it's spring!!!

I don't know if you've had days like these--although you must have? Finally the weather is just the perfect temperature, the sun is shining. Just a slight breeze.  No bugs--not even any of those dreaded no see-ums. I have just figured out if I remove the chrysanthemums from the rock garden, I'll have plenty of room for more iris and daylilies.

But I have to go inside and work. After all I do have a one woman show in Tarrytown NY in July--this is the quilt on the postcard.

But guess what--I don't want to come inside. I want to be outside. All day. Playing in my garden. Supervised--if that's what you call it--by my three cats.

Now, before you casually suggest that I just take the day off--my studio is open to the public in lovely Shelburne Falls, MA. Gorgeous location.  I get tourists by. And I do have orders to fill. So there is  work to be done. And people I don't want to disappoint.

My internet friend Annie Taylor who does amazing paintings of trees--the most magical trees I have ever seen in my life--also has a blog where she poses interesting questions. Her question this week is--have you ever been through a tough winter where you just don't feel creative. Check it out--I'm sure you'll have thoughts. http://www.creativerollercoaster.blogspot.com

And of course I'm worried about not having any interesting creative thoughts ever again. Us artists types do take this very seriously you know. Indeed I have been through my own series of dry spells. And I sure don't want to tempt to goddess of art--if you know what I mean. No thinking about it--no jinxing it.

I have too much work to do to allow myself the luxury of thinking I won't be creative. I HAVE to make work. Indeed I have lots and lots of orders to fill so I don't even have to think about being creative, I just  have to fill the orders. It's like clearing my rock garden of the dying chrysanthemums. If I fill the orders, then I'll have room to make something interesting. Like more Siberian Iris.

But that doesn't mean it's not hard to come inside--away from the perfect day.  Away from the rock garden. After all next week-end is the Western Massachusetts Iris Society Sale--Saturday--at 1:00 at the Buckland/Shelburne Community Hall--that's on Main Street in Shelburne Falls.  Ooops--I shouldn't have told you that. I want to get there first and get the wonderful iris. And I do have regular hours. I love that aspect of having an open studio. At 5:00 I'm a free woman--no guilt. I won't have to be back there until 10 tomorrow am. Plus I never know what may happen during the day.

So how do you motivate yourself when you just want to be outside. Don't you agree that spring is a lot harder to be creative than winter. Would you make it inside to work?