Sculpture and Mental Health

STRESS.

Two Dance Performances and Two Sculpture Shows in a week and a half. The sculpture show is actually the same work just put up and taken down twice, once for the media pretour and the actual GARDEN TOUR. It's still a lot of work.

After scraping myself off the ceiling and floor, I realized several things. It's hard to move after hours at the computer. It's hard to open up to improvisation in movement or art when seeing the world and the work as an endless check list.

So when I was an hour early for a meeting, I spent it just walking in the nearby park.

I noticed barn swallows zooming closer and closer to me, flying a foot off the ground. It dawned on me that they were after any insects that my feet had disturbed. "I'm not alone" was the thought. Surrounded by the mundane beauty and life of a small suburban park, it became a game to see if I could "catch" the swift birds with my slow delay camera. Keep walking and try to click on where the bird will be, not where they are.

My awareness had to expand considerably to encompass the birds, the camera, the sloping terrain, my steady walking, to be aware of every thing around and within me. Then I played on the swing set- built so grown ups can swing. That got me looking at the clouds. I've been feeling better ever since.