Guilty Pleasures

I’ve not been very productive with my painting or weaving since early June. I’ve been preoccupied and busy. Ok, Ok, I’ve been slacking off. I went on a two week road trip to Seattle and had a house full of company the week I returned. Then it was the July 4^th weekend with its compliment of parties & more house guests. And martini’s with @TheDeeView & @Taxes007. And then the trip to Hawaii. And then, I just didn’t manage to get my butt in gear to paint or weave.

I think about it every day sitting in my studio working on the lap top. I think about it as I float blissfully in the pool. I think about it as I am cleaning up after yet another house full of guests. But I haven’t done it. And I’m feeling guilty! I enjoy telling people “I work every day in my studio.” I guess I shouldn’t be saying that!

My mind is occupied with thinking about the next piece. Perhaps I need to think some more about it. I know what I want to work on next. Perhaps I just need to take a break. Perhaps this is one of those lulls I alluded to in an earlier post. Perhaps.

I’m in Hawaii as I write this post. We arrived on Saturday morning and I’ll definitely NOT be getting any artwork done these next 10 days. I will be playing, snorkeling, and taking photographs of anything that catches my eye. I’ve scoped out the 6 swimming pools – avoid the children’s pool: too much chlorine (AKA urine) – the health club, the spa and I’ve figured out which of the bars seems liveliest. I’m ready to play!

Meanwhile my husband will be attending his doctor’s conference learning all sorts of esoteric stuff in sessions with titles such as “DM Risk Mitigation: It Ain’t All Sugar” and “What’s New in Hip Pain from A to FAI” and “Halitosis” and “Rheumavascugoutamosis“ (MSWord does not recognize nor have a spelling suggestion for Rheumavascugoutamosis) and my personal favorite, ”Sex and Headache.” THAT session sounds interesting. I WOULD skip the session on “Halitosis.”

So, while my Doctor is attending his conference, I’ve been feeling guilty about NOT doing my art. WAS…. What I realized the other day, lying by the pool is that feeling guilty is counter-productive. This downtime is an excellent opportunity to recharge my batteries; to clear my mind and observe the world with fresh eyes. What better place to do that than in Hawaii? I mean, Maui has many of the attributes I love about living in the desert: warmth, sun, interesting plants, hiking, mountains and not a huge amount of traffic. OK, there is traffic but nothing compared to Los Angeles or Seattle. There are significant differences too, such as rain, “real” trees, beaches, rain, ocean and all this with a riot of color.

I’m going to kick back, enjoy the magic of Hawaii and absorb as much of this “newness” as I can! When we return to Palm Springs, I’ll be ready to dive into my artwork with a fresh point of view and a relaxed body & mind. The most pressing thing on my mind right now is wanting to know what the hell Rheumavascugoutamosis is! Oh, never mind! Where did I leave my Mai Tai?

Please take a minute to visit my website at www.JerryLHanson.com and take a stroll through my artwork. All of it is for sale (except for “Icarus” and “Winter Rain”). Please contact me if you want to buy one of my works or if you have any questions about a specific piece. My contact information is on my website and you can leave a comment on this blog site for me to contact you. You can e-mail me at JeryL@JerryLHanson.com and you can telephone me on my studio phone 760-992-3157 (I have the phone with me in Hawaii: you can call me. I won’t mind). Aloha!

Mahalo and thank you for listening,

Jerry L Hanson