I have two horses. My horse and my horse’s brother. We love our stables (Will’s Ranch on Hwy 377 in Benbrook, Texas) and we love our stable director, Cherie. Over the past three years our families, mine and Cherie’s, have intertwined and we have come to care for each other and we do what we can to be mutually supportive. Cherie has ceaselessly encouraged me to get my art out into the world. I have a tendency (HA!) to be more passionate about making art than pushing it out the door. All artists need Cheries in their lives.
This week I chose to shovel horse pooh. Our lead worker is leaving to care for a family emergency. My help this week freed him to finish up specialty jobs before leaving. (Confession: I don’t think I would have jumped in if the temperatures were still at Texas summer heights, but Fall is in the air and the breeze is beginning to cool.)
Shoveling horse pooh might sound awful job, but yesterday it was freedom! My mind took the morning off and my body was the boss. (Is this why runners run? I ran once. Shoveling is better!) I was so busy trying to keep that stray ball of pooh from falling through the space in my rake with the missing tine that my mind completely forgot to stress over social media, likes, hashtags, or followers. FREEDOM!
When I paint or write my head takes over and I forget I have a body. Inside my head, when I am in the zone, hours pass without any awareness of time. When nature’s call gets too loud to ignore and I am forced to stop painting, I am shocked that my body refuses to comply. My joints get stiff when my head forgets we are a team.
Presence is a hot topic these days. Cleaning the horse runs and stalls forced my mind to acknowledge my body and let it lead. The dance reversed. I remembered that I am physically strong. I can’t handle the wheel barrow, but I have wicked rake skills: ambidextrous raking! The young folks work with headphones. For me, it was a relief to think about nothing but the task in front of me. I was present in body and mind.
I had forgotten why I am an artist. Caught up learning the business side of being a professional artist, I forgot I was an artist. (My business skills are- um – lackluster.) Yesterday I remembered that I am and always have been an artist. I noticed that pooh comes in a wide array of colors. (Storm’s dropping were the most glorious green.) Rocks, dirt, feathers, a raccoon skull, shavings, a sprig of grass defying the odds by growing in a dark corner, the blue sky with glorious clouds, the fat chickens, the peacocks and Lobo, the tabby cat, with his yellow belly and paws recharged my observation batteries. I rediscovered beauty. For four hours I was immersed in beauty: sans electronic screens.
At home I showered, ate almonds and an apple, slathered aloe vera on my sun kissed arms, took two naproxen and a nap. Refreshed, and very aware of my forearms, I finished and photographed ten small paintings and started four new ones. When I did check my computer I realized I had missed two online webinars. OOPS! But the important stuff happened.
Is there a moral to the story? Why yes, yes there is. All work and no play makes Gwen a dull, creaky, crabby artist.
This week I re-discovered truths I had forgotten. The body and mind make a great team. Presence is best served when they work together. Balance is a requirement not an option. If you are like me and balance has left the building, stop now and reintroduce your mind to your body. It works both ways. Physically demanding jobs (moms with young children, I am talking to you) require you to spend a little time inside your head. Reading or journaling versus television, computer or radio. Find your old flute and play your high school fight song. If you have a head oriented job channel your mom and, “go outside!” Take a walk. (Shovel pooh.) Plant something. Play with your pet. Go to the animal shelter and volunteer to love on the critters.
Five years ago, before the horses, I could barely manage stairs because of the pain in my back and knees. The horses saved my life and transformed my art. They forced me out of my head and into my body. www.GwenMeharg.com is a result of that mind/body connection. I forgot the lessons I learned five years ago when I committed to learn and do the business side of art (master social media) earlier this year. This week I remembered.
The little paintings are for a project, but if you would like one just let me know. I am nothing if not prolific and I have three weeks before the deadline. The original large small paintings (5×5 ish, 5×7 ish) are $75 and the small small paintings (2.5×2.5 ish) are $25. The ones in this newsletter are free as e-cards and available as prints. It is easiest to see them on my Instagram account. I creatively named my account GwenMeharg. https://instagram.com/gwenmeharg/
Thanks for hanging with me and enduring the mommy lecture. Surely all of you lead lives with a healthy body/mind balance, but just in case you don’t…see lecture above.