Tag: resistance

Mr. Resistance Overstays His Welcome Yet Again

The newest watercolor painting is waiting to be finished
The newest watercolor painting is waiting to be finished

Mr. Resistance has been overstaying his not-so-welcome welcome. Work is just not getting done. This painting has been hanging around so long. I just can’t get to finish it.

And, as I have learned, catching cold after cold, (or is it allergy attacks?), it is due to Mr. Resistance. Let me be honest in saying I’ve been letting him get his way.

I’m not happy about it and the Muse is not happy with me either.

Which leads me to believe I must be coming close to an important break through in my painting. Man, I just can’t get back to work for anything!

Here’s what I think: Lately I’ve been dreaming about painting in oils again to work larger than I’ve been recently, and how it would be cool to have a gallery/studio space outside of my home. Of these ideas, renting a space is the most costly and may be out of the question for now, unless I can find some other like minded artists to chip in. It’s just an idea. What do I know about gallery stuff anyway? Nothing.

Apparently, deep down inside, the inner artist-child must be scared to death of these ideas because everything is happening so that nothing happens.

Does that make sense?

 

 

Resistance is Bad For Your Health? Wow

Apple with Broken Shells ©Dora Sislian Themelis 7x9 Watercolor
Apple with Broken Shells ©Dora Sislian Themelis 7×9 Watercolor

I don’t know how he does it, but that Mr. Steven Pressfield is one amazing, intuitive guy. Today I read a post on his blog dealing with Resistance yet again, and again, he hits home. I literally hit myself in the head with my hand as I read it.

Where does he get it all?

His post in Writing Wednesdays: Advance Forms of Resistance stopped me in my tracks because I already had an annoying morning of sorta disaster, like he describes in his post.

Tuesday is my day to study with Mr. Resistance. Did I do it? No. Did I post? No. I thought about it, but didn’t act. I did, however, do some work, thank goodness.

Hitting my stride, working out my kinks, feeling okay about the work that’s happening in the studio. I even listed some work in that Etsy shop I have. Yes I know I should be doing that right here, but I have to figure it out first, okay?

Some how I didn’t post yesterday, and today here’s Steven Pressfield, telling me that Resistance is becoming bad for his health! He banged his hand badly, cracked his skull, broke his toe, all as he was nearing the finish of his work.

Amazing thought: he says it’s Resistance! Yikes!

Surprisingly, I’ve been having that kind of stuff going on with me, but not as drastic. Yesterday inside my refrigerator it was snowing. Okay, had to fix that. This morning I knocked over my beloved fresh hot cup of coffee all over the tablecloth, the floor, and inside The Mr.’s shoes. Okay, clean that up. Just before sitting to write this post I put in a load of laundry, was distracted by some other thing and before I knew it the laundry cycle was finished and I didn’t add the clothes to the machine. Yup, it washed nothing.

Just great.

Thank you Mr. Resistance.

Side Stepping Mr. Resistance, For Now

Greek Mykonos Bead Bracelet in the Etsy shop
Greek Mykonos Bead Bracelet in the Etsy shop

The world being what it is, with so many things going on in different directions, one’s attention can only hold on for so long.

However, Mr. Resistance has been kept at arm’s length lately. Something must be up with him. Either that, or, I’m getting better at side-stepping him. And, since I’ve showed up at the art space for whatever time I am able to spare, the Muse has bestowed her gracious gifts of creativity on me.

Synchronicity abounds the last couple of days.

A little painting here and there, on the latest work. Some thoughts as to the next work. I even listed some hand made jewelry items in my Etsy shop. May as well get them out there, too. Next up will be paintings that are sitting around having their own quiet conversations. Enough of that!

If I could figure out how to list these items here on my very own website, I’d do it. Since I’m still trying to figure out the dreaded WordPress thing, I’ll stick with the Etsy shop for the time being.

Like I said, it’s a new space. It takes time to decorate.

Some things have to be done as easily as possible. Once I hit that wall, Mr. Resistance will show up again. I am not interested in seeing his return. Nor do I want to risk losing my creative self by missing the Muse’s visit.

So, that’s that with that.

Resistance vs Muse

Starting a new work
Starting a new work

Mr. Resistance is quite a character. Over the time I’ve been studying about him I’ve gained somewhat of a respect for his talent and ability to totally screw up my daily agenda.

I still hate him, but I know he’s there, and what he’s capable of doing to me.

Fine.

However, since I’ve been following Steven Pressfield’s thought process on Resistance, I’ve become enamored of his idea of the Muse. You know, you’ve got to have good and evil, yin and yang, the Good Witch or the Bad Witch.

Mr. Resistance’s other half is this kind of entity.

In Pressfield’s imagination the Muse flies around in her little plane thingy. As she flies by she checks to see if the good little artist is at her easel. If  not, she whizzes away. She’ll try again the next day. Not there? Okay, she’s gone again. Stay out of the loop enough times and she doesn’t bother coming back.

The Muse is totally not like Mr. Resistance, who never leaves. Please, leave.

Turning a corner on that creep I showed up at the easel. Low and behold there was the Muse, hovering over head. I sorted through my idea pile, got out the large watercolor block and just started in on this new work.

Twenty minutes in, I stopped to let the paint dry, and a little bit later I tried working in more color to define the shapes and shadows.

Another twenty minutes later
Another twenty minutes later

I wasn’t so sure I wanted to do this painting, but so what? May as well catch the Muse as she flies by and drops some fairy dust on my scattered brain making the most of the process.

 

Resistance is Weird Stuff

The Restful Spot ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
The Restful Spot ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis

The more I study the many forms Resistance takes, I am shocked at how it manifests itself as normal, every day stuff of life.

Well, you and I would think it’s life stuff. However, according to Steven Pressfield’s book The War of Art, much of it is Mr. Resistance at work. Which means No Work.

Resistance and Self-Medication

“Depression and anxiety may be real. But they can also be Resistance.”
~Steven Pressfield, The War of Art

Get a load of that! Let that sentence soak in.

Many of us have had our moments, I know I have. But conjuring up anxiety or depressive spells to avoid doing our work?

Is it a little weird?

Maybe the point is it’s subconcious.

“When we drug ourselves to blot out our soul’s call, we are being good Americans and exemplary consumers. We’re doing exactly what TV commercials and pop materialist culture have been brainwashing us to do form birth. Instead of applying self-knowledge, self-discipline, delayed gratification, and hard work, we simply consume a product.
Many pedestrians have been maimed or killed at the intersection of Resistance and Commerce.”

 

Resistance Study on Tuesday

Dark Apple Hides Shells, Watercolor ©2012Dora Sislian Themelis
Dark Apple Hides Shells, Watercolor ©2012Dora Sislian Themelis
Resistance and Self Dramatization

“Creating soap opera in our lives is a symptom of Resistance. Why put in years of work designing a new software interface when you can get just as much attention by bringing home a boyfriend with a prison record?”~Steven Pressfield, The War of Art

Steven Pressfield knows how to crack me up. No I can’t relate to this section of his book, but I’m sure there are plenty of creatives out there that do.

I do love his way with words and laughed out loud at much of this. In fact I may have watched TV episodes of some sitcoms that sounded just like this craziness:

“Sometimes entire families participate unconsciously in a culture of self-dramatization. The kids fuel the tanks, the grownups arm the phasers, the whole starship lurches from one spine-tinging episode to another. And the crew knows how to keep it going. If the level of drama drops below a certain threshold, someone jumps in to amp it up. Dad gets drunk, Mom gets sick, Janie shows up for church with an Oakland Raiders tattoo. it’s more fun than a movie. And it works: Nobody gets a damn thing done.”

Can you imagine this scene?

More importantly, would you ever think this is all about Resistance?

Just hold that thought for a moment.

The idea that artists, or anyone in the middle of an important endeavor, would raise hackles like this only to put off doing their work is way out there.

But is it, really?

Since I’ve been studying this Resistance thing, it’s become easy to imagine how many ways there to not work. Really, the thing we most want to do is the thing we try hardest NOT to do.

 

 

 

A New Moleskine Notebook

My new Moleskin watercolor sketchbook
My new Moleskine watercolor sketchbook

With my discount coupon in hand, I headed out to the local art supplier in my neighborhood for a little Artist’s Date with myself.

I had a mission: buy watercolor paint colors I ran out of, and get a Moleskine watercolor notebook for doodling and sketching.

Mission accomplished! The notebook is one of the smaller sizes. I really didn’t want to commit to something too large so I wouldn’t be discouraged. But you never know, I could be annoyed by using a small book too. Then again, the price of the larger was much higher  so I sprang for this one.

The instructor at the NYC workshop I participated in used a Moleskine for her sketching. I thought it might be good to keep me from arguing with Mr. Resistance. Nothing expected by a doodle or a quick sketch, no commitment to a huge new painting, to experiment with brush and paint.

Process, not product.

Just staying in the game, so to speak.