The Art of the Reframe
For weeks, I could not get the color apricot out of my head. I don’t know what that’s about, but I know enough to follow these curiosities when they arise. So, after meeting a friend for lunch the other day, I popped into the art supply store and treated myself to a stash of new paints.
This might be a good time to mention: I am not a painter. Well, technically I am now: I paint. But I certainly don’t know what I’m doing.
I’ve had a little easel and paints in the basement for years and it wasn’t until last week that I took the plastic off the damn canvas and dug in.
With B.B. King in the background and basement mess all around me, I met a new part of myself. My friends – it was FUN. I may never want to hang the canvas on the wall, but I’m having a blast popping down to work on it.
So what finally got me down to the basement to unwrap the canvas? The space was still a mess, the talent was still…nascent.
My thoughts around painting had changed -- been reframed, if you will. (I make no apologies for my love of puns.)
I heard someone (I wish I could remember who!) say: think of art supplies as experiences rather than precious resources.
That was the mental shift I needed.
When I didn’t have to be good at it, I could embrace Beginner’s Mind. Which is flipping fantastic because that means I get to be curious, play.
Here's a great thing about Beginner's Mind: it can work like a faucet. You can turn it on and let it run.
