Focus 2.0

Have you heard of the “lost object” syndrome? It’s when you look for something even as you think it may be gone. I’ve made myself insane over this - searching, doubling down, backtracking, looking under things in rooms I didn’t even enter. Most often, what I want shows up after I drop the search and stop obsessing.

Here is the original bamboo drawing transferred to the rice paper - an open invitation, a journey yet to unfold. I love this part.

Lately (yes, even more than usual) I’ve been struggling with maintaining a train of thought. I’d like to hold steady focus on the innumerable blessings in my life, as well as all of my goals. Living with the recent pandemic - the upheavals, the fears, the uncertainty - pushes me to achieve still more. I feel that, even when awful stuff happens, I don’t need to let it stop me.

I’m laughing at myself right now as I just interrupted this letter to begin yet another one. (I think I’ve got about five in the works.) Things are shifting quickly and I feel disoriented, concerned, upset, and very much off-center. Naturally, my mind flits from thought to thought and I want to get them all on paper before they go.

First wax and color wash: I’m currently learning how to use a batik tool to apply the melted wax and my lack of control always brings surprising results. This is both challenging and rewarding and encourages me to explore new paradigms - how can I make this now moment work when the old way isn’t cutting it?

Today, I misplaced my salad bowl on my way from the desk to the kitchen. I had stopped to consider a painting in progress. I remembered hearing the clunk as I set down the bowl, but I couldn’t find the darn thing. (Fun Focus Fact #1: Finish Task A before attempting Task B.)

Lost object syndrome ensued. I searched but I simply couldn’t see it. An “Ah HA!” moment suggested I view the living room from the kitchen. There sat my salad - right next to the painting I had been examining. (Fun Focus Fact #2: If stymied, try changing your point of view.)

Here I’ve hand-painted the melted wax with a brush on the bamboo only and then applied a darker wash of colors. Now what? I knew I needed to highlight the bamboo and I wondered if the virgin white was too distracting. Negative painting was in order so I...

Ultimately, we are the masters of our moods. I say this knowing that sometimes a little freak-out is just the thing - think of it as a mini seismic shake-up to help make way for solutions. We often tend to overthink things and to hold onto beliefs or habits of thought that no longer serve us. These can get in our way. One solution that has proved successful for me is to find something (anything) else to take my mind off what’s bothering me. To that end, here’s (Fun Focus Fact #3: Give yourself a break.)

Another successful solution is to call on fresh eyes. Scene: Something’s “lost” and I am searching for it. Enter a friend who says, “You mean this pen/ document/ salad bowl right here?” (Fun Focus Fact #4: Ask for help.)

My so-far successful solution to what’s happening now is to paint. I will be posting a LOT of new and very different paintings in the near future. I am also revamping the Website and my pricing structure and will give the heads up when all is in place.

I send my love and best wishes for your peace of mind and your safety. I hope you are all finding new ways to cope and even to re-invent yourselves and your lives.

With love,

Judy

…went bold and put a very dark wash around the bamboo and decided to turn the white parts into fireflies or fairies dancing in the dark. To that end, I softened the edges a bit and added a pearl coating to make the white lines and dots effervescent. This piece is stunning in person - the result of a mini freak-out (yikes…now what?!) and asking for help (fellow artist friends).

P.S. Since shooting this letter off to my web wizard for posting, I’ve left my keys in the ignition while grocery shopping (the car was there when I returned) and sliced through my palm while sharpening a knife (doc says no stitches but I have to walk around with my hand on my head for a couple of days and have to limit my movements a lot). I think this is riotously funny as it coincides with me writing about focus. I’ll take my own advice and refer to Fun Focus Fact #3. I love you guys. Please be more focused than I have been.