The little Western Wood-Pewee is a new favorite of mine, mostly because a juvenile likes to perch on the water spigot outside our dining window to forage for bugs. I love watching it cock its head left and right searching for insects before swooping out and returning to its perch, sometimes with a fly between its beak. Finally, the American Goldfinch caught my attention with its brilliant colors and swooping flight. More birds on my “bird card” list including Grosbeaks and Ruddy Ducks! Any requests?

Great Horned Owl: The past few mornings I’ve heard a Great Horned Owl pair calling to each other in the early dawn. I love waking up to their soft “Hoos.” I’ve seen them once, but could only make out their large silhouettes against the deep blue sky.

California Quail: These were around during the winter,  but lately I’ve enjoyed seeing them dash across the road while I run. They somehow manage to look dignified as they hurry along, their feet just a blur beneath their bodies.

Western Meadowlark: This one is a treat with its beautiful song warbling melodically over the landscape. In spite of the morning chill, I’ve opened my office window so I can hear them better.

As I’ve recovered, I’ve found a few other sources of inspiration and self-care:

• 750words.com: this website offers a space to write morning pages, as inspired by Julia Cameron’s The Artist Way. I’ve written morning pages in the past in a journal, but I’ve enjoyed sorting out my thoughts and day online in mornings, especially as I manage my tasks and to-dos on my computer with Things.

• Yogamazing video podcast: I wake up early (typically 5am) and love to start my day stretching in front of the wood stove. I recently discovered this great quality video podcast by Chaz Rough and enjoying following the series on my iPod Touch. (He’s a bit chatty at times, but otherwise wonderful). At least a dozen of the 20-30min videos are available for free in the iTunes Store.

The following videos also wonderful: Ira Glass-whom-I-adore talking about improving craftsmanship and Srikumar Rao on “investing in the process” and not the outcome.

Both these videos made me reflect on what my brushmaker friend in Japan once told me, “Before you can think of becoming a master you must make at least 10,000 pieces.” (Read related blog post)

On the note of being productive with my art, here’s a Bird of the Day card- the Northern Pygmy Owl! I just saw one today by our barn, a fierce, tiny, grumpy/incredibly cute looking bird that was being scolded by two Say’s Phoebes.

What steps do you follow to re-center and re-focus?

My first step was deciding what information I needed to record in the forms. The screen shot below illustrates the form I built for my artwork.

Bento allows me to make calculations between several of the fields, so I’ve included my stock (quantity – quantity sold), as well as adding up my materials cost and calculating my profit. I also can link to my customers in my address book and add supporting documents including invoices and scans of the images. Keep in mind that data fields are easy to create, customize, and move around. You can create whatever layout may best suit your needs.

Bento 3 added the feature of thumbnail grid view, which as a visual person I love. I can easily scroll through my images. This search function also works well for finding items and there’s an additional spread sheet view. The data can easily be exported to programs such as Numbers or Excel for backing up.

Here’s my address book form. It’s fairly basic, but note that it links to works purchased with room for additional notes for how I may have met someone. That’s the overview! Let me know if you have any questions and I’d love to hear how you organize your businesss and inventory.

Ah, and for something a little different, here are some bird studies from the week (with a thank you to Dean Bandes and Kelsang Jorlam for the suggestions). Let me know if there’s one you’d like to see!

Mountain Bluebird

Common Raven

Cedar Waxwing

Right now in addition to my regular art endeavors, I’m learning to save lives by taking a distance learning Wilderness First Responder course through the Wilderness Medicine Training Center. I’m studying this week at home and will be in Mazama, WA (one of my favorite regions) May 21 – 27 for the practical exam. As an Expeditionary Artist, I endeavor to be able-bodied and capable! On that note, I thought I’d share a couple of my affirmations (and a bird for spring…) that I use to keep perspective and focus. What are your affirmations?

Nowadays, my time is stretched between my painting, teaching, correspondence, applications, and general business up-keep. While considering new habits for my routine, I’ve come across two inspiring blogs: Daily Routines (how creative-types organize their day) and Zen Habits (simple productivity). 

My current ideal day:

5am: wake-up and exercise (running or heading out for an early swim) followed by a leisurely breakfast where I plan my most important tasks of the day. 

7am – 10am: Art making. I warm up with a bird study and continue on with my other projects. I often work on multiple pieces at once so I’m occupied while my washes dry.

10am: Email check and correspondence

11:30am: Lunch followed by nap! A 30 minute nap can be so refreshing. 

1am – 5pm: Misc. work, email check at 4pm, and I try to end my day with empty inboxes. 

Evenings are for fun! I enjoy reading, movies from the library, and there’s nothing like a hot bath on a winter’s night.

Birds of the past week- I’m enjoying waterbirds! 

With the move and new year, I’ve been cleaning my office and studio and re-establishing my productive patterns and routines that I depend on to complete my projects. I want to share a few of my favorite resources and tools that I find particularly helpful. Twyla Tharp’s book, The Creative Habit, helps me reflect on my creative process and the importance of practice. Getting things Done, by David Allen, has inspired me to organize my studio and office and think about the flow of task and ideas from my inbox to realization and completion. Complementing that, is the new “Things” task management program. Finally, some specific routines that I love are waking up early (ideally before 6am), exercising daily (helps me sleep), and having a creative moment first thing in the morning. For me, these are currently my “bird of the day” cards which give me the opportunity to learn some thing new and play with my paints. I’ve included a couple of my latest below.

Other news, Saturday I had a wonderful time giving two demos at the Seattle Daniel Smith and next month, November 16, I will give a workshop on painting mountains. I’d love to have you join me! And finally, another bird for my species list… the Rock Dove, aka common pigeon.