What am I doing for self care?

I know there are times when I need to put my own oxygen mask on before assisting others. I usually run a hot bath and just relax for an hour.

This evening, my son went to the gym by himself because he needed to do that… alone.

Self care doesn’t always mean relaxing in the tub or on the couch. I also practice self care by completing projects. Even taking on projects that require skills I do not yet possess.

Kids are demanding, messy, and loud at times, but they are not an interruption to my life. They are my purpose.

They are my self care.

I think we all find ourselves floundering at times, or at least we feel like we are. A couple of years ago, that’s how I was feeling while I was doing an artist-in-residence at a gallery. I decided to use that feeling and paint flounders.
I started thinking that I’d like to make a life-size flounder that could lay on my bed. I bought the material, but it’s taken me a couple of years to attempt making it.

I don’t know how to sew realistic looking flounders, so this is how it turned out.

Artists in this community are so generous. Betsy Bowen taught me how to carve and print linoleum blocks, and Mike Smieja lent me a wheel to learn to throw pots. Art is not competitive. Instead, we can be inspired by each other, and add a new medium to our creative vocabulary. Sparks fly off of us, and we can ignite fires in each other.

Thank you for your generosity.