Plenty of inspiration...too little time

Wow...who knew finding time to write a few words down on a regular basis would become so difficult.
Life can just get plain busy and mine has been just that. It is funny to look back over the last several days to think about exactly what has kept me so busy because in retrospect it doesn't actually seem like much, but it was the important things...like my children, my husband, my family, and my business. It was merely the day to day of a full life that has kept me away from the computer which in a sense is a good thing. I would hate to think that I put those important things aside just to indulge myself.

The interesting thing is those things have been profoundly inspiring. I closed a chapter in my life at the end of last week that I am so happy to close. I was done, may patience had worn thin and it is a good thing for all involved to move on. I can look back with fond memories and appreciate that it was good at the time, but the time was up. This movement is inspiring as it leaves the door open for so many possibilities the first of which is throwing myself into our business, relieving my husband of some of the day to day and re-connecting with my children on a different level.

Our business has inspired me this week as well. We opened a solo show for one of our most esteemed artists; Travis Shilling, this weekend and it has been so very nice to get to know him better and to have the opportunity to meet his mother Millie. She has the most amazing aura about her and I felt an immediate sense of peace sweep over me as I touched her hand. Some people just have that affect and rarely do they even know it. So unassuming was she, that she had been at the fore front of such an important family of artists. Her husband was the late Arthur Shilling who challenged the artistic conventions of native culture and forged ahead painting as he saw his people and his world. His sons Bewabon and Travis inherited his talent and I dare say his passion for art and have endeared themselves as distinctly talented even beyond the cast of their fathers shadow.

My experience with the Shillings has deepened my appreciation for art, and the process by which an artist creates. It has moved me in a way I did not anticipate. If you happen to be in Muskoka over the next two weeks stop by the gallery to see Travis' new work; Silver Bridge Gallery, 4 Manitoba Street Bracebridge, Ontario.

Travis Shilling signing his new work as it hangs on our gallery wall.

And then there is my husband Jake...he brings such simplicity where I tend to complicate life and I love him for that. We came home from a busy day at the gallery yesterday to realize we had nothing planned for dinner and really not much to choose from in the fridge, so as I am stressing over it, he simply says lets have a picnic and go to the beach...and half an hour later we were eating alongside the water and then joyfully playing with the girls in Lake Muskoka. When we packed everything up and started our return home, I felt like a different person; relaxed, revived, and happy. Just spending those couple of hours doing such simple things as playing in the water and watching my husband with the girls at the park brought the realization that life was pretty perfect.

I also had the chance to re-connect with an old friend which left me feeling nostalgic and happy to remember another time in my life and thankful at the same time that life has moved me in the direction it has.  I enjoyed our breakfast together and hope it was the first of many.

So there you have it. inspiration in the mundane goings on, but if you look for it, are open to it, it will find you.