My aching bones

I'm no athlete or anything, but it seems to me that I should start warming up and stretching my arms, shoulders, hands and back before and after drawing and painting sessions.

I hit 29 years old and things that never hurt me before are bothering me now; like my lower back... what the heck? Sitting hunched over in a a chair for hours at my desk can't be taken lightly anymore! And I guess that the bitter cold we've had this winter affects the body too. Geez- who knew? I'm learning something new every day.

This reminds me of my very first day at RISD. My very first class at art school was a drawing class, where the teacher made us stand and stretch our arms; doing big circles in the air for what seemed like a good half hour (I'm probably exaggerating). We then sat in a big circle, each in front of our drawing pads with blindfolds on (yes, really), feeling the paper with our hands for what seemed like way too long once again, before we were even allowed to pick up a piece of charcoal to draw with. Needless to say, I was asking myself what in the world I had gotten myself into by choosing to go to an art school- But it all worked out in the end! I will forever be grateful to Professor Tom Mills for teaching us that we need to protect and be in tune with our bodies when drawing. It sounds dramatic, but it's really true!

Ah, now I'm missing those art school days...

OK- time to get up, stretch and get back to work! (should my shoulders be cracking every time I swing my arms around in a big circle? Somebody should make a jazzercize video for painters...)

P.S. Tom Mills is a genius- he woke up at 4 or 5 every morning to write in his dream journal... and I only ever saw him ingest Diet Dr. Pepper and cigarettes: all the fuel he needed.