The studio is cleaned and I am occupying myself with small tasks
that have gone by the wayside in favor of loftier goals. That would include painting my hallway, mending, making greeting cards, and doing a bit of experimentation with using my slab roller (for clay) as a printing press.
Taking stock of my situation, I am in a creative “eddy.” As a kayaker, I find that the sport and rivers offer so many metaphors for life. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, eddy, it is “ a circular movement of water, counter to the main current, causing a small whirlpool”. You find these on the back side of rocks or behind a point that extends out into a river. Sometimes you get sucked into them inadvertently, and other times you purposely “eddy-out” to get out of the flow of the river to rest and regroup
I sort of got sucked into one, which now I think is a good thing. It was a challenging spring with my elderly mother being ill, and 
then my 91-year-old father finally succumbing to Parkinson’s in early May. Then off to 4 weeks of travel shortly after his celebration of life including a very intense weeklong printmaking workshop in Ireland. That was akin to a big stretch of whitewater to paddle. And here I am disoriented and tired. So maybe resting in a creative eddy isn’t such a bad place to be. By nature, I am a very goal oriented person but hard as it is, I need to get “out of the current” before I head in the wrong direction.
So chillin’ it is. My well-worn guidebook in this situation is Julie Cameron’s “Walking in this World,”(sequel to “Artist’s Way”) a lifesaver for those with creative challenges. Until I catch up on myself, going with the flow means I am going to enjoy the river from the edge, in a safe eddy.
Dancing Alone
My muse lost me
Or did I lose her?
I turn around and she is gone
The music plays on
But there is no one to dance with
I sit alone against the wall
Head down
Tears welling
Despondence my escort
The music plays on
I must find the courage
To rise and dance alone
To take those awkward first steps
In time she will come and take my hand
And we will dance together again
(Also published on “Poet’s Corner”)
By Alanna Pass 