Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Skiing


I have cross country skied for years. I really prefer bush-wacking rather than groomed trails, and when we have a good snow season (meaning lots of snow), we go right out the back door. When we have a light snow season, I head to Harriett Hollister Spencer Park, where the skate skiers go zinging past and make me envious of their speed. So this year I joined them.

I'm terrible. A combination of lack of technique and lack of aerobic fitness to the degree required. And we have had such a disappointing and inconsistent snow season it has been difficult to get out with any regularity. But it's really fun, and I love learning new things, struggling along the learning curve.

Yesterday was about 33 degrees. The trees weighted down with ice and snow, waving in a light breeze, branches clicking and tinking together, sounding as if I was surrounded by enormous bowls of Rice Krispies.

And Molly and Finn were as happy as dogs can be.

One of the most important aspects of being an artist is the same as any small business person- you have to show up for work. If you are sitting around waiting for the muse to show up, it may be a long wait. Or a short career. But the flip side of this is that there is always something to be done. You can work all the time you are awake and not get done. I am making a real effort this year to work as much as necessary, probably even a little more, but not all the time. My muse is somewhere in my head, and a good regular dose of fresh air helps me see her more clearly.

Today we are back to 50 degrees. Then back to freezing later in the week. And hopefully some snow.

2 comments:

David Oleski said...

So, when you get done skiing through the Rice Krispy forest are we going to see any of these new paintings?

Richard C. Harrington said...

My dad used to have this lame joke/story he used to tell us when the whole carload of was was saying, Are we there yet? It's about this miner and his mule crossing the desert. I better hold off on repeating it in this venue. Suffice to say, patience. They'll get here eventually. As with all new directions, they may suffer some false starts, and I don't know how soon they'll be ready for public consumption. Maybe I'll show you some of the other things I'm juggling in the mean time.

I should have known better than to leave the comments section open. You never can tell who might drop by. Anyone who has read this far, besides David, should check out his terrific work and total media fantasmagoria at
www.davidoleski.com