Spring Cleaning

This month I have been contemplating spring and what it means. Feeling the season unfolding around me has me thinking about rebirth and renewal. After all, spring is the time when nature wakes from its winter slumber with a big yawn. Flowers begin blooming again and baby birds can be heard chirping for their mothers. Ahhh, the cycle of life! We are born, we grow and age, we die. This is true of all living things. Maybe that's the reason that most people get into "spring cleaning" - literally and figuratively.

This spring, I'm thinking about my life, my art and cylces. There have been very definite chapters in my life that clearly mark where and who I have been. That got me thinking, How many times have I started over? When it comes to my art career, several times. I have had long creative blocks that seemed insurmountable - until I surmounted them. Lol. This time it's different. I'm not sure if that's a good sign or a bad one. I'm leaning towards good.

Since 2020 and the lockdowns, my relationship with art has been really rocky. For three years in a row, I started out strong. But by April, I had crashed and withdrawn again. It felt like an inevitable cycle. I believe in the rule of 3: bad things come in threes. Something ending in 3 months is what I fear in particular. I've seen plenty of relationships and jobs that didn't last more than 3 months.

So, I saw a pattern in trying to reconnect with my muse. I felt motivated for the first 3 months but depression always came sneaking in and derailed me. The next year, I tried again and got the same result. The definition of insanity, right?

Now, it's April and here I am, blogging away. I feel more creative than I have in way too long. I have actually finished pieces and started new projects. That hasn't happened since early 2020. I have adopted some new routines and ways to approach creating. This year, I'm doing things completely differently...and so far it's working.

Looking forward while still being mindful of what is behind me, I now see another cycle of 3. For 3 years in a row I struggled: 2020, 2021, 2022 (I didn't even try in 2023, but due to family issues, not lack of motivation) I have now passed my own threshold of 3. My art is blooming, truly capturing the feeling of spring.