Paying Attention

graphite in small Winsor Newton sketchbook
quote by Annie Dillard from Pilgrim At Tinker Creek

I've been busy lately but not with art work. Some free-lance design work that I actually get paid for and then the other stuff of life thrown in just to keep me on my toes has been occupying almost all of my time lately. So I decided I'd post this little drawing I did in my nature journal while on my beach vacation last month.

Although getting away and having a break from the usual routine is refreshing, I find I am growing impatient to get back to my art work. We've been taking care of projects around the house, and the free-lance work is good for my pocket book, but I've had a sense of not being in balance. I believe it is coming from missing the time I would be spending drawing, because when I am drawing I am really focusing on something. It's a sustained attention that helps me stay balanced for all the other hectic times throughout the day. And until now I didn't realize how important that routine of drawing was to maintaining my sense of balance.

My calendar tells me that tomorrow is the summer solstice. The days will no longer expand, but begin to grow ever so slightly shorter. A time of turning inward. I am ready. I need to remind myself to pay attention more.