Routine as a way of letting go.
Routine as a way of letting go
Getting up on a Saturday and working on a drawing or painting for a few hours is my ideal time, my happiest moments. For many years I worked hard to experiment and learn how to facilitate the mental and physical space to create. A few hours once a week, which doesn't seem like much, but in actuality requires real intention to capture.
And along with learning to carve out the time, I need to be able to let go during those hours to make the work, to lose myself in it. Letting go means knowing the bills are paid, there are fresh veggies in the fridge, there's no one who will need me during that time.
Routine facilitates this access to freedom. And routine is how I operate and love it. Sleeping at the same hours every day, my cup of coffee in the morning, cooking my meals, the quiet tick tock of routine. It may seem boring, but it's how I tie everything down so that when it's time to deep dive I can—AND most importantly do it regularly.
Gustave Flaubert said it best: "Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work."
Give a unique gift this year
Give a commissioned piece of art that captures a place or a memory, like a wedding venue, a beloved home/bar/cafe, a travel snapshot from a great trip, or even a vehicle.* Send me a note of what you have in mind and we can discuss size, price and timing.
Contact me: hello@jessicafontenot.com
*I don't do commissions of people or pets.
A few things worth sharing
Book: Daily Rituals: How Artists Work -- the routines of artist's lives collected together. One of my favorite lines from the whole book comes from writer Bernard Malamud:
"There's no one way... The trick is to make time—not steal it... Eventually everyone learns his or her own best way. The real mystery to crack is you."
Recipe: This Blackberry Cheesecake Galette from Smitten Kitchen was delish.
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