April 1st, 2011
I conducted a little experiment yesterday. But first, some background:
This week has mainly been about taking care of a number of things I had been putting off, and a few, more recent (and urgent) things. Since I live in Italy, most of these things involved getting certificates with official-looking stamps on them. That, my friends, is just as fun as it sounds.
Yesterday I had a seemingly endless list of such boring tasks: Get certificate X. Book appointment Y. Assemble documents for Z. Take a number and wait in line, again and again and again.
It was not looking like a fun day.
And yet, I was determined to get through all of these tasks as quickly and ruthlessly efficiently as possible. The fact that it was a gorgeous, sunny day may have been a determining factor.
Some kind of patron-saint-of-bureaucracy must have been watching over me, because I managed to get through nearly all my list by 3:30 pm. Let me tell you, there was much rejoicing.
And as a reward, I decided to pack up my work and take it to the neighborhood park.
Into the backpack went a blanket (not this one), a good supply of water, my netbook, a notebook (the kind with paper in it!), a sketchbook, two pens and some crayons. The tools of my trade, I suppose.
I was pretty sure I knew what was going to happen.
I figured I’d spread out my blanket and sit in the sun for an hour. Maybe open the notebook and make a grocery list. Attempt to find some stray wi-fi in the park. Delete a few text messages; pretend this is the height of efficiency. Check to see if I had accumulated any more freckles while “working.” And so on, for an hour.
Instead, I was amazed.
I actually got stuff done. A lot of stuff, even!
I wrote the outline for something I hope to share with you soon. I came up with a bunch of ideas for new systems, blog posts, schedule changes. I even made a very sloppy drawing. No grocery lists at all!
Here are my theories as to why this happened:
I was in a really good mood. Few things will cheer me up more than crossing off several tasks on a list of bureaucratic boringness that has been haunting me for months. Ahhhh.
I was comfortable. This time of year, I can sit in the sun without turning a deep and painful shade of red. And my whole body was happy to have some Vitamin D after it had essentially given up all hope of seeing the sun ever again.
There was no Internet. This sort of goes without saying, but productivity and the Internets do not get along. At all.
I came prepared. I had all the essentials I needed for working on Important Stuff. I used nearly everything I had brought, except for the netbook, surprisingly.
It was a change of scenery. Always good for coming up with new ideas.
There was no clutter in my workspace. Just the contents of my backpack, laid out on a blanket in a big, green office.
I can’t do this sort of thing all the time, of course. I do need the Internet for work and for other essential things like writing this highly important blog post. There were a couple of distractions in the form of overly-rambunctious dogs and teenagers trying to impress each other. But overall, I’d say this was a surprisingly successful experiment.
So now, in order to be a hugely successful master of productivity, all I have to do is reproduce all these elements in my usual workspace (insert laughter here).
Here’s the sloppy drawing, by the way, done in pen and crayon, of course:
PS. I still got the freckles! Sweet.
COMMENTS: Do you think this experiment might work for you? (Have you already tried it?)
And, just because I’m nosy, what would you put in your backpack?
March 15th, 2011
Dearest readers, lately I’ve been feeling an urge to share some of my stories and photos with you. Just because I enjoy them and I think you might, too.
But my inner critic is not at all happy about this. “Your stories and photos are not useful,” he says. “And anyway, who cares about what you did on Sunday?” He goes on to lecture me about how I need to “provide value” and “satisfy an urgent need” with the things I’m writing here.
Which is pretty amusing when you consider that this blog is called Artful Play.
Anyway, I gave him the task of going through my earliest translations with a red pen. While he’s distracted, I thought I’d share a thing or two with you. Just as an experiment. A playful one, if not an artful one.
So. On Sunday I was invited to an agriturismo, which is essentially a farm that sells its own products, provides guestrooms and usually has a restaurant too. And this one did.
The agriturismo is called Poggio Alloro and I’ve been told that all their products are organic, made with ingredients grown or raised on their farm. Which makes devouring them even more enjoyable.
This is the part where I show you closeups of what we ate and you get really hungry. Vegetarians, I apologize in advance.
 Mushroom (left) and liver paté crostini  Salad of chickpeas, radicchio and soppressata  Homemade tagliatelle pasta with wild boar sauce
 Really good wine. We ate all these things – and more, incredibly – in a room with a fireplace, long tables and prosciutti hanging from the beams:
 My vegan readers are fleeing in horror. Sorry, guys. After eating and drinking to excess we decided to take a walk around the farm. Unfortunately it was raining, but that didn’t stop us from admiring the landscape and getting our shoes very muddy in the process.
 Well worth standing in the rain.  The medieval skyscrapers of San Gimignano in the distance One of the staff at Poggio Alloro encountered us while we were strolling around and let us into the cowshed, where they keep their Chianina cows.
 Moo. And then they let us into their wine cellar. I’m not really sure what they were thinking there. But luckily we mostly behaved ourselves.
 The farm's vernaccia  Wine aging patiently in barriques  Wine was just piled up all over the place! Okay, not really. Before we left, I got a picture that proves that spring is, in fact, coming. I was told by the very smart Fi Bowman that this is a flowering quince.
 Someday, my quince will come Then we went home and scrubbed our muddy shoes.
And that’s all, dear readers. I hope you enjoyed seeing the pictures, and were not too offended by the pork products and/or bad puns.
COMMENTS: This day out is part of my tradition of staying (mostly) off the computer for one day a week, and surrounding myself with beautiful green things.
I’ve been doing this for years and it has kept me as close to sane as I can possibly get.
How about you? Do you have any traditions like this? I’d love to hear about them.
February 7th, 2011
OK, fine, it’s actually a blender. I don’t own a real food processor. As always, donations are welcome.
But friends, the point is: I have been processing. There has been a lot going on, although you wouldn’t necessarily know it given the lack of posting here. A few things that have happened:
- a looooong trip to the US of A including a magical week in not-so-sunny Portland, Oregon
- new ideas for where I want Artful Play to go next
- I finally found a winter coat and it is green, people
I’ve been taking some time off from posting to absorb these new experiences and figure it all out (except for the green coat – that was pretty easy to figure out, thankfully).
Regular posting will resume soon, but I’m thinking this place needs a new coat of paint first. Perhaps a little rearranging of the furnitures. And some spring cleaning is definitely in order. A little airing-out of the rooms. That sort of thing.
So please pardon our appearance while we process and renovate. It will all be worth it, my dears.
COMMENTS: I’ll take anything, really. Except for “Where the hell ya been?!” And if you have any renovation projects for this almost-spring I’d love to hear about them.
December 11th, 2010
This week’s Sketchy Saturday offering was inspired by the Sketching Spark that suggested to “draw something grass green.”
I happen to have a lot of things that are grass green because it’s one of my favorite colors. Yes, I know, pure laziness on my part. Whatever, I’ll run into problems when I get to the one that says “draw something carnation pink.”
So anyway, I decided to draw this blanket, which was only one of several grass green things I could have drawn without even having to get up from my chair.
Except I went a little overboard on the shading. So the blanket looks a bit… sinister:
 This blanket means you no harm. I’m really not sure why it turned out so evil-looking but I can assure you it’s a perfectly harmless blanket. Warm and cozy, even.
Random fact on blankets: this sort of woolen blanket is often called un plaid in Italy, except the pronounciation is somewhere between “pled” and “played.” And they call it that even when the blanket is most certainly not plaid. Like my grass-green one.
See? You can actually learn things by reading this blog. Definitely a reason to read it during work hours.
COMMENTS: Anyone else sketching something on this fine Saturday?
If not, you have my blessing to curl up with a soft plaid. Keep warm, dearies.
December 9th, 2010
It only seems fitting to post this the day after a holiday called L’Immacolata in Italy.
I’ve written about housecleaning before, specifically the kind you use as an excuse not to do the thing.
There’s another kind, too. It’s the housecleaning you do when you come to a spot in your work where you just feel stuck.
You can’t decide what will happen next in your novel. There’s something just not right about your painting. Or you’ve been staring blankly at your project for half an hour.
At this point, you might get up and do something physical, something that doesn’t require too much thinking but that does require you to move.
And yeah, housecleaning could be that thing. It could also be going for a walk or doing five minutes of Shiva Nata or taking an inspiration shower.
So what’s the difference?
The sneaky thing is that we can often convince ourselves that we’re cleaning for inspiration, when in fact we’re cleaning out of avoidance. How do you tell the difference?
It’s all about intention.
Have you been working on your project for a while and need some perspective? Or have you not even started yet?
Have you been cleaning for ten minutes, having set a timer, or have you been cleaning for the past hour?
Are you doing something manual, physical and relatively useful like sweeping the floor, or are you disinfecting your desk for the third time today?
Are you looking around for stuff to clean, and do you feel upset when you can’t find anything because your entire house is essentially spotless?*
I think you can see where I’m going here.
*If the answer to this question is yes, please come over to my house.
And a story
If you are one of those people who feels bad about creating before the house is perfectly clean, I have to tell you this story.
I once knew an artist who was named after a goddess, a flower and a painter. And her nickname was Art. Obviously she was destined to have an interesting life.
She lived with another artist in his family’s old farmhouse. This house was amazing. It was filled with all kinds of marvelous objects and collections and their artwork. It was essentially a museum. The two of them lived in a very frugal and simple way but their house was pretty big for these parts.
While I was been given the tour of this house, I remarked on the size of it and how many beautiful things they had gathered over the several decades they had spent there.
“Yes. You know,” she said, taking my arm, “lots of people comment on how big it is. And one guest even asked me how I managed to keep it clean!”
And here she threw her head back and had a hearty laugh.
I understood what she meant straight away: cleaning was the last thing that ever crossed her mind.
You know what’s frustrating about the whole housecleaning thing? As soon as your house is clean, it starts getting dirty again. I know, the nerve, right?
If you’re feeling guilty about having a less-than-immaculate house, think of my friend Art and her house full of artwork. Tip your head back and have yourself a hearty laugh. And then give yourself five minutes to do something creative first.
Don’t worry, there will be plenty more opportunities to clean. This I can promise you.
COMMENTS: Do you use housecleaning to avoid working on creative projects? Do you use it to gain inspiration? Or do you avoid cleaning altogether?
Anyone who avoids working on creative projects AND avoids cleaning at the same time gets extra avoidance points 
December 5th, 2010
This fine Sunday, my wish for you is that you’ll discover something brilliant.
Up in this hemisphere, the weather has been stubbornly uncooperative over the past few weeks. Depending on your country, you may have experienced any combination of torrential rain, icy winds, below-freezing temperatures or ginormous piles of snow. With any luck, you’ll have stayed indoors for most of it.
Today, let’s get outside and see what fun things we can find. What do you say?
Here’s my contribution. First, some context. You know what this is, right? Your standard, international no-entry sign:
So functional. So boring. Yawn.
Now look at what some creative geniuses have been doing all over town:
That, my friends, is a sticker that makes the sign into a little man carrying a board or something. Possibly an Ikea flat-box. Hee hee! Every time I run into one of these, it makes me smile. It’s nice to know that some of us have managed to hang on to our imaginations in spite of it all.
So! Go forth and seek out something fun or creative or inspiring or just entertaining. My wish for you today is that you will find it.
COMMENTS: It would be so cool to have you guys post pictures of things in the comments, but I am not so wise in the ways of technology. If you want to share any discoveries though, I’d love to hear them.
Happy Sunday, all!
December 4th, 2010
Sketchy Saturday! After the month-long (or more) hiatus, it’s back and sketchier than ever.
I actually have a sketch or two to post today, thanks to the Sparks. Here’s one for you:
 Mini-ribbit
It may not be immediately evident but that is a tiny frog. There are three of these little fellows hanging out with me in my workspace. I imagine they’ll all be making an appearance here, sooner or later.
And an announcement! I will be holding a tele-gathering in January, and you, my dear, are invited. More details to come soon.
COMMENTS: Are you doing anything to make your Saturday sketchier? I want to hear about it!
December 1st, 2010
… you’d be using one of these to make your coffee:
Okay, well, technically you can get American-style coffee makers now, in the big electronics stores. I have no idea where you’d find the ground coffee for them though.
Our little caffettiera is a bit different from the traditional kind in that it has rounded corners. Huh. I think it’s just putting on airs.
I made this somewhat lopsided drawing in response to the first Sketching Spark of the month.
You still don’t know what a Sketching Spark is? Quick, read this page before anyone finds out!
P.S. Big congratulations to all the people who participated in Art Every Day Month. It’s officially December now, but you can still do the Creative Every Day thing, which runs all year. Excellent.
COMMENTS: If you lived here, you’d also be sick of the torrential downpours at this point. So I’d appreciate any anti-rain dancing or offerings to the Nice Weather Gods because our rivers are all about to flood and we can’t dry our laundry, dammit.
Anyone who stops the rain gets a prize.
November 29th, 2010
Have you been hiding from your blog recently? I have. Yeah, I know. Sometimes it just happens.
The Internets are full of articles telling you when and how often you should publish something on your blog. Some say every day. Some say no more than three times a week. Some say you should publish your posts at specific times of day so you get more people to read them.
I say: screw that. I have a permission slip that says I don’t have to post.
Things happen. Technology things, Life things.
Hiding for a bit, or just needing to be away from the computer for a while, is healthy in my book. And studies have shown that the world does not in fact implode when you don’t post to your blog three times a week.
Actually, I think we could use a break from all the pressure, don’t you?
It’s a good thing we have this permission slip. And I see it can be applied retroactively. How convenient.
Feel free to pass it on to anyone you know who could use a day of hiding from their blog.
COMMENTS: Really, I just want to know if this permission slip is going to come in handy for you. I hope you find it useful.
You can save it for another day, too, if you like. It never expires!
November 20th, 2010
Oh, how I wish I could post a picture of what I’m working on right now.
But that won’t be possible. Because not showing you what I’m doing is the whole point of my current experiment.
I asked myself what I’d paint if nobody had to see it. I’ve asked clients this question before, but I had never asked it of myself.
The answer was pretty surprising to me: blank stare. I didn’t know.
Despite our best intentions, every time we sit down to make something, we usually think of the people who will see it, read it, hear it.
It’s nearly impossible to avoid thinking about them. We are social creatures, after all. And so much of our self-worth comes from what other people think of us. Unless we work really hard on it, that is.
Even when you think you’ve outwitted the Monster of External Approval, he slyly sneaks his way in through the back door. Suddenly, your work is about the product, the end result, and not about how much fun you’re having.
Well, I wanted to play around with this. So this week I made a painting that nobody will see. It is currently hanging out in my closet, near the shoes. (Heh, thank goodness the guy I live with can’t read English.)
Knowing that nobody would see my painting – and letting myself paint something incredibly personal and also pretty darn ugly – was a truly liberating experience. I really can’t describe the effect it’s had on me.
But I highly recommend you try it, even if just once. It sounds so simple, but… just try it. Trust me on this one.
And speaking of outwitting the monsters…
If you’d like some extra help with your creative blocks, I still have a couple spots open for practice coaching sessions. I’ve had a lot of fun with my practice clients so far and hey, they’re making stuff! I’d love to help you make stuff, too.
Or, if your particular monsters give you trouble when you’re drawing, you might want to check out a new thing I’m doing, Daily Sketching Sparks. Email prompts that leave your monsters flabbergasted. Whee!
COMMENTS: Have you every drawn, written, made something that was for your eyes (or ears) only?
What would you make if nobody had to see it, ever?
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This site is a record of my (almost) daily creativity practice.
It's mainly silly drawings with commentary. Or silly writings, with a chance of illustrations.
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