It is usually around this time of year, that I need to put extra effort into trying to be creative.  I feel cooped up and that winter has been way too long.  I dream about lazy days outside in the sunshine, vintage quilts blowing in the breeze on the clothsline, a forest picnic, swimming in the moonlight, running barefoot in the sand (okay walking, I don't really like running).  But in reality, I don't need sunshine and warm weather to live creatively and passionately.  I just need a little inspiration to get back to "living juicy" (check out SARK, if you don't know about living juicy).

So, I'm drawing a mandala.  It is mostly, to keep my sanity in a house with three kids and three pets.  Ander has begun exploring what it means to scream and test out how loud his voice can go.  And most of the time all 8 living creatures in this household seem to all gravitate towards the living room.  Also, my mandala is a meditative way to get some art in my life.  I drew it, and now I'm drawing over it, I might just keep doing that, layering and layering.  It is a meditation on impermanence.  Right now, it is a tree of life, but it started out as a stained glass kind of thing.  I like how it looks right now, and don't want to let it go.  But to keep it like this would defeat the purpose of the impermanence thing.  I guess taking a photo and posting it online defeats the impermanence thing too.  Darn.  I won't photograph it anymore.  The red marks underneath are from Anderson helping me.

I spent the best $5 today.  On a digital subscription to Mothering Magazine.  Finally a magazine that isn't full of baby formula and disposable diaper ads.  And the articles are reflect topics I am actually interested in.  This article got more inspiration going in me.  I was able to read it and check out some of the links while Ander played happily at my feet.

Hopefully this link will work (I'm new to this blog thing):
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March/April 2009