The past couple of weeks have been filled with action. So much so that I haven't had down time for reflection. While action is good and necessary and, well, productive, I find there's different qualities of action. Not all are necessarily satisfying.
Now that I've had a little break - a 20 mile bike ride on the Little Miami Scenic Trail from Yellow Springs to Xenia and back, followed by a delicious lunch and a little shopping/browsing, all with a friend I don't see often enough - hindsight reveals my studio actions of late were not all that satisfying.
I felt like I was working in a focused, absorbed way at the time, but my notes reveal otherwise. I tracked my hands-on time for each project I made to get a better handle on how to price the completed wares. So, yes, while I did put in a significant amount of time making, it doesn't add up to the several full days I thought I had worked. What did I do the rest of the time? I have no idea. But I suspect it involved the internet.
What I do know is that, for me, multi-tasking isn't all it's cracked up to be. Getting things done well and efficiently to earn a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction comes from focusing on the task at hand. It means staying away from the keyboard and getting down to business and often getting dirty. And allowing the mind to wander, to pause, to reflect. Building in a little down time, instead of the constant go-go-go, can lead to wonderful new ideas, innovations, and inventions.
So, here's a little taste of some recent down time wandering the back yard. The fist two pictures show a hummingbird clearwing, a moth that resembles a hummingbird in appearance. It rolls up its proboscis like a noisemaker when it's not in use. How cool is that? I haven't been able to identify the blue butterfly/moth. Any ideas? UPDATE: I think I just found it. Pipevine Swallowtail.
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