Lisa Call

Move In Day

College

On tuesday I delivered my son to his dorm room. It’s exciting but also a big adjustment. Although, I suspect that adjustment is mostly on my part, as he has been chomping at the bit to be on his own.

The first few days were really hard. Fortunately it seems much easier now, just 5 days later. I figure he’ll do great. Plus facebook is an excellent invention!

Between my New Mexico vacation, preparation for the college move and the post kid-is-gone change, I haven’t been doing much with my art the last 2 weeks. I’m a bit surprised to see August is almost over. Hm…

I went to see Eat, Pray, Love last tuesday, thinking it would be the perfect movie to see after the short 3 hour round-trip adventure to take my son to college.

Unfortunately I thought the movie was awful. I’ve listened to the book twice on CD and read it once, so I had pretty high expectations, of which they met none of them. Oh well. It was a mindless way to spend a few hours when I wasn’t in the mood to do anything else.

While I haven’t been doing much art, I have been cleaning my house. Or at least parts of it. My son’s room is now clean (ick is about the only thing to say about that). I’ve cleaned out my closet, my basement and the laundry room. Even my refrigerator is clean.

And I’ve painted my walls, finally, after a year. All the spots that needed a bit of touch up are done.

So while it’s an adjustment to have my son off to college, my house is definitely benefiting from the change. Wonder if this is some kind of reverse-nesting instinct.

Color Improvisation Catalogs

The Color Improvisation catalogs finally arrived from Germany last week (it took much longer than anticipated). Most of them have been mailed with the last batch heading to the post office tomorrow morning.

If you are awaiting a book, it should be there soon. Sorry for the delay, my prediction of early August was a bit optimistic, but everyone should have their books by September.

I don’t believe I will be selling any more as it takes a big chunk of time to deal with them and I’d rather do other things for now. If that changes, I’ll let people know.

You can purchase it directly from Germany via ebay if you’d still like a book and didn’t get one.

Quilt National

The deadline for the juried exhibit, Quilt National, is coming up soon. I have 3 new quilts that need quilting that I would like to submit for jurying. But first I need to quilt them.

I think I’ll need about 70-80 hours of time in front of the sewing machine to get them finished. There is a chance that I can get this done. A pretty good chance if I focus.

So – I will find the focus to stay in my studio and I will get these done and I will submit them to Quilt National.

Home #57
©2010 Lisa Call
2.5" x 3.5"
Textile Painting (Fabric hand dyed and painted by the artist, cotton batting, cotton thread)
$40 + shipping
Purchase Here

Transition

In my studio newsletter last week, I wrote about my life in transition. I wrote about learning to let go and enjoy the process.

There 2 big changes in my life at the moment: my landscaping project, which is rolling along, and my son leaving for college.

Much activity cleaning his bedroom, packing and buying all the fun stuff needed to make dorm life livable. Like sheets for mattresses that are weird sizes. And baby refrigerators, etc. Not to mention the joy of understanding the tuition bill and manifesting a pile of money to pay for it.

It’s all very fun and I’m excited to see him move on to the next stage of his life, yet it also takes an emotional toll. During the downtime, driving in my car, relaxing at home, quiet moments in my studio, the reality of my son leaving makes me sad. It’s like being pregnant again and crying for no apparent reason (interesting how life cycles back like this).

I’m definitely going to miss him. He’s a wonderful kid. Fortunately I know he will do great out on his own.

Happily this is not the start of the empty-nest, as my daughter will still be home for 4 more years. I’m looking forward to having just 1 kid home (the one that knows how to clean the kitchen) and seeing her blossom through high school.
 

Yesterday, I got home from work late, was very hungry, tired and feeling drained. The work day had been difficult with my technical lead giving his notice and the weekend had be a challenge with a fight with my boyfriend. What I wanted to do was eat bad food and watch bad tv and sleep.

Instead I went to yoga. After the class the instructor (the studio owner) said “You’ve been coming to yoga 2, 3 and 4 times a week for a couple months now. What is the biggest change you notice as a result?”

I thought about my answer for a while and finally said: Happiness.

With all the stress, change and emotional upheavals, yoga helps keeps me grounded, centered and happy.

Notes from The Universe

Yesterday morning I posted the following status update on facebook:

Love my notes from the universe:

Young souls learn to accept responsibility for their actions.
Mature souls learn to accept responsibility for their thoughts.
And old souls, Lisa, learn to accept responsibility for their happiness.

Weeeeeeee, The Universe (No one cares what time it is in paradise, Lisa, huh? )

Feels good to take responsibility. Even with all the transition in my life and unhappiness with my boyfriend – I am at the core HAPPY.

It’s now time to take my happy self off to my studio for an hour, without beating myself for getting in no studio time yesterday. Yay!

You can sign up to gets these wonderful emails yourself at Thoughts from the Universe. I highly recommend them as they are both funny and extremely helpful.

 
PS – only 6 Color Improvisation catalogs remaining: Color Improvisation Catalogs

In 2008 and 2009 I did a large remodel/addition on the fixer-upper I bought in Denver.

I posted copious quantities of photos of the project along with my pithy (ie sometimes funny) comments about the construction and they were most popular. It appears we all like to watch things being built.

[You can check them out here if you missed them: Studio Construction]

I now have a new home project coming up – Landscaping. Not as many cool tools and vehicles and not as expensive but still very exciting as I’ve lived in this house for over a year with no yard. No sidewalk to my front door either. Just a bunch of weeds and a lot of dirt.

This is what I’ve got right now:

Actually, right now there are a BUNCH more weeds. As in, I better mow soon or the city could fine me up to $999 for tall weeds.

I’ve hired a landscape architect and we are very close to a final design for the yard, which will include no grass.

More photos to come as things progress.

Dream #41 – in progress
©2010 Lisa Call
24″ x 24″
Textile Painting (Fabric hand dyed by the artist, cotton batting, cotton thread)

This week I’ve focused my free time on self care. Two acupuncture appointments, a massage, running 3 times a week and 4 yoga classes at an amazing yoga studio. Lots of down time relaxing, a Broadway play with family, book club with friends, etc.

It’s been an excellent week and I am feeling more and more like old self every day.

I didn’t spend much time in my studio during the week, but this weekend I’ve spent a couple of hours each day on Dream #41. I’ve almost completed the quilting as you can see in the photo above.

For the first time in a few months, I could feel the familiar excitement about being in my studio. New ideas for new directions to take my work are starting to form again. It’s still rather abstract but I can tell I’m on the right path.

Going slowing is the right choice.

I’m not pushing the blog writing. Two weeks ago I had a lot to say, last week, not much. I think over time it’ll even out again to 2-4 posts a week. I’m not in a rush, my intention for June is to keep things slow and to focus on my health.

I have decided to write and email my studio newsletter this week, so if you are a subscriber, look for it in your inbox later this week.

It feels good to be finding myself again.

Running

This weekend I decided to return to running as my main source of aerobic activity, so yesterday I tied on the running shoes and went to see what kind of shape I’m in.

Turns out better than I had hoped but still not very good. It’s going to take many weeks/months before I can do a 5 mile run without hurting myself. I need to rebuild the muscles in my legs.

I’ve learned from experience (ie past injuries from pushing myself too hard), it’s important that during this rebuilding period I must go slow and take days off to rest. Today will be a gentle yoga day with no hiking or long walks to give my legs a chance to catch up.

Time off is essential to building up stamina.

Life

And the same is true for getting back to my life.

Now that I’m feeling a bit better (acupuncture really works wonders for me – along with exercise) it is tempting to jump back into my normal routine: Long todo lists, hours in the studio and Doing Stuff all the time.

I’m resisting this temptation and plan on taking the month of June at a slower pace. Lots of walks, yoga, exercise, naps, time with friends, baths, reading and taking things slower. Building a good solid foundation of self care and rest so I don’t burn out.

With patience I’ll get back to 20+ hours a week in my studio + art business + the day job, just like I’ll be able to run 5 miles again. I just need to be smart about how I plan on getting there so it’s a sustainable practice.

Music in the Studio

Now that I’m back in the studio, I need music. The last few months I haven’t listened to much. I never seem to be able to find my ipod. I listen to books on tape or nothing in the car, and I don’t consider much of why my kids are blasting through the house music (well, not really, some of it is okay).

While I love music, I also adore silence. The last few months silence seemed to be what I craved.

But right now what I want in the studio is loud music with a good beat. Something I can feel. Something about music like this makes me feel better.

Lily Allen is the musician of choice for me right now. I describe her music as angry 20 something girl music. My 14 year old daughter loves it. So do I, her lyrics are clever and she’s got a great voice. And the music is fantastic.

The song Everyone’s At It seems apropos given my recent posts about my depression. I’m sure this song isn’t for everyone, but right now it’s exactly what I want to listen to.

Here are some of the lyrics:

From grown politicians,
To young adolescents,
Prescribing themselves,
Anti-depressants.

How can we start to tackle the problem,
If you don’t put your hands up,
And admit that you’re on them.

The kids are in danger,
They’re all getting habits,
Because from what I can see,
Everyone’s at it.

…

So you’ve got a prescription,
And that makes it legal.
I find the excuses,
Overwhelmingly feeble.

You go to the doctor,
You need pills to sleep in.
Well if you can convince him,
Then I guess that’s not cheating.

So your daughter’s depressed,
We’ll get her straight on the prozac.
But little do you know,
She already takes crack.

You can listen to the song here.

The lyrics are here.

It’s now been about a month since I wrote much of a post here on my blog. I’ve been struggling since February to get things back together again and not been super successful.

The last few weeks I’ve put more of an effort into moving out of my depression and back into life. I’m now seeing a therapist and doing twice weekly acupuncture. I’m also re-working my way through the Great Big Dreams seminar material by Christine Kane.

Depression is not fun. For a few months I denied I was depressed. I was just “unmotivated” etc. But I can feel my brain working differently. And it’s not a good different.

Admitting I need to do something about this has been a huge help. Recognizing the issues that I’m dealing with was huge (mostly personal family stuff related to my mother moving back to town and how past events shape some of my current behavior). Feels good to talk to someone about it and get help. Setting boundaries and doing what is best for me. Good stuff.

I am positive I’ll be back on track and feeling like my old self soon. I miss my studio and I miss writing.

Thanks to all for your support over the past few months as I’ve been working all of this out – it’s much appreciated.

Baby Quilts

I made the above baby quilt for a friend of a friend a few months back (sorry for the out of focus photo). Kind of a spur of the moment, fun thing to do.

Back in my stay at home mom days, I made dozens and dozens of baby quilts. I taught several groups of women how to quilt during that time so we could do group gifts. It was a wonderful way to bond and our kids all have amazing quilts made by the group.

As I became more focused about my artwork, I made fewer and fewer traditional style quilts. Prior to the one above, it had been years since a baby quilt was made. Maybe it is because my friends aren’t having many babies anymore.

Maybe not a bad thing, although I kinda miss making baby quilts. They are quick, fun projects. And they are always appreciated.

South African Impressions

A month back I dyed the fabric for my South African Impressions project. I got waylaid with life but now it’s time to get this project going and wrapped up.

These aren’t all the colors I will be using, I need to add in some purples for the Drakensburg mountains and some blue for the sky, and all sorts of other fun colors for the houses, but this is the basic palette I will be using.

I really appreciate all the folks that have pre-purchased this art and your art will be created soon. I organized all my paperwork last night so I know what I need to create and I’m pretty excited about it.

Time to make some new art!

Life

Obviously my plan to blog 3 times a week didn’t quite pan out. Since my last post I traveled out to Kansas to pack up my mom and bring her back to live in Denver. She’s soon going to be ready to move into something more permanent, which means another trip to Kansas to get her house ready to sell. So I won’t kid myself this time, more disruption is coming (first I have to find a place for her to live!).

So until my mom is settled blogging will be a lower priority. But I’ll be back eventually.

Since my return from South Africa a month ago, I’ve been struggling with art, blogging and in general getting back to my life.

I keep thinking I’ll get into things but I still haven’t found what it takes to get me to the studio or to my computer on any sort of consistent schedule or for any amount of time.

There are a zillion things that have factored into this and currently the major one is some decisions around my mom and her health and living accomadations and all of the attending emotions that come with dealing with situations like this. It’s a story told over and over and one that isn’t easy for anyone involved.

I believe that continuing to work on my art is an ideal way to process the situation and stay balanced yet I’m not quite there yet. Doing nothing seems to have more appeal at the moment.

In the meantime I think about blogging, I think about making art, and soon I’m sure, I’ll be back to do both.

Thanks to everyone that has emailed me and contacted me and commented on my absence. Much appreciated!