The Dance

This was done by my son, Justin- same son who used to tote crayons with him everywhere he went- that with his floppy blonde hair.

I was up till 1:30 a.m. last light. My son, Justin, and I talked for two hours about the creative process. This kid of mine helps me with a lot with things- I can't tell you how many times I have hit a wall on a project and he comes to my rescue- shedding light on a problem area that has caused me nothing but frustration. 

So last night we talked about how before the pencil hits the paper, most often an idea is carried around in your heart and mind for weeks- going through ideas and colors over and over as though rehearsing dance steps. For me , a rug design starts with a little spark in my heart brought on by a color sometimes, something I see, something I remember and it just stirs around in my mind and heart until it is then something you can touch and see. Over and over you practice- as you work, as you shop, as you try to sleep- until the day comes when all those hours of rehearsing, you are able to put on your dancing shoes!!

I have a sketch hanging in my living room- a woman walking toward the shore of a river during berry picking season. She has a little girl next to her. I also have pinned to my board pictures that are helping me form what I want- a basket of ripe berries, a river, a bridge, scenery, a mountain- to me some are colors, some are items I want to work in. But more than anything, the more I 'rehearse', the more I can feel the cool day, I can hear hear a little girl playing, I can see and hear the water rushing by- I am there. Right now, I just keep rehearsing the dance steps- raspberry, maple, indigo, indigo- 1, 2, 3- pause. Start again- this time trying it with a white mountain top. Yep, in my mind I go through this for weeks until I cannot wait one more minute to DANCE!!

And there is nothing more rewarding than finishing the dance all out of breath and looking out in the audience and seeing that I touched someone, or that I stirred a memory or that someone else would like me to teach them those dance steps I have labored over for months. To me, that is happiness.