I left my art room last night pleased with the thought that when I returned in the morning I’d have some interesting paper scraps to work with. In the October 2019 issue of The Simple Things, I’d discovered a delicious burgundy/chocolate colour which I reckoned would be just the thing to bring depth to one area of my collage that was floundering in the shallows.

It’s a nice feeling to turn off the light knowing you’ve got a clear starting point ready for the next day – but not something I’d want to shout about, as it sounds like I should get out more.

Anyway, this morning I cracked on with my new found colour, feeling pretty confident this discovery would do the job and move my piece on.

But alas, No!

After 20 minutes of my head down, I eventually stepped back and instantly realised that it wasn’t working. I so wanted to ignore my gut instinct, but by now I know that it never pays off to march on, ignoring the little voice I’m getting more acquainted with. Frustrated, but heeding the dis-ease, I peeled off the sticky scraps and then instantly felt rather lost and caught up in my own disappointment.

I wondered what I could learn from this simple situation?

Keep stepping back. Don’t get too close to anything for too long or you’ll lose sight of the whole picture. When everything is zoomed in on one isolated spot, you end up losing sight of the bigger perspective. As I sit back, I can keep asking myself, “So, what does the rest of the picture make of this new arrival? Does it enhance, bring balance and greater harmony, or throw things out of kilter?”

When I’m up too close I get too self assured and de-coupled from my wiser instinctual brain, that knows best.

It made me think that getting too obsessed and up close to anything takes away the ability to view the ‘whole’, in any area of my life. Stepping back makes me slow down (and calm down), take stock, assess what I’m doing and helps me get clear about…

2. What’s the question I’m asking? – about anything, to be honest. But here I’m thinking particularly about art and the process of making and producing one’s own work.

Getting clear about what I’m intending to get focused on next, is a vital skill. Having discovered what question I’m asking, I can then go in pursuit of an answer.

Right now, as I’m gazing at my collage, I’m aware that I have 4 or 5 thoughts bubbling about, but they are more like general musings, such as, “That area isn’t holding together”, or, “I don’t know where I’m going with this background”. They are vague, unfocussed responses, not questions clearly formulated.

So, what questions could I be asking, to focus my thoughts?

Let’s think!

Which areas of this piece are working well and which areas are not?

Are there any paper scraps that need removing, because they are not enhancing this piece in any way… in fact they are distracting?

Have I understood and captured how the ground undulates in this lower right hand corner of the piece?

Are the trees the right thickness, or do some need to be thinner?

Is the overall colour balance of the picture going in the right direction, or have I weighted it too much towards orange?

I can see this will be a useful practice to develop in all areas of my life too. Emotional responses to anything give a clue as to whether our feelings are doing their job. But just being left with a feeling like, “I’m restless and bored”, could be followed by a question, such as, “What always brings a fresh dose of endorphins into my system when I feel like this – sluggish and heavy hearted?”

Questions bring focus, direction and nudge us towards an action. And positive actions always move the game on. They make us look beyond an inner road blockage moment and help us to grow more robust & resilient – something we all need in abundance right now.

Don’t Get Too Close

Breathing Deep, Free From Our Cling-ons

An Invitation to Imagination