move mountains. And Neal believed in me so much, that I did too, even if I wasn't a superjock. That's powerful, that belief.

So here we have me, no personal trainer, and painting muscles that are way too wonky and tight, and a mind that is quickly going there too. What to do, what to do? I don't want so so paintings. I want fabulous work. So I set about artistically and physically loosening up. Painting silk is a physical task. Oh, it is artistic and free for me, but very physical. So after a few days of painting big, loose, and abstract for long hours, I am a bit, hm, fatigued, but in a good way. And I feel looser. Tired. Well, really tired, but ready for water, rest, and recuperation. And the palms and blackberries, I am excited about them again. I see some new things there. Some ideas for transcendence.

Sometimes artists have to be their own personal trainers. We have to keep ourselves fluid. Work out the kinks. So, a little water, a small rest, some recuperation and I'll be good to paint again. And yes, I hear Neal saying,"Jan, you can do it." Yep, belief, is a powerful thing. (Thanks Neal)

Don't forget, it is Naughty Friday, go get up to some mischief.

I Want a Rematch-Puddles 2, Artist 1

Painting in the rain is fun.

Sort of.

Not one silk turned out the way I would have wished.

Well, maybe 1 of the silks is slightly gorgeous. See that coppery and purple one in the second photo? It is one mistake after another. And guess what? It is going to be Lasceaux Cave gorgeous when the colors are set. It has a smokey, warm/cool thing going on that makes my primal heart purr. It is literally built on rain drops, my response to them, and layer after layer of: "Is this enough?" NO. "Too much?" Yes. "This?" NO. "That?" Maybe. All while the rain is sprinkling here and there. This silk has densities of pushing through in spite of my own self until it had body, and rich color, and then patina. It is seeped in imperfection. Rich with I dunno, let me try this, 'cause that isn't it. Ripe with, uh, uh, not there yet... and lots of interruptions. This was not an in the zone day. And I only got half the number of them done that I set out to do.

Here's what happens when it seems like a miss on a silk to me. I say, "Oh well, nothing to lose now", and I see what I can throw at it to pull it off. Anyone ever had that feeling of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat? Yeah, feels good doesn't it? Well, I have a little of that now, but look, only 1 out of 3. Oh, the other two are respectable in person, and they'll look luscious when the colors are set, but I am not exactly pleased. Hm. Now here's the real question: Beverage and chilling now, or deep breath, centering, and get right back out there? It's 6 pm my time. Now, what would Tiger Woods do ? :)

Playing In Blue and Purple Puddles

Yes, that's the plan today with the silks, puddly deep purples and blue. And oh guess what, Mother Nature has just let me know with a big thunderclap, that is her plan too. Puddles and possibly hail coming up soon. Hm. What would happen if....just thinking of snow washed Japanese paper...rain washed silks? Maybe. What kind of Thursday will this be?

Chocolate Silk, $25 , and Ghirardelli Chocolate Chip Cookies

Come on, enjoy it. Shimmery, yummy color on silk.

And, "waiting out a storm" Ghirardelli Chocolate Chip cookies, bite into those too.

Here's some more of the silks from late yesterday, look all you want.

But you may not, NOT, have the $25 I won off the Men With Pens yesterday. Nope cannot have it. Mine. All mine. Not even that "nut graf exposing Viking" gets the prize this time. Why is it that winning cash is so much fun? And the "buy something totally indulgent" instructions that came with the cash even more fun?

Yesterday was just one of those days that could have gone either way. Oh, we had thunderstorms all around, high winds, rain, that kind of challenged my plans to paint the silks outside. But my 2 minute plan has me on deadline. I want x number of pearlescent, shimmery, sensual silks done in x number of days. Think Mother Nature gives one squat about my plans? Nope. Believe me on that one.

So yesterday morning, early set up, a little swirling of French dyes, some brush work, and the first leaves start dancing by on the increasing winds. Not to worry. I have been known to walk over to my neighborhood shop for treats while hurricanes are stirring around in the Gulf. A little Texas rainstorm? Nothing. So I pop back inside briefly to check email, and see that Pen Men have posted a challenge. Hm. I really don't have time, the clouds are getting darker, but I'll give it a try. I make a couple of guesses. The winds are picking up. I run back out to bring the silks on their frames into the shelter of the garage just as the first big splats of rain begin. Hm, I think, "maybe I should check the radar"...ya think?

Rain, in earnest, now beats against the window panes. Time for plan B. I wanted to play with chocolate didn't I? So out come the Ghirardelli chips, the Kitchen Aid mixer and the goodies to whip up some homemade cookies. Ahh, that is such a nice smell on a rainy dark day. While the first silks dry (those winds are good for that), the cookies bake, and I find out this is going to be a little bit more of a storm than a summer shower, back I go to MwP to see if I had gotten lucky. No. Hm. A couple more guesses, and back to work I go. I take the last batch of warm cookies out, photograph and post the morning's silks and yes, make one more guess. That's it. Enough of that. I have work to do.

I am back outside under overcast skies, but there's a break in the rain. So I pour deep Havana and Tabac into a little bit of black, ooh, and some blues might be nice, too. As the clouds move over my head, my brush moves over the silk. Yummy. I love this kind of free. I told Friar, it is the negative ions that invigorate me, in storms and at a seashore. So brush and I skipped, darted, and dashed as the winds picked up again. Splat!...Splat! Oops. The dyes until set will run when wet. So back to the shelter of the garage they go. But I was done. Spent. All was good. Time to clean up. Go inside.

So I wash my brushes and mixing cups. Put away the containers. Clean off my hands and sniff warm cookies as thunder rolled back in. Okay, I'll just check to see if anybody won that challenge. DING DING DING. There it was from James. Janice you won... and a whole chorus of congrats. I looked around at my chocolate silk filled day, and the wonderful beauty that was this storm and there all over the country and Canada were friends cheering for me. So I did a happy dance, accepted the cash and the "well played". I poured some wine raised my glass to them and to myself. Indeed well played all.

Later I would find out those were 61 mile per hour winds that downed a couple of trees and tore a few roofs off. But... I got my silks, my $25, some cookies...and warm hugs from some friends... And I am buying something wonderfully indulgent with the cash. Not a bad Tuesday I am thinking.

Chocolate Silk Morning Update

While I am waiting for a thunderstorm to pass...

Here's a sneak peek at this morning's dip into the chocolates and coffee.

Now, quick check of radar, then I am grabbing a beverage and going back out for deeper darker chocolates this afternoon. How are you doing today? Was that thunder, I just heard?? uh oh...that's not on my plan... I am so laughing at myself... there's another roll of thunder...hmm...might have to bake chocolate chip cookies while this one passes to get my chocolate this afternoon. Yep, that was lightening...Ghiradelli here I come. Hey, if I have to paint in the garage we ARE having cookies. My inner diva says so. I am so sure Jasper Johns has none of these difficulties, the artist says shaking her head and chuckling....what a day.

Chocolate Silk Coming Up

This is a 2 minute post. I am painting chocolate colored silks this morning before it gets so hot outside or rains, or both. I hope to post them this afternoon. So good morning. Good coffee...ooh coffee..that would be good to paint too...well...see how this is going? See ya later today.

4 Questions To Get a Clue

Saturday I had some time to reflect.

A few weeks ago this calendar was blank.

But I put some goals in place and the beginnings of a timeline.

Here's the beginning of this week. I like the 2 minutes. Those work. They help me stay present. Staying present, that's very important, especially when there is a big task, or a large challenge that is practically guaranteed to knock you to your knees every once and awhile.

This week, along with the usual work, I am after 4 really good targeted questions, matchmaking ones.

I need to cold call some galleries pretty soon. Yikes. I have a partial list of galleries from a coaching session. I am broadening the search though. This is where 2 minutes comes in very handy. Staying present. If you leave it at just a phone call, the whole this could change my life anxiety thing is lessened. Since I don't want to waste my time or theirs, but I do want to get to know them, I want 4 very specific questions. This means doing your homework and being prepared. Designing questions? Am I nuts? I want specific information, but I am also testing and taking a pulse. Are we a good match? Is this a passive gallery or do they know what they are about? Is this someone I want in my life? Can they sell my work and build my reputation? Do they get what I do? I am looking for someone who can fall in love...with me. Well, actually with my work, but I come with. See? Guaranteed to knock you to your knees along the way, like dating, only there's money and a career involved.

So this week I need to belly up to the bar and come up with some keenly insightful questions of my own. I have a checklist of questions from the coach's notebook, the usual qualifiers, and the calls will only go to acceptable "suitors". I want more. I can see my friend Patti smiling at that. I have been disappointed in the past with passive galleries. I want a fabulous relationship, and for that, the usual suspects of questions will not do. So I am doing some pre-visualizing...okay a little dreaming...to see if I can imagine that meaningful conversation...that sparkle. What are the four most important things that I want to know?

Maybe there is a post in that," How the gallery searches are like dating"? Maybe. So I will take notes, but for now it is organizing Monday. Yes, I have 3 MIT's and an armful of 2 minutes. The silks will continue. The paintings are coming along. And now these questions...what would you want to know if you were looking for the gallery love of your life?

Oh and I have to go back and read Dave's posts on getting up early. Phew, It is definitely Monday morning.

A Few 2 Minutes-Part 3

Here are 2 more 2 minutes- a new possible maybe gallery and ideas for some PDF's.

Small steps. Small tools.

I am looking at personal resources, bringing back revenue streams, mining some inner gold.

It's like rebuilding one rafter at a time.

The value to me of these 2 minutes is training in staying in the present. Limbo is a hard place to be. Walking that tightrope between what was and what will be requires more than a little skill. So while the tugs on my heart keep me conflicted, my 2 minutes can be a bridge between my past and my future, an improvisational present. These 2 minutes are golden in that respect. They get me to the next step. Help build a little rhythm and a beat. Speaking of which, there was a very thought provoking post yesterday by Tim Ferriss all about restructuring our lives to be more like a jazz quartet rather that a work/life balancing scale. I intend to read Dr. Friedman's book. It's about leadership in all facets of our life. It seems to me it might make those 2 minutes even more of a resource. We all want that vibrant music in our life don't we? So what kind of 2 minutes are you putting in? Are they all they tuned in to a sweet melody? Brush is liking them so far. He's feeling more of a flow. Next thing you know, he'll be wanting a beret and sunglasses and be joining a band.

Yeah, 2 minute beats... What's next? Brush and I are going to go get in the zone.Our muse? Maybe a little Buddy Guy and friend,'cause we have some low country painting to do...with feeling...It goes with all this heat and humidity we're having too.



Oh yeah, we're ready now. Grabbing a beverage. Going to paint.

A Few 2 Minutes-Part 2

Houston we have silk.

We have rich luscious color.

And we have probably a few less pounds.

It was stinkin' hot outside yesterday. Well, humid for sure, and we all know, "It's ( everyone repeat) not the heat, it's the humidity. " But I had my arms full of 2 minutes and a plentiful supply of limeade. So before the thunderstorm and lightening hit in the afternoon, we, brush and I, painted lovely silk outside. Painting in the garage was not an option. No breeze there.
Here's another 2 minute accomplishment from this week. I applied to become an Amazon Associate. Look over there, on the right. There's a new Carousel Widget of good reads. They said, " we approve." Go for it. So I am. If you look, you'll see some friends of mine. Black Widow is the newest of Randy's Doc Ford novels with a great new character, Sir James. If you can find a copy of Twelve Mile Limit, you will find that Doc Ford's best friend and sidekick wears original silk sarongs hand painted by moi. Randy is one of my favorite muses and one hell of a storyteller. Besides, how cool is it that my lovely silks grace the hips of manly man Tomlinson? Mojitos and fresh breezes always come to mind when I think of Dinkins Bay.
So another 2 minutes lets me bring you another passion of mine. I am a voracious reader as my friends know. Ahh, I am liking this test. How are your 2 minutes going? Let's see, what was next on that list? Definitely more limeade. Come on, Brush.
And because I love this so much. Here we go with hot and smooth.

A Few 2 Minutes- Part 1

Before the storm, I painted silks too.

These were sold at several Ritz Carltons and The Bellagio Gallery in Asheville and some other exclusive locations.

Less than 2 minutes is what it takes to thumbnail a sketch for a silk.

I have a makeshift set up here in Dallas, but yesterday, in 2 minutes, I outlined a silk series to paint over this next few weeks. 2 minutes of original thought, born of years of experience. So today, I will haul out the frames. Get out the clips , the mixing bowls, the brushes, the plastic covers for the garage floor, the silks stashed away. I will paint sensual silks in a Texas garage. Ahh, the glamorous life of an artist. You'll probably get to see some of the process. And when they are done and all neatly pressed and packaged elegantly, I'll send them off to their new homes. It's wearable art, a movable exhibit. If you want one. Let me know. Oh, the price? Around 200.00.

Who'll be on my ipod? Some Sexyback, some Smooth, some Choux Pastry Heart, some Need to Know ...painting silk is half paint, half dance...a regular little party in the garage today. I think we'll need some beverages as well. It's pretty hot. So how are your 2 minutes going?

A 2 Minute Question

What can you do in 2 minutes?

I can draw a complete nude figure.

Or do the thumbnail for a painting.

Some things take longer.

I read this this weekend in Eckhardt Tolle's A New Earth. It's about reconciling inner and outer purposes:

By realizing that your your entire life journey ultimately consists of the step you are taking at the moment. There is always only this one step, and so you give it your fullest attention. It doesn't mean you don't know where you are going; it just means this step is primary, the destination is secondary.

He also said that we cannot manifest something that is not within us, something we do not already own.

Yes, it was a bit of a contemplative Sunday. My 2 minutes seem very important to me now. Not that they weren't before, but they seem like larger resources. So I thought this week would be a very good test to see what could be made of them. In Dave Allen's Get It Done, he is very keen on 2 minute chunks of time. I have some pretty hefty things to accomplish and a September goal line. I thought that if it is already in me, well, let's bring it out because I would love to see these particular things realized.

By the way, those are friends of mine in the photo, rebuilding. The eye of Katrina hit steps away from that doorway with a 20 foot storm surge. It's a camp that was originally built in the 1920's, a family gathering place. The bulk of my wetlands paintings come from that land. It is a private reserve adjacent to the Pearl River in Mississippi. The rafters to the sleeping porch were yesterday's project there. I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to see the progress. The destruction was massive. So a little at a time...some resources...and some friends...

So step by 2 minute step. What can you do in 2 minutes? Yes. It is organizing Monday.
3 Most Important Tasks and an armful of 2 minutes. This day ought to be fun.