Lately I've been working hard to juggle being an artist with being an at home mom. Boy, do I suck at it! LOL!
Trying to put your full attention on several things at once has been a recipe for disaster in terms of stress, frustration, anxiety and overall dis-ease. SIGH!!!!
Something always falls to the side...the kids, or my art, the household tasks, my relationship with my awesome husband, or my sanity. It's something I pray about all the time and have been experimenting with for the past 2 years.
I've sort of come to the conclusion that there's no easy way to do it all or do it all well. SO, I've made a deal with myself to just set my art career onto the back burner until I can devote more time to it. Once the kids are in school, I will have more time devote the proper attention to my goals. It's not fair for me or on anyone else that I try and push a square peg into a round hole. This means that I am going to paint and create when the mood strikes during free time as a hobby. I will be cooking up ideas on the side when there's room to spare. This will free me from my own personal constraints and pressures and get me back to focusing on what matters most to me...the well-being of my children, our home, and my mental health.
It's hard because I WANT to be able to do it all, but I need to have the strength to admit that I'm not able to do it right now. I have to give myself permission to wait and be ok with it. In that spirit, I did some painting on Saturday and these are what I came out with:
"Early Summer Countryside" 20 x 20 inches, acrylic on gallery-wrapped canvas
"The Storm Lifts" 7x5 inches, acrylic on gallery-wrapped canvas
Both are abstract; a style I am embracing with all its surprises. I love to show the mood of a scene through light and color. The landscape is always changing depending on the sky, the weather, and the time of year. That is the beauty of nature and it's just so fascinating.
I've come to know that I want all of the art I make to bring joy and peace to someone else. It's that simple. Through my prints, my paintings or my cards I have a way to share a thought or image that might lift someone else up in some way and that is a wonderful blessing.
I hope you are well!!!
2 comments :
Bravo for having the self-awareness to realize the elusive 'balance' is too much to aim for and taking a step back! It is a constant struggle but this post is inspiring me to look and see what I could put aside for now as well.
Thanks Val! It's so freeing to give yourself permission to just be there and play/do house things. When I have a self-imposed laundry list of other stuff I want to squish in, I find I get so stressed out and grouchy. It's just not worth it when I can't be the kind of Mom I'd always pictured I would be.
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