One of my favorite books is, The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron. It’s a very inspirational book about blocked creativity. In her book, Julia tells us that the we must continually fill the well of creativity to avoid being a blocked artist. One of the ways of doing this is with a weekly Artist Date. Thursday is usually my best day to do this, because generally it’s a free day for me. When deciding where to take myself for the Artist Date, I choose a place that speaks to my creativity and makes me feel happy inside. Yesterday I went to a local market to doing a little fruit and veggie shopping, but yesterday I really took time to look around and absorb the rich colors.
I took photos with my cell phone camera and tried to be discreet. I wondered if the employees might think I was from the health department inspecting their produce. I was really amazed at the rich colors, and even more so when I got home and looked at the photos I’d taken. I have included a few of them here.
Choosing the market for my Artist Date was perfect. Perhaps the next time you go to the market, you’ll slow down a little as I did and take time to look at the colors. Nature really is amazing. I wonder where my next Artist date will take me?
While on vacation last weekend, I knit a new dishcloth for the trailer. I used to knit a lot, but have gotten away from it recently. I’d forgotten how nice it is to just sit and knit. I’ve often heard that knitting is good for the brain and I wondered why, so I went on line to find out. While knitting you are focused on the moment and not thinking of problems, or things that might be stressing you. Knitting puts you in a meditative like state, which decreases your heart rate and blood pressure. When knitting you are concentrating on a pattern and often learning new stitches which is a great exercise for the brain. It is also a wonderful way to exercise your hands and keep fingers limber and flexible. Being part of a knitting group always made me feel good because I was creating something for someone else.
