Setting My Intention
Dream #41
©2010 Lisa Call
24" x 24"
Textile Painting (Fabric hand dyed by the artist, cotton batting, cotton thread)
Intentions
Intention:
1. a determination to act in a certain way
2. what one intends to do or bring about
Intentions are a powerful way to move forward. I haven’t seriously worked on setting an intention since January when I picked Construct for my word of the year. While that sounds wonderful, I need something a little less intense at the moment to rebuild.
So this week I set 2 new intentions:
1) To effortlessly refocus on my art and art career.
2) To clarify who I am and what I need in a relationship.
It’s almost magical how writing down an intention can be. Yesterday I spent an hour in my studio for the first time. It was indeed effortless.
Depression
First – a big thank you to everyone that commented on my blog post yesterday. Your support and understanding mean a lot to me and are very helpful.
Second – I am not a doctor and what I am doing won’t work for everyone, so please, if you are also suffering from depression, talk to your doctor as it is a serious issue and not something to ignore.
I am not currently pursuing a pharmaceutical solution to my problems. While I believe they do work wonders for many people, they also have their downside. Getting off these medications is a known issue and one I’d like to avoid if I can address the problem in a more natural way. They also don’t work for everyone so they come with no guarantee. I haven’t shut the door completely on this option, but it will be a last resort for me.
Instead I am doing acupuncture, this week increasing the frequency from once a month to twice a week. I’ve done acupuncture for 2 years now and I find it incredibly helpful. I’m certain that this will be a key in a natural remedy and return to positive thinking.
I’m also seeing a therapist and doing talk therapy. Having a neutral party to talk to and get support from is invaluable.
And I’m also exercising. Training for a half marathon was my therapy post divorce 8 years ago. I’m trying out different options for what I’ll do this time. Right now I’m working out at corepower yoga. It does the trick for being a good workout although it’s not exactly my thing (the core-power part – not the yoga part – I love yoga – just not sure I want it to be a sweat inducing exercise). We’ll see what next week brings as I consider my options.
I know things are looking up as I’ve motivated myself to workout 5 out of the last 6 days and last night I spent an hour in the studio. I’m headed back up there now to put in an hour this evening also.
Feels good to be making baby steps.
In The Studio
I’ve been trying to start big new textile paintings for a couple months and it just isn’t happening.
So last night I decided to try a different approach. I’m going to revisit a couple of quilts from my solo show and complete the quilting I didn’t have time to do before the show was hung in February.
I’m starting with Dream #41, shown above. I removed the bindings (the edging that finishes off the outside of piece cleanly – which you can’t see as it’s on the back of the quilt). I’m now adding my customary 1/8″ apart stitching to the entire surface.
It’ll take me 4-6 hours to complete the work, a nice sized chunk to tackle as my first project back in the studio in a few months.
Thank you all again, and now off to the studio.
Posted by Lisa in: Being an Artist
Tagged: depression, intention










