New Ideas & Growth

I was blessed to have been able to visit the McNay Museum in San Antonio yesterday. Seeing the paintings, carvings, statues and the many other objects on display fills my artistic soul. I spent quite a while making sketches of monsters being slain by the saints. There was a wonderful carving featuring vines that I sketched out. Now I need to figure out how to recreate it in glass. With this visit I am able to sit down and make out a list of what I need to do to create the items I visualize.

Because I'm ADHD I tend to forget what I'm working on or have little focus for the task at hand. The way I deal with this problem is to try and remember to take my medication early enough in the morning so I'm not awake all night. The second thing is to sit down and make a list of things I want to accomplish in glass that day. My list could be simple as making some murrini and stringer. It could be as complicated as writing out lists of supplies to make a bead or set of beads. This might include getting some photos and sketches ready to make these beads.

Sitting down at the torch with glass and no plan might be a waste of time. On days I might have nothing on my list I try and play with the glass. If I'm not being productive I have to sit back and think what I'm going to do. I might not have any inspiration and need to come back at another time. Then there are those magic moments. You have glass laying on your table. There are stringers everywhere. You might have a little bit of silver foil laying around. And then all of a sudden your hands are twisting that mandrel as the glass is layered to create that bead.

I came to the conclusion tonight that I'm on another growth breakthrough. I needed to make some presents and had one idea that turned into many. Without the classes I've taken through the years I don't think that this growth would have been so spontaneous. It's with practice, experimenting and education that develops growth.