Wednesday Art Challenge

"Just the Two of Us"  - acrylic on canvas paper

It is play week in the studio.   Anything goes!  There are piles of canvas paper, yupo and watercolor paper with experiments, doodles, dalliances and epiphanies.  And some of them are making me smile.  This pair, for example.  Beginning with a loose abstract on one sheet of canvas paper, splitting the paper and adding the characters. Keeping the color palette minimal was a challenge, but I like the primitive effect.   This may spark a series, I like it that much.

This is the wonderful thing about play. We hear a lot about it.  Play is good for you!  Bring out your inner child!  More play, less work!  But if you're like most of us grown-up humans, play is hard.  I can find so many reasons not to play.  Productive, responsible reasons.  I can procrastinate on playing like it's exercise on a Sunday morning.  But once I commit to play, and then fall into it, my mind clears, my joy soars and inspiration appears.  Hello, muse!  Great ideas, born in a moment of relaxed exploration - play, apparently, is more productive than work.

Think about that.  If you could accomplish more in your life by playing than by working, why on earth wouldn't you play?  It is a question I am asking myself often.  Along with, if I put "play" on my to-do list, is it still play?

This month's challenge - make time to create and blog twice weekly - was the perfect incentive for me to devote time to play.  I create every day, but creating just for the pure bliss of it is different than intentional creation.  I think we need one to fuel the other.  Play, like fresh air, exercise and healthy food, is just what the doctor ordered!