Finding My Rhythm

It has taken me many years to realize my ideal time, that point in any given day or week that I am at my best to create the work I do and also to be in the world.   I know there are times that I have to work outside of these parameters but I try to keep to them as much as possible.  I also know that there are specific times that I definitely try not to schedule anything that may require too much of me, too much patience or commitment.

The mornings are definitely my prime times...I am happy to get up at 6:00 am and begin a load of laundry before heading into my studio or to the library to work.  I always begin my day with a cup of tea, a lit candle and CBC Radio before I step up to my easel or leave my home.  For me, morning is the time when anything seems possible, when my mind is free of clutter and when I feel the most confident, though perhaps confident is not the right word...where I feel open to possibility.  There is no chip on my shoulder from anything I may have read or any sense of insecurity that seems to be instigated by exhaustion.  Early evening also seems to fairly work well but the mornings are definitely the perfect time for me to paint, to write, to share, to create.

The afternoons are definitely out for most things, unless I can do it from my home base.  Though I do run a Junior Artist Workshop at the library on Saturday afternoons, but only once a month and it doesn't require anything but creative energy...the kids really lift me up and energize me and the other artists who donate their time always inspire me.  Painting at home alone is always rejuvenating, so is reading.  And I try to take a small nap and a walk outdoors as often as possible to keep me going, to keep me thinking and feeling positively.

About ten years ago I began to pay attention to my personal rhythm and since then I have actively selected work environments and schedules that honoured these patterns.  Since I took that step, my creative life has definitely blossomed and I've become more prolific as result...and happier, too.