Practice what you preach….
I thought I’d always find time to sketch and paint, but that’s not true…. I didn’t touch my art supplies for more than 2 weeks… Those boxes were the last thing I made… And then I also had to pack my studio.
We moved to a house that’s about 4 times smaller… and we took too much stuff! So we had trouble unpacking because we didn’t have enough place to put everything… Mostly a “too many books” problem… And it was so so stressfull and overwhelming it took all my headspace…! And my cat is traumatised as well, crying the whole time and pulling out her hair… Terrible… And we still don’t have any bathroom so we’re exploring bathrooms of friends. 
Sometimes a part of us must die before another part can come to life, it appears. Some part died when I moved houses, but I’m still waiting for the part to come alive….
Finally now I unpacked my art supplies and cleaned my drawing table and yesterday I made a sketch of a puppet I found in one of my old boxes. It had been stored away for 20 years.
Now I continue to clean up and give away stuff.
But where is my energy to sketch? I have also a Skillshare class to finish… I need to find my energy back. I feel terribly tired and confused, trying to make myself feel at home again.
Sketch every day, even if it’s for only 5 minutes! Well,…. even those 5 minutes are not possible for the moment… And that sketchbook is just laying there now, waiting. My play space. My practice place. My second brain. It’s waiting to help me deal with grief, with the change of homes, with aging. It’s there waiting for me to return, to reconnect to the present and the world around me and to make me stop ruminating.
It will bring me back beauty and help me discover and explore ideas. Make connections. Play again!
Please tell me if you have any tips?
Hello Barbara,
Je suis désolée d’apprendre ce que tu traverses, et je t’envoie plein de courage. J’ai aussi eu un creux il y a quelque temps, je comprends ton désarrois. Pour moi, l’envie de dessiner a disparu pendant de nombreux mois. Mais j’ai fais autre chose pendant ce temps (des origamis ). Puis c’est doucement revenu. Ne te mets pas la pression
Sinon, je peux te conseiller plein de livres sur le minimalisme ☺️
Bisous
Isabelle V
Merci Isabelle! Oui il faut qu’on aille vers plus de minimalisme dans une beaucoup plus petite maison.
Petit à petit je me sépare de plus en plus d’objets!
Bisous et à bientôt lors d’une sorite USK!
Moving is very stressful. I think it’s worse for women because we have a greater attachment to hearth and home. I have moved many times in my life and it never gets easier. However, it will pass. Take it one step at a time.
Thank you so much Esme! Yes, this will pass as well…
You will get through this, Barbara… and the only way through it is by committing every day to do at least one thing make your living space better. I have been working on that one thing for four days now in our new (super old) house. We, too, just moved and I agree, it is so overwhelming! But I know it is just a phase – and it will be better soon, and I know it will be better for you, soon, too! Thank the items that have served you well and pass them on so that they might serve someone else. Your positive attitude and drive to create a peaceful space will come in handy over the next few weeks. Just give yourself some time. Sending you hugs and love.
Thank you so much dear Lynn! That’s a great advice: committing every day to do one thing to make the living space better! Thank you so much! Much hugs and love to you too!
It takes time! Five years ago, I sold my house in California and moved to Spain. I sold, gave away all my 42 years of leaving there. Came back with 7 suitcases between my husband and I. But, I was so excited to come back to my country, see the Mediterranean everyday. When i missed somethingI used to have I think “ it was just a material replaceable thing”.
You will find your space and will feel at home again. Just takes time. Best wishes.
Thank you so much dear Anna! Much love and hugs!
Dear Barbara,
I moved a lot of times in my life.
Try to get out of the house so you can get away from the stress. Take a small pocket sketchbook and a mini palet (portable painter or 1 Art toolkit palet) and a 1 brush and 2 small nalgene water containers and go to the park and go painting! Now! Do it!
Thank you very much Frieda
what a great idea !
much love
Barbara
Lovely puppet! I missed your messages. They give me peace. Hope you will find peace too soon. Give your cat a hug from me. It takes time to settle but take your moments in nature. Go outside.
Thank you so much dear Frieda! Yes that’s true, nature is very relaxing!
Books can be more difficult to let go of than other objects – I still have too many but keep slowly letting more go. I have been letting go of belongings for the last several years. Once they are out of my life I find I do not miss them. I take cell phone pictures of sentimental things before I let them go to ease the pain of perceived loss. I have not taken a quick and harsh purging of stuff because I do not want to feel extreme regret and wind up replacing things or regretting. I got rid of low hanging fruit first (i.e., things without or less emotional meaning). All the best to you on this path of self discovery — exploring how we humans may let external things and circumstances define us and our happy, or not, state. Tibetan Buddhism takes the view of “happy for no reason” — not an easy task for humans. I love how you sketch and paint. Thank you for sharing your life and art with us.
Thank you so much dear Amy!
Yes I have been making some sketches of stuff I gave away. That helps!
Thank you so much for sharing your story
Much love!
Barbara
Dear Barbara! So happy you have been heard from — was wondering what happened to you! Glad you found & unpacked your art supplies and are able to do some of what you LOVE! So nice that you found a space for ART.
MOVING UGH!!! Each time we move we seem to lose at least one or two boxes – so there’s that & due to never really finishing the unpacking, by the time we get around to moving again, I can just pitch those old things that we haven’t looked at or used in so many years!
I HATE the thought of moving again. But for me right now it’s the daunting task of truly claiming this old bedroom and making it my art room — translation: getting rid of the old stuff, books, papers some junk, etc. and ORGANIZE all the art stuff I have & search for every time I need it now.
When I started this art adventure 7+ years ago, I bought assorted easels (of all kinds) because I thought I needed them(???) and many other things in multiples. Now I would LOVE to sell them or give them to some needful art students — Don’t know of any off the top of my head or if any students use easels any more! Why did I buy all of them??? Anyway, lots of stuff I don’t need but do need to get gone!
Back to your art & mine: I painted your sweet, sweet elephant and would love for you to give me some feedback plus I have two abyssmal cherry trees — still need to work on improving those — tried your techniques with spattering and graphite, etc. YIKES! I’m an over-spatterer and need help with graphite. No one here sells the Artgraf tin so I had to buy the water soluble sticks but they came with no instructions as to “how” to make them work in water and mine barely did.
Anyway, too much information for anyone to want to know! So happy to hear from you. My husband has surgery on July 7 — we are rather topsy turvy right now. Art calms me. Do you know or live near Jean Haines, watercolor artist?
Dear Marlene, thank you so so much for your long message. Please email me your elephant and your cherry trees, I’ll be happy to give you feedback!
Sorry for replying so late.
I do hope the surgery of your husband goes well! So stressful!
I’m still getting rid of stuff I don’t use, by giving it away around me. It feels good!
Now I’m determined to get into making drawing and painting preferably every day now that Summer is here. I have less work in the office and more time to get to know the house and draw and paint… And I will make more video’s as well and other online classes :))
Same to me: Art calms me!
Hi Barbara. My heart goes out to you in these life changes you are experiencing. We moved to a new one story house three years ago. My husband and I were nearly 70. I imagined all of the wonderful changes but I wasn’t prepared for the feelings of loss and so much more. Yes, I had too many books, too many art things and so much that I loved and couldn’t find spaces for. I missed my gardens more than I can say. Just overall it’s been difficult. I used to love moving. A lot has to do with our inner fears being exposed. Saying goodbye growing older letting go of what once was.
Yes, I’m feeling better, more at home. Yet I think we cling so much to home. We want permanence in an impermanent world. So our spiritual path helps to wake us up to seeing we have only this one tiny moment.
I hope this helps Barbara. I love your art, my style is much like yours. Thankyou for all of your inspiration and reaching out.
Shirley
Thank you so much dear Shirley for sharing your story!
Reading your story helps a lot!
I recognise it all in what you wrote!
thank you!
Love
Barbara
Lieve Barbara,
Wees mild voor jezelf.
Je mag voelen wat je voelt.
Je mag bijkomen van deze schok, duw het niet weg ……
Het duurt zolang als het duurt, jouw katje vraagt ook zorg.
Jouw tafel schoonmaken is een goede stap.
Het komt goed in its own time.
Heel veel liefs,
Iete
Dankjewel liefste Iete !
heel veel liefs !!!
Barbara
I really love want you do.
I understand moving and the extreme (sometimes) nature of it. We don’t move unless forced or need – often never our choice.
I thank you for expressing that, and particularly, the “draw daily” advice from so many, can be, in itself a demand that is not always possible.
When all is okay – sure draw and paint.
When everything is not okay – draw and paint is an excellent plan and I get the benefits, but often – you just can not.
I love your work
I hope you get back to it
thank you so much dear Samanda-Jayne!
much much love and hugs to you
Barbara
Barbara, you gave me so much motivation and positive thoughts through your lessons and blog articles that I feel that now it’s my turn to give something back to you. I’m saying that it’s ok to feel this way, and the only thing you really can do is give yourself some time. Just take it slowly, one thing at a time. Don’t stress yourself that you don’t feel the motivation or don’t have time to create (I know it’s easier to say than to do it, I’m in the same shoes). Imagine that in a month, where you will look back on this period from.
がんばる – is a perfect word for this situation. 🙂 The rest will come. Take care and I’m looking forward to your cute drawings.
Arigato gozaimasu dear Tunde!
Much much love to you!
hello, We moved like that too from 5 bedrooms to 2. It has 2 bathrooms but only one is working as they have to fix the other. My studio took over the 2nd bedroom and became the place to store boxes when we moved at first as there was just tooo much stuff. Good news as the boxes went out the space got more manageable. Find something special about your new home. We have a wonderful view so we would look at that. We are also right on the beach so we could escape onto the beach even when it was cold to “breathe” without the boxes. Blessings in your new home and yes it will get easier. I started painting shells and leaving them around and people found them and we have started to make friends that way. Hang in there soon it will start to feel like home and yes you will find balance of what to get rid of and what to keep. Our trips to the thrift store to donate are seldom now. and almost never to the recycle to recycle the boxes. We still have one bathroom that needs fixing and we are waiting on the order to come in and our kitchen also has to be pulled apart and redone. But it will all pass . Paint if you feel like it and don’t get angry with yourself if you can’t just relax when you need to.
❤️❤️❤️
Thank you so much
❤️❤️❤️
Yes…. I recognise everything you wrote
Thank you for sharing all this
I don’t have the beach but a forest
Lovely and relaxing as well