Distractions, Clutter, and Creating Problems for Oneself

Why is this blog called Art, Music and Other Shiny Objects? Maybe it's for the same reason I haven't posted in the past six or so months: I tend to get a teensy-weensy bit distracted. Can you relate to that? It's ridiculous.

I pet sit this dog named Mac. Mac is awesome. And, it turns out that Mac LOVES snow (go figure). It gives him a bit of DADD (Doggie Attention Deficit Disorder).

Mac is about two and a half years old, and finally starting to mellow from a wild puppy-hood. But he still has tons of energy. It's my job to take him out and throw the ball a whole lot, running him like mad so he'll be too tired to cause any mischief. The goal is to use up a great lot of his energy, and in the summer this is not an issue. I throw the ball far (thanks to the Chuck-it; whoever invented it should be a millionaire), he runs for it, runs back, and we repeat until he's wiped out.

However, in the snow... not so much. I throw the ball once, he gets it, and runs off to frolic in the snow. He eventually brings it back, but he goes straight to a big snow drift and plops the ball in it. The he pushes it down with his paw and buries it. Then he digs like mad to find it, only to bury it again. So basically, Mac creates problems to solve them. He loves it. He has a great time. But alas, Mac is not focused on our goal.

You may think it silly for me to expect a dog to focus on, or even be aware of or care about a goal. And, you'd be right. But stick with me, because this is not about Mac the dog. This is about me, and perhaps about you, too.

I have a really hard time staying focused on the goal. And actually, like Mac, I don't even care about the damn goal when I'm lost in a world of snow. "Snow" for me being Facebook, the internet generally, articles, memes, friends that want to hang out, music videos, wine, food, all important cat videos... you get the picture. And if that's not bad enough, I too create problems and solve them.

This really needs to stop. And the beginning of a new year seems like a good time. But how?

I'm starting to realize that I'm a terrible decision maker. This accounts for the clutter on my desk and in my apartment, and that all leads to a cluttered mind. Just a few minutes ago I wasn't sure where to go with this post, and I suddenly found myself surfing Facebook on my phone. While sitting in front of my computer! I hardly remember even reaching for my phone. I think it's just a habit; can't decide what to do? Reach for a distraction.
It seems that distraction is a symptom of indecision. And why would a person not want to decide? Because we don't want to make a wrong choice. Or we don't trust ourselves to make a right choice. It's easier for me to look at Facebook, or to go find a snack, and then forget where was and what I was doing before. And this really is a form of procrastination.

So, this year, I want to be a great decision maker. Which is not to say that I want to make great decisions - I do, but my first intent is to just make a lot of decisions. With practice I'll get better at it, right?
New affirmations: I trust myself to decide. Deep down I know what the right decision is, and if I pay attention, it will be obvious.

As for Mac, I think I'll just let him have fun in the snow. One of the perks of being a dog.

Adventures in Backdrop Painting!!

This summer I'm helping out with a children's musical theater camp... fun!! I'm doing the backdrop for the stage, and helping out wherever else needed.

Creating a backdrop is a completely new experience for me, and I'm learning a lot as I go! Mainly about materials - I'm using two 4'x8' foam insulating panels, latex paint, and spray paint. Normally in my line of work, I look for materials that will last a very long time. I'm concerned about how the painting will hold up and weather through the years. But here the goal is to make a big, colorful backdrop in a hurry and on a budget. 
Challenge accepted! 

The play is about kids growing up in the digital age, so I decided to paint a computer floating through cyber space.  There are bright neon colored "stars" (hubs?) on a black background, and I'll probably make them connected by thin lines lines to show how we're all connected in this virtual world.

I'm pleased with the way it's turned out so far, but it's not been without it's challenges. But, like I tell my students: we're artists, so we like to figure stuff out. 

Here are a few pics from today, more to come when it's done (which should be tomorrow).

Before

After (After today, that is. Still a work in progress..)

Future home of a giant keyboard.

 

 

 

 

Helpers!

What I'm Working On: May 2015 Edition

"Untitled" (In progress) Oil on canvas ©Tabetha Hastings

Here is a sneak preview of my latest painting. This is a slightly cropped version, and still very much in progress. (Not ready for the world to see that nose yet!)

This is the second painting in a series of intimate portraits. I'm compelled by the lines of the human body, as well as the interesting colors and textures of the skin that we're all wrapped up in.

My focus is largely on the female form; I want to express beauty in what is often overlooked. Sensuality above sexuality.

If interested, you can check out more of my work at http://tabethalandt.com

Day 100, 100 Happy Days: Goodbye TV, and I'm Done!!!

Woo-hoo!!!

Another 100 happy days under my belt - pretty cool. And I do indeed feel happy! Certainly happier overall than when I started. Life is good.

Also, my TV and DVD player have moved on to another home. The armoire will soon follow, and I will have a bit more s p a c e in my apartment.

Yay!!

Day 99, 100 Happy Days: Happy Hour and Acupuncture

Wow! I'm nearly done with my 100 happy days, and again it has been a great project. Looking for something to make me happy really does help to make me happy.

Today I went to happy hour with two of my besties. We used to meet once a month, but we've just been too busy to make that happen lately. So it was extra good to see them.

We went to Atomic Cowboy and ordered a MASSIVE pizza. Twenty-six inches of deliciousness!

Also, I went to acupuncture today, and that always makes me happy. In this case more than usual because yesterday I really jacked up my neck. I went in to my appointment not being able to turn my head to the right much. Tonight I can turn my head almost all the way to the right. Happiness!

Day 98, 100 Happy Days: A New Gadget

I don't get new gadgets very often. Nor do I get packages in the mail very often. So coming home to a new gadget in the mail really made me happy!

My new gadget is an iRing. It sticks to the back of my phone and serves as a kickstand - vertical or horizontal, and it also slips over my finger to allow me hands-free... well, not free, but maybe hands-light access to my phone. Also, it comes with a hook to stick up wherever - probably on my dashboard. The ring slips nicely over the hook so I can hang my phone on it.

Exciting stuff.

Day 97, 100 Happy Days: Organizing with Stickies

I swear to you, the simplest way is usually the best way. I wish I would remember that more often.

I recently decided to get away from hand-written "to do" lists. They were a mess. Some things would get crossed out and other things would stay on the list forever. New lists would get started and old items wouldn't get transferred... lists would get buried under other paper. And how could I possibly throw that list away when it's got that cool doodle on it?

No more!

I discovered Stickies on my Mac. Not sticking post-it notes to my screen.... Stickies the app. Brilliant. My to do list stays open on my Mac desktop, and I can add or delete easily. No searching under a pile of paper (perhaps a pile of windows, though). And I find that it's just as satisfying deleting things off the list as it was crossing things off the list.

I can rearrange items, and I love having them categorized. Now... you can see that list is a mile long (give or take), and no human could accomplish it all in one day. So, I review at the end of the day, and change the day of the week at the top. And voila! I'm good to go in the morning.

Yes, I realize that I could leave a window open in other programs with a list on it. I tried it in a spreadsheet for awhile, but something about the ability to go horizontal as well as vertical kind of messed me up. I got too detailed about things.

So, I'm going with my stickies, and it's making me feel organized and happy! 

Day 96, 100 Happy Days: All Around Great Day

I know it's been a good day when I have to pick and choose what made me happy.

Today started with some me time in my studio, then had a great Artist's Way class, then dinner with a new friend.

Life is grand!

Day 95, 100 Happy Days: Breating Space

"Breathing Space" (No, not a recent picture...)

 

Now that First Friday is over (for this month), and the biggest class that I've had in my studio to date is done... I'm hoping to be able to just coast for a little bit.

Tonight ended several months of "going great guns" (honestly, it's been crazy since Thanksgiving), and I'm ready to take a breath. Ready for a normal schedule - or as normal as it gets in my world, free from out of the ordinary classes, trips, and tons of social contact.

Day 94, 100 Happy Days: Silence

First Friday is a lot of fun. It's a giant party in my studio once a month.

Tonight between the two studios there were roughly sixteen artists. Most of them had friends or family members helping out. Then there were the usual gallery hoppers, people on dates, friends stopping by, regulars, partiers, a dude in a gas mask... hundreds of people.

It was loud, and it can be a lot for an introvert like me - or perhaps it's less an introvert thing and more a highly sensitive person thing. In either case it can be overwhelming. Sometimes I handle it better than others. Tonight it was quite tiring.

It was so good to get home and listen to the silence.

Day 93, 100 Happy Days: Inspiration

I woke up this morning with a serious knowing that I have to make some changes in my life. I had the distinct feeling that it was time to recreate myself. To change the direction of my story.
Don't get me wrong - in many ways things are going better than they have in ages. But... that can be challenging. That means that I can actually see where I want to go (which is good), but it also means that I see the distance left to traverse. I can see a glimmer of hope, but I can't quite grasp it. Sometimes I even know the things I need to do, just not how to do them.
That was were I was at when I got out of bed.

I sat with my coffee and wrote about my dissatisfaction in my morning pages. I made a list of eleven things I need to do to move forward - many of them things I need to do every damn day. Daunting, to say the least.

Then I decided to pop in a dvd while I unpacked a box of art supplies. It was a documentary, and I knew nothing about it. I saw it at the library one day, it's called "Who Does She Think She Is?" On the back cover it said "A compelling documentary film on women artists... explores the barriers to the creative process and how art ultimately transforms women's lives and those around them."
I'm a woman, I'm an artist. I picked it up.
It's due back tomorrow, so I thought I'd watch it for a bit while I unwrapped a shipment of canvases. I really thought I'd turn it off after ten minutes.

But I didn't. And in fact, somehow it changed everything up for me. (By the way, I know I'm late to the table on this one - the movie is from 2008. Why did I never hear about this before?!)

The documentary profiled five women who were creating their art while raising kids. They're not not necessarily successful (by traditional definitions), but they're doing it. They're doing it because they have to. Because they can't not do it. They do it knowing that the art world is sexist and that art created by women is not received with the same respect of art that is created by men. But they still do it. They squeeze it in - an hour here, an hour there. They do it even though sometimes their marriages crumbled. Art to them is not a hobby, it's a passion.
And that, is inspiring.

In the end, my head was buzzing with ideas. Classes I want to teach, classes I want to take, creative ideas. Art projects. And, ways to make some of those changes that were on the list of eleven things. Instead of looking for ways to motivate myself, I am now inspired to make the changes. And that makes all the difference. And that makes me happy.

Day 92, 100 Happy Days: Hot Cocoa on Cold Night

Tonight I was happy to come out of the frigid cold into a warm apartment. I don't mind the snow, but the the cold is really hard to take. All I wanted when I got home was a hot mug of cocoa.
Nice to get what I want.

Day 91, 100 Happy Days: No Obligation Day

I relished having a day with no obligation. It is ultimately how I want to live my life. (Certain people have been known to sing my praises for being super low obligation girl; what with my no kids, no pets, and hardly any houseplants... Okay, so maybe just person has sung my praises. But still...)

Lately I've been feeling bogged down with commitments, obligations and responsibility. So, it was nice to just chill today. Well, I didn't exactly chill. I worked. But I did so in a leisurely, sloppily dressed, woman with no obligation way.

Also, dinner with a friend. This is a friend who I have sort of known for years, but never met. (Oh, modern life!) It was nice to finally meet, have a drink, and a delicious Cobb salad.

Day 90, 100 Happy Days: A Surprise Big Little Gift

I walked into my studio today to find a little black pouch and a note. Inside the pouch was a bobby-pin with my name on it. Well... my nick-name.

First of all, how awesome is it to get a surprise gift? And it's kind of exciting to get to have something with my name on it (people with unusual names might relate to that). But it so happens that this little gift had big meaning (unbeknownst by the gift giver).

Tab is short for Tabetha, and mostly my family and old friends call me Tab. I hadn't realized how I had gotten used to not hearing it until a couple of weeks ago. I was in the back room of my studio, and the person who was there with me (not family or old friend), called from the front of the studio "Hey, Tab?" And suddenly I burst into tears. 

In recent years, my connection to Tab was my mom. We lived together, and when you live with someone, I think you're more likely to hear your name. I live alone, work (mainly) alone, and I rarely talk on the phone. So I may see Tab in texts and emails, but it's different than hearing it. Hearing the familiar version of my name was great that day, but it made me realize how much I missed hearing it, and how many of the people who called me that are gone.

So, this little bobby pin is a reminder that the people who call me Tab are not dwindling, as I previously thought. They are growing. I have once new friends who are now becoming old friends, and that makes me happy.

Day 89, 100 Happy Days: Breakfast with a View

What a lovely morning. I'm staying at very comfortable hotel, so my sleep has been amazing!

This morning I went downstairs for the complimentary continental breakfast. Breakfast at this place isn't nearly as good as the comfy beds, but it was nice anyway.

Being a late riser, the place cleared out shortly after I arrived, and I was able to get a seat by the window. I had a beautiful view, and was able to sit and write my morning pages and drink my coffee in peace.

Day 88, 100 Happy Days: Art on the Go

I love how circumstance and venue can change how we create. Travel is no excuse to slack on making art; in fact it's a perfect opportunity. I love looking back at work that I created while traveling, or came into being (directly) because I traveled. 

I just took a short trip to North Carolina, and travel by plane dictated that I bring art supplies that are portable. Oil pastels were my portable supplies of choice. 

I've not had a chance to do much sight-seeing, but just the drive from the airport to the hotel was beautiful. Trees everywhere, and snow (surprise)! 

I sat down with my pastels today, and suddenly a new little drawing appeared. A drawing that wouldn't have come into the world had I not taken this short trip. 

Day 87, 100 Happy Days: Hotel Bed

Never in my life have I been so happy to see a hotel bed. After traveling all night and having slept just a few hours on planes and at airports, I was ready for whatever board-stiff bed that hotel had to offer. But as luck would have it, the hotel bed felt like a cloud! Zzzzz...

Day 86, 100 Happy Days: Liftoff

Finally off the ground after an hour on the runway and several de-icings. I'm not the best flyer on the clearest of days, but on a snowy night? Yikes.

I'm happy to finally be in the air, and to have wifi.

Also, a cool beverage and a mini bag of mini pretzels. Sometimes it's the small things that make a person happy.

Day 85, 100 Happy Days: Self Accpetance

Reminder notes: old school style.

My name is Tabetha and I am a weirdo. Yes, it's true.
(I believe that most of us think we're weirdos. And, perhaps we are.)

Today, I decided to embrace my weirdness. And I'm not talking about the cool weird stuff. I'm not talking any off-beat, counter-culture, against the grain, artist type of weird stuff. I'm not talking the "let your freak flag fly" kind of weird stuff.

I'm talking about the fact that I seem to need a crazy amount of down time. I'm talking about the fact that although I really do love people, I mostly just want to be alone. Sometimes I don't even want to be around animals when I'm pet sitting. Sometimes I need complete quiet and I can't even bear to listen to (gasp!) music.

But then, as much as I love to be alone... I also want a relationship. (Weirdo!) I believe this is the reason for my crazy number of canceled dates in the past two months. I'm sending mixed messages to the universe: I want a relationship... I want to be left alone! Stop go stop go.

In any case, it's who I am, or at least a part of who I am, and I've got to embrace it. Beating myself up about it and trying to be someone I'm not hasn't worked so well for me in the past.

So, I'm accepting my highly sensitive, weirdly extroverted-introverted self.

Oh by the way, the picture really has little to do with self acceptance. Except that I had a perfectly good iPhone right next to me with no less than four perfectly good apps where I could have stored the information I wrote on my hand, or put it on a list or made a reminder... but I went old school tech. Because that's the way I wanted to do it.

Day 84, 100 Happy Days: Acupuncture

It's been a weird few days. Pet sitting, combined with the snow, and canceled classes had me out of sorts this weekend. Even though my pet sitting job ended today and I got to go home (which normally makes me pretty darn gleeful), I was cranky. I think the cold does that to me sometimes (snow I like - cold, not so much). Also, I was in a fair amount of pain. Luckily I had an acupuncture appointment already scheduled for this afternoon.

I can't say enough good things about acupuncture. I was in tears when I went in, and I floated out of there over an hour later with a big smile on my face.

Also, they were celebrating the Chinese New Year, and I got a free tincture! Chosen specifically for me by my practitioner. My blend is called "free and easy". Yup, could use some free and easy in my life about now!

By the way, I recommend Meeting Point Community Acupuncture. They charge on a sliding scale $20-$40 per session. Totally affordable, and totally awesome.

And... a painted blue tree stump in the snow...