Traveling in Cycles: Feeling Spring!

The Mayans recognized that we experience time moving not only in a cycle, but also in a line. Now, we tend to travel in a line and forget the cycles. I don't know about you, but I've had reminders all week of that cycle of death, renewal, and growth that is the seasons . . . Spring may not officially start until next week, but I'm seeing signs of it right now in my own back yard: the tree (cherry? plum?) is budding . . .

And blooming.

The squirrels are looking fat and sassy . . .

And focused. Very focused.

And Collage on Alberta, the art store in my proverbial back yard, just got in a groovy shipment of embossed paper birds and butterflies perfect for springtime assemblage . . .

And in the midst of this cycle unfolding, I'm hurtling towards a linear time deadline.

I'm hanging two shows this weekend - the shadowbox at Mad/50 and a collection of recent work (including encaustic, fiber, and assemblage) at CubeSpace. There's a lot to get ready for - and even though the evidence of spring has made it a lot easier to get up in the morning, I'm still feeling a bit overwhelmed. I have a stack of ideas for the blog, things I want to share with you, and nifty travel stories. And we'll get there. Right now, though, I've had to prioritize: my mind is moving in dizzy circles - putting final coats of medium on this piece, gluing this bit on there, prepping that piece for hanging, stitching another bit down while the glue dries over there . . . and trying very hard not to get too distracted by shiny things like squirrels and flowers and cool new collage ephemera.

Frankly, I'm feeling a bit squirrel-like myself.

In a good, focussed kind of way.