Today was “artist date day” as suggested we do once a week by Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. My “date with myself” day started out as a hunt for a baby shower gift, then took a left turn. Since I was supposed to be nice to myself, and enjoy being with myself, I ducked into Marshall’s to see if they had a good deal on sheets. (I love soft sheets with an exorbitantly high thread count, but hate paying the exorbitantly high price.) On the way to the bedding section I bumped into something I haven’t ever seen in Marshall’s – an artist’s supply section. I was pulled in immediately. There were all kinds of the “not cheap” supplies I bought for my drawing class this summer at really cheap prices. I felt the dopamine kick in. I chose a new package of drawing pencils for two bucks and a cool beginning watercolor kit, complete with instructions for the aspiring artist. That’s me, so for ten bucks I got paints (in tubes no less. I hate the cake kind), a small pad of good weight paper, brushes, a view finder, and a book to tell me where to start. Drawing was one thing. I took that class and came a long way. Watercolor is something else. I figure I better teach myself and experiment a little before taking a class in that. So for $13.56 I was on my way home to begin reading my instruction book – until I somehow turned into Michael’s because I remembered being fascinated with the huge purple spiders on the lamppost of the flower shop I pass everyday. I really wanted some cool spiders for my lamppost. I wanted purple, but smaller, because my lamppost is half the size of theirs. I immediately found purple and black spiders for $1.99 and for less than five bucks, was once again on my way home.
This time I actually did make it home (mostly because it was past dinner time and I was starving). I ate, read half the instruction book, and tomorrow I paint. (I would start tonight, but it’s the first night of premier week on tv and I have eight friends waiting for me on Words with Friends.)
I had fun today. As a new season begins, I highly recommend a date with yourself. Pick up a spider, or a pumpkin. Listen closely to your thoughts. Talk to yourself. You never know where you’ll end up or what you’ll come home with, things and ideas alike. (And most likely without what you out set for).
And so, as another day goes by, I found a new way to color my world, and….I have written.
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