11. Three Studio Practices for the Spring Equinox

The Spring* Equinox is here! Light and dark will be coming into equal balance.

As you might have been able to tell from my last post, I’ve been nerding out on the celtic/pagan Wheel of the Year. I’ve always had a connection with nature and feel a seasonal experience of time–and these are constant themes in my artwork. The Wheel of the Year is all about marking the 4 seasons plus their mid-points. Since I’m nerding out on this anyways, why not keep sharing some ways that I’m bringing these 8 unique seasonal points into the studio?

The Spring Equinox is celebrated as Ostara by the celtics. The energy of this holiday is all about newness and renewal, fertility, creativity, and abundance. Seeds are planted, eggs are painted, homes are cleaned, tea-parties and feasts are enjoyed. To bring this energy into the studio, here are…

• Bring your art to the sun. If it’s warm enough, write, sketch or paint plein air (outside). Otherwise sit in the sunniest indoor spot you can find. Paint or draw from nature; flowers, buds, birds, nests, eggs, bunnies -or- after a theme of your spring cultural/religious holiday of choice.

• Clean the studio. Vaccuum, re-arrange, dust, wash surfaces. Open a window to let the dust out and the fresh air in. Put fresh flowers and lit candles in the space.

• Journal. Grab a sketchbook/notebook/journal, some tea (with floral notes), and consider these questions: 

  • Are there any seeds of ideas or projects that I feel drawn to get started on? 

  • Are there any projects or ideas that I want to refresh and renew progress on? 

    • What are the very first steps of these projects?

  • How do I feel creatively limited, and what would more abundance look like? 

    • What small small adjustment would bring in a bit of that abundance?

A couple examples I can share for myself: 

• I’ve been feeling the call to create personal art pieces outside of and unrelated to my book illustration work. So:

  • I signed up for a screen-printing class that I’ll begin this month to help get me thinking outside my current creative box.

• In terms of limitations and finding abundance — I work with a chronic illness (will share more on this sometime), and so, for me, it’s always about limited time and physical energy. By the end of the workday I have too many to-do items that I’ve got no juice left for. So:

  • I’m trying out a new schedule to more clearly separate my creative work from admin work. Mon-Thurs will be creative project work only. Friday will be a day of admin stuff (returning emails and messages, promotion, to-do list items, filing, weekly review). 

I’ll let you know how this goes.

If you do these studio practices or journaling prompts, I’d love to hear if you found anything to renew, or a way you’ll free up some creative limitations.

My springy art in MISS MAPLE’S SEEDS -and- HOME IN THE WOODS

*For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere it’s the Spring Equinox, for those in the Southern Hemisphere it’s the Autumn Equinox