This is the next chapter in 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women. I have to say that the term 'guides' and 'muses' I find really off putting. The first because it reminds me of dare I say it a lot of new age bollocks and the latter is so highly gendered and any intelligent interrogation of the idea would be exploded by anyone with a modicum of feminist analyisis (Muses are female tend to hover a foot or so off the ground and appear to people like Burns while ploughing).

HOWEVER when I was starting out on my journey as a filmmaker I was incredibly shy, insecure and struggling so I took an an idea from a book by Deena Metzenger from a book of her's Writing for your Life, where she suggests that an artist choose another artist as their muse. And to write letters to your muse and wait for the replies by writing them yourself. So I decided to adopt Derek Jarman as he was a filmmaker who was definately on the margins of the industry but despite that had been incredibly productive. So I wrote to Derek in my journals - I asked him questions and I wrote the replies. Derek I remember was quite brisk precieved roadblocks were not tolerated. The jist of his advice was to 'create anyway'. So I'd really recommend finding a mentor muse who resonates with  you. Frida kalo for an artist with health issues? Anne Redpath for a single parent painter?

(As an aside a wonderful artist friend of mine has asked me to document her work next week in London by super8 so I'm off to reaquaint  myself with the format which Derek introduced me to and sychronistically her parents were at Uni with Derek at Kings ! The world is small and wonderful).

Not really what I had in mind when I invited my parents over for dinner on sunday night. Sausage casserole with organic leaks and apple, organic potatoes followed by pear and apple crumble. The problem was that my dad tried to load onto my computer a new anti virus checker. Computers I think are rather like handbuilt dry stane dyke walls and a new virus checker is rather like removing a stone from near the bottom of the wall with simply disasterous results. Now the computer has gone to computer hospital and my dad is muttering about XP upgrades and I'm checking my emails at internet cafes.

I'm totally reliant on google for info like address, phone numbers of businesses, I'm now having to batch my information gathering and make lists of stuff that I want to do rather than drifting over to the computer when I feel like it and doing a few emails. On the downside I feel a bit adrift a bit marooned and cut off on the upside I'm more focussed, have knitted a lot more (baby blanket nearly finished !) I've done a bit more phoning than emailing, and I'm much much more focused and therefore more productive. An interesting experiment!

A core tool of the Artists Way is a week of 'Reading Deprivation' where people are urged to take a week off from reading and other inwashes of media. The results are always surprising. The first one being that people reported masses of time for actually being creatie and also finding new hobbies, reconnecting with people and their own spirit instead of drowning it out with a mass of'information' 'entertainment' 'trivia'.

Perhaps I need to schedule internet retreats?

Eco graffiti instructions to make a moss 'paint' here.

Image from here

Today inspired by Christine Kane's post 101 ways to be your own happy valentine and my own ongoing attempts to establish Love Yourself Day. So on the way back from the Post Office I nipped into the Chinese Supermarket on Leith Walk and bought two rice bowls to use for pudding and then to a flowershop to buy two polyathus plants to remind me that spring will surely come. Also chose to spend money in local indpendent shops inspired by Purple Love Week (see links at side)