Getting the Wheels Turning

I have a new running stroller; to take my cat running with me. I like to run but for right but my cat does not. Spring is just coming to Michigan and I have to get my sea legs or running legs back in shape again after the long winter. So what does this have to do with art?

What’s good for the heart is good for the brain or so I’ve been told. As you walk three main types of thought appear: Practical, Creative, and Observational.

Practical, like "It's a long time since the I clean off my desk and sent out a news letter," sets up mundane priorities and must-do lists.

Creative, like "What would happen if I started a new series of butterflies with an abstract quality?", This gives new insight, answers problems and lays the foundation for what happens next.

Observational, like "Wow the trees are starting to bud and did I see a daffodil starting to bloom. I notice yesterday, that I have pussy willows in the ditch by my driveway. Have they always been there and I just didn’t see them until I cut down the weed or did they just spring up?

With practice, you can rebalance the three main types of thought to your own needs. My idea has been to get attainable creative benefits. A slight uphill grade right out of the studio can get things going right away. Typically, the creative zone kicks in after a few minutes.

Other runners tell me walking/running with a talkative person can derail private thought keeps you from getting into the zone. If you must go with a friend, take a four-legged, mute or in my case a cat. Now you see why I have a new stroller.I have a friend I love to walk with so I will walk with her but I will run with my cat.

When my studio work comes to a block, problem need to be focused on,I will put down my brush grab my cat and stroller and go for a run, blood will soon be checking out the remote corners of my brain. Answers will materialize like gifts and creativity will surge.

I've noticed that fresh ideas know no geographic spot. They merely appear can go in a moment so I always carry a notebook in my pocket just one of those small 99 cent ones and a pencil. I like a pencil because I can also sketch an idea if one should pop into my head, particularly on longer walks/runs. That is the nice thing about the running stroller, there is lots of rum for stuff: extra coat, coffee, note book and pencil. So running/walking really get the mental wheels turning also the stroller wheels .

"The moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow." (Henry David Thoreau) "Going out for a walk, I really found I was going in." (John Muir) "Angels whisper when we walk." (Raymond Inmon)