Creativity Challenge - Week 20

Blog 20

When this blog is published our house will have just gone on the market. I am sure you can understand that I did not have any time to be creative. I only drew Star from the show “Star versus the Forces of Evil” for one of my drawing classes. The rest of the time, I spent decluttering and cleaning out the basement, including my studio.

It was probably good to be under pressure as I find it really hard to let go of things. As a creative person even little things can give me ideas for a future use in an artwork. Having to clean out my office to stage it for potential buyers forced me to make some tough decisions, especially because I will probably not have another studio that is as spacious in the house we will be moving into.

As much as going through the stuff was both physically and mentally exhausting, it feels good to look at my cleaned studio. As I did not clean it out as much as in the rest of the house, this is the only room in our house that I still like to be in and hopefully will still be able to create artworks and teach in the next couple of months. The rest of the house is now staged for upcoming visits, and all the personal items are removed to give the house a more neutral look. As I did not follow the advice to have our house painted in the fashionable grey tones, at least I don’t feel like I am in a dead house, although it feels static. I don’t feel like spending time in any of the rooms anymore, because I am afraid to unsettle things.

At this point, I am hoping to sell the house fast, even though it will not be easy to leave. Our house is a custom house, that I designed and for which I picked out every floor, cupboard, blind, and wall colour (except for my children’s rooms). It feels like one of my artworks, only that I had people to help me with the realization. My father is an architect and he put my vision into the plans of our house. We had to make some sacrifices during the building of the house due to financial considerations but it still looks mostly like my vision.

When I designed the house, it never occured to me that I would move before being in my old age, but now that my children are out of school and both my husband and I have long rides to work every day, we had to review our priorities.

When I started to sell my artwork, I also had a hard time of letting go. Now, I decide before I start a painting whether it will be for sale or for myself. The only exception is the one painting I pick at the end of every painting trip as a reminder of the wonderful memories.

I hope that when it is time to leave our house, I will be able to remember the wonderful memories and feel good knowing that a new family will be able to enjoy and make the house their own, the same way I hope that my artworks will bring continuous joy to their new owners.

Queen of the Night, acrylic,
8" x 7 3/4"

I wish all of you a wonderful Victoria Day weekend! Will you visit the Ottawa Tulip Festival or any local park or forest to see nature’s beauty? Or will you be glued to the television to watch the royal wedding with all of the beautifully dressed people? If this long weekend is your start for the cottage or camping season, I hope that you will create wonderful memories.