Working stage

It’s chilly in the house this morning, even with the fire going, and I seem to have caught a cold. It’s the first day in weeks without rain, so I can open the studio doors and clear some of the carnage from last week’s creative mania. It looks as though Mr. Hyde has occupied my workspace, but then I remember, it was me, caught in the current of ideas. I started three new works, laid out elements of Lost and Found on the biggest work table and sketched pieces I couldn’t get to, made notes about others.
First to clear out some chaos. Two large sheets of laminate were blocking shelves with bins of things I’d need to get to. These I laid flat on the floor, taping the edges with the smooth sides up. Later, when Orion is home from daycare, I’ll set him down on top and give him a handful of markers. Then it’s a matter of putting tools in bins and brushes in cups and trying not to get distracted.
I like this stage of the creative cycle. The sober, working stage, the sanity that comes after the mania of creation. I like that part too., that exhilarating high, however exhausting. When I’m in it, I wish I could always think that way. When it’s done, I’m relieved it’s over. It’s like taking an exciting holiday, sort of. You feel renewed, refreshed, invigorated, your life back home seems mundane in comparison, but as soon as you open your door , you’re glad to be home. Anyway, the cycle works for me. Or, perhaps I’ve learned to work within a rhythm I have no real control over.
Of course, this morning there’s this cold. I’m wanting to snuggle in on the couch near the fire with the Ramsey Campbell paperback I pulled from yet another carton of books we inherited from a friend of a friend. If only we’d inherit the shelves as well.
But, I have at least five pieces to finish, some angels to send to collectors who’ve waited patiently for them, and rats to mail.
In between, while paints dry and castings set, I’ll sit at the big table and work on Lost and Found. So, it’s off for coffee and cold tablets.