"I sit and sit in the silence, looking hard into the blankness and wait and wait quietly for my hand to bring me a form, for my heart to speak to me and for spirit to surface. In making art we use our bodies and our minds, our hearts and our spirit. Spirit, once it comes, sits on our shoulders and gives us vision and presence, brings form and speaks to the spiritual practice of art making." - Nancy Azara, Spirit Taking Form. 
The rain has put paid to my wood cutting plans for today but it's great weather for developing ideas. One of my art making rituals is to surround myself with art books and sketching materials while I mull over the possibilities. This seems to signal to my subconscious that it's time to produce something. Even writing this blog is a signal of sorts. It was one of the reasons I started a blog. If I write about the art process, it encourages me and puts me in the right frame of mind.
I have also adopted one of Twyla Tharp's methods which she writes about in her book, The Creative Habit. Being one of America's greatest choreographers she is often dreaming up new steps and dances. She starts off by first labelling a box with the name of the project and as the ideas begin to take shape she sketches and makes copious notes which she then puts in the box. Clippings, CDs, videotapes, books, photographs or anything pertaining to this project goes into the box as well. It is an excellent way of organizing thoughts especially when you are uncertain.
"....the box means I never have to worry about forgetting. One of the biggest fears for a creative person is that some brilliant idea will get lost because you didn't write it down and put it in a safe place. I don't worry about that because I know where to find it. It's all in the box." - Twyla Tharp.
So far my box contains sketches, notes, magazine cuttings and photos of old doors, a few metal objects that I might use, a bottle of copper nails, seed beads, a coil of wire and a block of wood I've been experimenting on. It's a good start!
"When inspiration doesn't come, I go halfway to meet it." - Sigmund Freud
