Northern California’s autumn doesn’t resemble the mid-eastern US where frost starts the ball rolling. Instead the tree leaves linger, hanging patiently.
Davis and neighboring Woodland are known for the abundance of trees and when the day or two of strong wind does come thru, the air is full of color and the ground goes gold.
It doesn’t take long for the City workers to abandon their leaf blowers and step into backhoes to skim the street’s asphalt surface and dump HUGH piles of varying shades of yellow into waiting trucks.
I watched the other day as I left the Pilates studio. It takes talent, really, to scrape up what weighs little.
This week the weather became blunt and bitter. There’s no pretense. The air is mean. It’s a dank sunless 42 degrees. And my motivation’s gone soft. I want to dive under a down comforter.
Creativity chokes on “tidy
As I paint during the year I toss painted papers behind me onto the floor and leave them there. (I know I won’t remember what I put away.)
As the layers of paper mounts, some often stick to my shoes as I walk around. Visitors probably say to themselves “Vicki, pick up the damn paper!”
But I believe, whether it’s leaves or ankle-deep floor scraps, the trick is not to use the backhoe too soon. Nature doesn’t apologize for its mounting fall mess, so I won’t either. Composting seems to be an important process outside and in, so I walk over the papers like they’re mulch. “As leaves fertilize the soil, my studio floor fertilizes my art,” I murmured recently.
Actually, I hate mess. I’m a clean freak. But in the studio? Not. Cleaning the studio is a left brain trap. Creativity chokes on tidy. Putting all art materials out of site does no artist a favor, as far as I’m concerned.
But fall is folding
In the past week, it’s obvious that fall’s exiting and winter’s creeping in on cold toes. As a result, I did what any driven woman would do; I tore into re-organizing my home closets and drawers.
The resulting momentum threw me off kilter at the studio. On a recent visit, I looked lovingly at the floor and muttered, “Yea, it’s time.”
Sooooooo…up the mulched papers went to hold the honored position they deserve.
Stay tuned for the music they will make in the coming months.
(Note: AI did not write this post)