Bold and Risky

Don't think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It's self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can't try to do things. You simply must do things. Ray Bradbury

We arrived at RiverRock Studio, my car piled with paints and canvases and food and.... wine -- ah the ubiquituous "in Vino Veritas".

The other three women were already ensconsed. This was their final week of a two week painting retreat.

What an exciting space to enter. The city far behind us. Daytime cares evaporated and we leaped into the chaos and excitement in one breath.

Canvases covered in paint and collage and sprayed on foam insulation scraped and painted and dripped on covered every ledge. It was a visual feast, an immediate jump off, leap and get immersed.

I set up my paints and brushes and canvases at my table and looked out into the forest. Little snow remained to cover the grown. The world outsize was into late winter dullness. Inside, the world was abuzz with creative forces filling the air in high density.

R.Z., seeing my hesitation as I looked at the blank surface of my canvas said, "Don't think. Just do. The motto for this retreat is: Bold and risky."

Bold and risky.

I picked up a brush. Pour bright orange and magenta into a tray and began to paint.

I didn't think. I just did. All weekend long.

I had a blast.

And this morning, I woke up to discover C.C. had changed all the clocks in the house in honour of daylight savings.... except the bedside radio clock.

I'm an hour behind and must run.

While my photos are fuzzy and the colours are not as vibrant as they are in real life (it was late when I got back last night), I share with you my 'productivity meets creativity in bold and risky'.