January 5 - April 15, 2019: 100 days of Creating!

Dec 7, 2018 I returned from 44 days in Iceland during which I traveled with my husband for a week, spent 30 days on Hrisey, a tiny island in the north of Iceland, entertained my adult children for Thanksgiving, created 30 pastel paintings, explored the island, went horsebackriding, visited friends I've made on other trips to Iceland, and more.

The view out my window

I spent at least 30 days in "art brain", my descriptor for how I feel when I have no responsibilities and can simply slide into the sublime feeling of doing art and creating and thinking about beauty and aesthetics constantly.  When I returned to the States, I was blasted with duties and noise and cars and responsibilities and Christmas gifts to buy and consumerism and tasks, tasks, tasks.  It has been quite an adjustment.  In the midst of that, my son had spinal surgery in Connecticut so we went up to care of him, inadvertently taking strep throat with us which he caught after surgery.  Thankfully we are now well, and, most importantly, he is well, and life is finally getting back to semi-normal.  I'm almost feeling like I've arrived in the US,  not just my body, but also my spirit.

But arriving here is not sufficient.  I want to thrive here like I did in Iceland.  Every day when I woke up there, I pulled back the curtains to see the weather, saw the sun was rising, hopped up, pulled on my coat, grabbed my camera, and ran outside to see what there was to see. Sometimes I even changed out of my pjs.

The light bounced off the clouds like notes on a xylaphone

Sun at midday, between the two distant mountains.

The entire day continued in like fashion.  When the weather was good, I explored the island, walking through the tiny town with 150 residents to paths which cover much of the island. There is an energy center where I would sit and meditate occasionally.  There are paths by the sea where the views of mountains and coves and rocks and plants filled my soul.  In the fjord, I could often hear, and sometimes see, whales blow their spouts.  On the other side, near town, it fascinated me to watch the ferry come back and forth all day and the hustle and bustle that ensued as a result.  But my favorite thing to do was to watch the sun.  It rose between 10 and 11 and set between 4:30 and 3, depending on the date.  I could tell you exactly what its arc was because I could see it from my studio window and often photographed it as it rose, traveled across the sky, and set.  Towards the end of my stay, it spent more time hiding than present as it dipped behind distant mountains for a couple of hours during daylight hours.

Lying on the grass enjoying the sunset's effects on all sides

The sunrises and sunsets could be spectacular.  One day I went to the field behind our residence so I could watch the effect of the sun on the mountains on both sides of the island.  For I time I lay down so I could simply turn my head to see the sights.  There were enough clouds in the sky that the sunlight reflected off them beautifully in the west.  There were even tiny little clouds that danced with peach-colored sunlight like the notes on a xylophone, from one to the other. On the east side, the snow-covered mountains glowed first gold then over to orange as the sun lowered in the sky.  There was even action in the North, at the mouth of the fjord, where the light struck the cliffs and water, creating its own beautiful symphony.  This continued unabated for over 90 minutes.

Glowing meadow behind the residence with fish-head
 drying racks in the distance

When the weather was grey and gloomy and didn't invite me outdoors, I stayed in the residence and played in the studio, mostly painting pastels of the landscapes from photographs I'd taken.  I drew 30 pictures in 30 days including drawings in my Visual Journal.  My brain never needed to shift to thinking about logistics or practical problems the whole time I was there until it was time to leave.  At that point, it snowed over 24" and I had to figure out how to get myself and my suitcases off Hrisey, to Akureyri, then on to Reykjavik and home.  Suffice it to say, with the help of many kind people, that got worked out, and I got home Dec 7, welcomed by my loving husband.

The light on the eastern mountains in the morning

Now that I'm home, I'm innundated with practicalities and financial realities and more things to do in a day than I can manage to get done.  And I miss my time in art brain, sliding around images of beauty surrounding me, thinking of nothing more than how to apply pastel to paper most effectively.  It was a luxury I knew to appreciate but didn't quite realize how much I'd miss.

So I'm looking for a way to have it again.  I work well when I have goals, so I've decided to make 100 creations in 100 days.  That could include pastel paintings, drawings, essays, collages, photographs in final form, paintings, poems - any artistic output.  I plan to work in the studio at least 2 hours a day, sometimes more, to acomplish this goal.  I will post the final products in this blog and on Facebook so I have some accountability.  All the work will be for sale, and I hope that most of it will sell. To that end, I will price it lower than my work generally is priced, but only for 7 days after it's posted, then it will return to its regular price.  Most days I will finish a piece, but some days I'll do more than one, some days I may not have any finished work, but I will have 100 finished pieces at the end of the 100 days. I will aim for quality as well as quantity, but I will also allow myself to work with my favorite querry "I wonder what will happen if I...?!" because this isn't about production, it's about the joy of creation and the delight in discovery and getting myself to play!

If you're interested in seeing how this goes, you're welcome to sign up for the blog or to follow me on Facebook at Susan Singer Art (https://www.facebook.com/SusanSingerArt/).  I plan to post about this each day in both places.  The time will be from Jan 5 (today) until April 15 - yikes!  Tax day!  I'll be in Paris for 9 of these days (March 22-30) so my topic will certainly change then!  It's gonna be FUN!

I feel excited about this possibility.  Sometimes I sit around the studio on the computer or my phone, doing nothing when I could be LOVING my life and LOVING the creative process.  My hope is that this goal will prod me into doing art instead of sitting there doing nothing.  Wowza!  I'm off!