A hiccup and some good ideas

The good ideas come from a FB friend who I find very interesting; her ideas come from a book by Julia Cameron called 'The Artists' Way' which is concerned with inspiration, motivation, the processes of being an artist. The two things she mentioned are the 'Morning Pages' and the 'Artist's Date'. The former consists of sitting down and writing for three pages straight without 'thinking' about it, thus gradually finding your 'inner voice'. Although I usually do it at night, my blog has the same aim, although I could not have put the idea to paper so eloquently. I do know that writing and thinking has become a good bit easier (and my typing speed quicker) over the course of the year. I guess it has impacted on my painting too, but that would be hard to gauge as so many things have changed over the last 12 months which have affected the way I work. Mostly positive, miraculously.

The 'Artists' Date' is also something I am familiar with but had not formally identified; I know that I work better after one of my 'wanders' ; to a craft fair, gallery, bookshop, or even a garden.

Somehow it kick-starts the creative process by getting all the images running through my mind, and probably helping with relaxation too. Ordered the book (second hand) from Amazon.

The hiccup... comes in the form of a slightly negative survey of the property we are hoping to rent for the gallery~cafe. I don't have the full details and will have to wait over the weekend (cheers) to see them, but the words 'damp' and 'timbers' were mentioned. Call me optimistic, but I would be really surprised if the survey of a tenement didn't include these words.. as least the dreaded 'subsidence' isn't present. The way I see it; as long as the work isn't too prohibitive, it is preferable to starting all over again looking for another comparable property in terms of location, size, specification etc. which may or may not exist at this time or within the next six months. By then we will be out of work, temping or begging and fast running through our savings. So. Bring on the damp and lets hope we can get it sorted within a reasaonable budget, bearing in mind the above alternative. Fingers crossed. We had the same problem buying our house and used the same solution; gradual renovation within budget to achieve the aim over time. Patience.