Fresh off our move from Dallas to Austin, I find my to-do list ever growing. Forgotten boxes to unpack, summer activities to sign up for, service calls, doctor's appointments, work always at the ready. These things are heavily calling me to the GO GO GO pace of this life I've built.
Just on the other side of that ever growing to do list is a call within asking for something different. Something a bit foreign to me...something that feels freer, a bit more child-like, less structured, more playful.
I'm dubbing it the great summer s-l-o-w d-o-w-n.
I'm trying my best to answer this call with open arms. To turn down the constant chatter of work and busy-ness and must do's and instead embrace a slower pace.
What if instead, just for the summer, I measured my days in joy instead of checkmarks?
Pages read, naps taken, minutes spent afloat in the pool...
Mornings at a museum or exploring a new-to-me nursery...
Coffee sipped as if it were to be savored, instead of chugged down on my way to next, next, next.
Stealing away little moments of sunshine and stillness to go deeper. To explore the world around me like an artist.
Capturing color combinations to explore. Finding new textures or techniques to bring back to the studio. Listening to my body when deciding what kind of movement I need in that moment.
A little less doing - and a little more being.
Committed to my summer slow-down, I visited the Blanton Museum here in Austin a few weeks ago. While there, I was inspired by color and detail of an amazingly curated Japanese woodblock print exhibit, the detailed and incredible work of Anni Albers - a true design hero of mine - and Ellsworth Kelly's Austin.
The power and emotion of art is what inspired me to become an artist. The ability to encourage a smile, forge a connection, invite a moment of joy, nostalgia or contemplation is such a gift.
In a world conditioned to GO GO GO, art and noticing the beauty all around us can help us to remember to slow down. Here's hoping for more art, more soaks, more stillness for all of us in this season of life.
