Every weekday morning I invite you Behind the Scenes at my studio.
Today: I’m back in the studio (yay!) and back to daily episodes of Behind the Scenes! I’ve been taking some time to pour this summer’s learnings and experiences into my heart as I get ready for what I hope will be a wonder-full fall! And speaking of fall… I share a little bit of our trip to Niagara Falls (what a segue!)
One of the things that has had a major impact on both my productivity and my enjoyment of life has been discovering my rhythm. A profound part of that has been learning to work with the seasons. The 3-month length of a season seems just right for creating a focus, making a change and bringing a project to life. Add in the natural energies of summer, fall, winter and spring and you’ve got magic!
With transition just around the corner, it’s time to cherish the season we’re leaving behind before we start our dreaming for the next.
Here are some journal prompts to help you celebrate and learn from the summer (or winter) that was!
What season are you celebrating (eg. Summer of 2015)?
What were the major events of the season?
What was the mood or tone of this season?
Where did your interests lie this season?
What did you create or accomplish this season?
How would you describe the “you” that you have been this season?
How would you describe your summer style?
What contributed to your well-being this season?
Who did you hang out with this season?
What are you proud of this season?
What did you learn (or re-learn) this season?
What grew this season?
What was left behind?
If you were to describe this season in one sentence, what would it be?
If you were to choose one image to represent this season, what would it be?
What do you want to remember as you step into next season?
Generally, what do you enjoy about this season (eg. summer, winter, fall, spring)?
What did you enjoy about this particular season?
What do you want to make note of for the next time this season rolls around?
What do you want to celebrate?
I also made a PDF of these Journal Prompts for you.
No matter how long ago your last school day was, September brings with it a sense of new beginnings, time for fresh notebooks and new shoes.
As students, our teachers led us through a curriculum of learning. One day we explored Egypt or weather systems and the next, the life cycle of a tree frog or how to conjugate verbs. Now we’re in Life University and are free to design our own program.
What do you want to learn next?
Pick Your Courses.
Whether you’re feeling called by felt or feathers, by improv or encaustics, by baking or birds, explore it. Don’t worry about why you’re drawn to drumming, Italian or gardening. Don’t worry about where you’re going with it. Just begin. These tidbits of inspiration are the way our muse lets herself be known. She sparks our interest and waits to see whether we follow the light. This is one time where it’s wise to bite the hook!
Don’t Worry About Getting It Right.
In life there isn’t one right answer. If you decide to focus on butterflies, precious stones or collage, on quilting, tap dancing or Spain, no red marker is coming down to give your choice an X or a checkmark (unless you decide to) so stop stressing about getting it right. Whether you focus on short stories or novels, whether you learn French or Mandarin, whether you knit or crochet, whatever you start learning will immediately be more positive and productive than staying stuck in trying to make the right choice.
Get Out Your Kaleidoscope.
Once you’ve decided on something to explore, pull out your kaleidoscope. Look at it from all sorts of angles. If you’re drawn to trees, see how many ways you can explore them. Take a picture of as many trees as you can. Take a picture of the same tree at different times of day. Sketch a tree. Plant a tree. Hug a tree. Learn 52 varieties of trees and recite their names like poetry. Write a tree-inspired haiku. Write a story about a sapling. Read the mythology of trees. Wear a tree necklace. Make a tree necklace. Take on the posture of the next tree you see. Dance like a tree in the wind. What can you learn, create and share inspired by trees?
Give Yourself a Gold Star.
And when you feel you’re complete (you’ve written your story, shared your photos, planted a seed, whatever), give yourself a gold star for being a student of trees. Celebrate all that you’ve learned, shared, created, wondered and experienced.
Every couple of weeks I film stART: Creating as We Go with my two sisters, Suzie and Shannon. We share our creative projects, from challenges to celebrations, and support each other’s creative lives. We hope we’ll inspire you to get creating too!
Over the past 2 weeks we have all had to/decided to/needed to take a bit of a break and then we got back to getting our creative juices flowing. As always, we talk through projects and challenges, including overworking and switching gears to new interests. We’ll be back in mid-September for our next episode. Until then, keep creating!
Every weekday morning I invite you Behind the Scenes at my studio.
Today: I’m getting ready to enjoy the last of the summer season and that means some time off to rest, refuel and plan for a full-on fall! I’ll be back Behind the Scenes on September 14th. I will still be in the studio, gentle creating, planning and getting ready for fall.
It was a big week for the studio kittens; we took the boys in to be neutered and Shibumi in to be spayed.
They fasted overnight and in the morning were more than ready for a big breakfast, not to get into their carriers! With great trust, Shibumi let me scoop her up and get her in. She was even purring for a moment before she realized my betrayal! It was more challenging with the boys. There was a lot of running, leaping and even hissing. Justin was amazing. He gently but firmly managed to corner each of them, diving in with a towel and emerging with a wriggling angry kitten to quickly deposit in a carrier.
Escher
The good news is that despite the fighting and the upset, the meows and complaints were frightened and ticked off as opposed to the last time, which was more like “OMGTHEY’RETRYINGTOKILLME”. I guess that’s a bit of progress.
All three surgeries went well with no complications. They did discover that Scout had retained canines that could be a problem. Basically, his baby canines weren’t falling out and his big-cat ones were trying to grow in. To avoid any issues of misalignment, the vet removed the baby teeth. The two permanent teeth are a bit wiggly but hopefully, as they have the room to settle in, they will start to make themselves at home.
We were able to bring the boys home that night, each with a cone around their head to dissuade them from grooming their surgery sites. Scout had his off before we’d taken 10 steps. Escher’s was a challenge when we got home. They bolted when the carrier doors opened and were clearly terrified. Escher tried to run up the steps but the cone got in the way and he had a little tumble. He was just fine but we found the cone abandoned at the side of the bed he was hiding under.
Both boys stayed under the bed hiding for about an hour. Eventually they emerged in search of dinner. I’ll tell you that I felt much, much better after they’d eaten a bit of food, had their painkillers (which luckily we could put in the food) and they were lying down in their regular quiet spot under the couch.
I am delighted to say that by the end of the evening, we were able to pet Scout and Escher was hanging about. The next morning they both ate a hardy breakfast, Scout was very affectionate and, believe it or not, Escher followed me everywhere! The next day we were able to bring Shibumi home.
Though she’s clearly unimpressed with “the cone” (I keep telling her it looks rather queenly on her), it hasn’t stopped her from anything, except messing with her stitches. She’s as determined and playful as ever!
In fact, since she’s been home she’s been incredibly loving, full of purrs and wanting to be close. Justin and I have both held her in our arms for quite a while, enjoying the closeness and the rumble of her purr. Last night she even slept in the crook of my knee, which is a first. Even more surprising, Escher was right there with her, leaning up against my leg!
He’s been hanging out with her pretty consistently since she got home, whereas Scout was clearly scared by the cone. His first response was to hiss at her and at the first meal with all of them home, he wouldn’t come in and eat while she was there. His fear seems to have settled quite a bit, though Scout seems to be having the hardest time. He’s spending a fair amount of time alone and under the blue couch. He did have two teeth removed in addition to being neutered so I’ll give him a couple of more days before I am too concerned. (Lol, I love how we say that as though we can schedule our concern.
All in all, everyone is well and things will hopefully set into normal. Shibumi and Scout will have to return to the vet in 10 days or so but hopefully after that, everyone can stay put and get comfortable for the year! Imagine that.
Thank you so much for all of the love and good vibes that have been sent to these three. I know that has helped and will continue to help them with their healing.
A big shout-out to all of the staff at the animal clinic. Everyone has been so kind and generous in taking care of these kittens and their humans. We’ve received excellent care, great advice – and even seen pictures of how the kittens were while they were there! We are so thankful to everyone for all their support.
And speaking of support, we could not have done this without the generosity of all of the Aunties and an Uncle who signed up for Sparkles in support of these kittens as well as their own creativity. Each of you have made a difference in the lives of these kittens and of all those who care for them. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. May your sparkle continue to light the way.
