paint beneath my nails

Paint beneath my nails…

… & it feels goooood! It’s been quite a while since I’ve been able to get down & dirty, mixing & splodging (that’s a technical term, honest) with colour. Living in a small space (a caravan) with a house-proud fella is not a conducive environment for my style of artiness. When I’m creating I’m haphazard & random, he’s methodical & meticulous; I need to leave things out, he needs them put away; I lose sense of time, he is constantly aware of it. But we work well together, like contrasting colours, we sit comfortably on the canvas of our life together.


He says ‘well just be careful with the paints’, I know that however carefully I set out, careful + suzi + paints just don’t work…. I’ve lost count of the new jeans with paint on because I ‘wasn’t doing anything messy’ or I ‘was just gonna add one line’. Don’t get me wrong, I can be very meticulous & work methodically…. But… for the last couple of years my creativity has been channelled in other directions, & to be honest I haven’t wanted to apply myself to lettering or canvasses. Until now.

I’ve needed this time ‘off’ after 20 years of running a business (or 3) whilst raising my kids, studying & teaching. I didn’t plan time off, but family & financial crisis led to selling up & traveling with my man, who took a job working around the country. I’ve learned to take the time to enjoy cooking, cleaning, baking etc without the pressure of fitting it in amongst other self-imposed demands. I’ve been able to read, write, meditate… or just be… going with the flow instead of trying to ‘make’ things happen.

Another advantage has been the amount of time I have been able to spend walking or just sitting with nature. I’ve always considered myself a country girl, but I have seen so much more, maybe being more relaxed allows me to notice in a different way… and the connection to Nature, Elements, Energy… has deepened & grown. It’s all been very necessary for me.

Since December we’ve been back in North Yorkshire, close to where we set out from, and it looks like we will be here for some time. Mr Whispers was out of work for 6 months, but 6 weeks ago landed a job that is nearby & long-term! The thing is, even though I’ve been close to Sue (Creative Spirit) & been going in to the studio with her every week, I’ve only piddled about with things.

It’s not that I’ve been short of ideas… just no real desire until now. It started with “Dance The Old Ways”(a bit further down the page if you missed it) inspired by Cari Ferraro (I reckon the energy gave me a kick start, thanks cari) & Blog Candy for Mel (which I can post about soon, now that she’s received it!) … it seems the energy is indeed flowing, rather than having ideas to do ‘sometime’ I’m ready to act on them now… it is just natural to act now, instead of being something I maybe ‘ought’ to do… there have been big energy shifts for us both.

So… I’m back to having paint beneath my nails & I love it!