The paintings in progress...

What inspired this series of paintings?

1008 Meditations on the Human Condition: The Evolution of an Idea

Each painting in this series takes as it’s title some kind of disorder or behavioral, psychological or physical condition that I’ve culled from medical encyclopedias and dictionaries from the 1960s.

Various definitions culled from old medical encyclopedias

As I looked through these encyclopedias, it was sobering to grasp just how delicate the balance of the human organism is, and yet how miraculously most of us are almost perfectly healthy. But there is so much that can go awry, from either nature or nurture, and then how do we deal with it, or attempt to heal it?

Initially, I started painting right into the encyclopedias, as a daily meditation and creative practice experiment. I thought that this practice would be a kind of solo meditation retreat for myself, that I could do from the comfort of my own workspace in the heart of Los Angeles, where I was living at the time.

For more than two decades now, I have found that a more or less daily meditation practice is something that keeps me healthy in body, mind and spirit. For an even longer time, since I was a teenager, I’ve maintained an almost daily writing practice, that I’ve done in sketchbooks with ample drawing and painting.

This was not something I considered art, more just as a sketchbook of ideas and feelings where I could let anything happen. They were my journals, so I was, and still am, intensely private about their contents.

Many years later I would start referring to these books as visual journals, but at the time, I didn’t have a name for them, nor did I know anyone else with this strange habit of documenting their world. But it helped me make sense of things, so I kept working in this way. It became my therapy, my lifelong creative practice, and the basis of my work with others.

In Los Angeles, I was looking to cultivate a strong creative practice to get into painting again, something I had stopped doing about eight years prior. So I thought I’d do a painting a day in this set of encyclopedias about human behavior, after my morning meditation, and that would be my practice.

Beginning sketches in the kitchen of my L.A. apartment. Note: you don't need a fancy studio to work. I began this project with only 2 square feet of counter space to work on. But don't do what I do and eat while painting. Not a good mix: paint and food.

After just a few days of painting this way, the project evolved into something else entirely. Still thinking of the paintings as a personal sketchbook, I started painting on scraps of cardboard from the recycling bin of my apartment building, because I wanted to have the paintings out in the studio, not closed up in a book.

After doing about a dozen paintings, the idea of the 1008 Meditations on the Human Condition came into focus, and that’s where the project is to date.

Well….I did want to start painting again. That was the intention of the creative practice to begin with.

What is the figure? Are those Buddhas?

I think people should see what they want to see in these pieces. For some, they see a Buddha.

In the Buddhist tradition, we talk about developing our Buddha nature. This is done, in large part, through the practice of meditation. Meditation is an act of observing the mind and body without judgment, without interpretation. The meditator is literally sitting there, watching the mind. Breathing, and coming back to the present moment. Simple, not easy. Especially after five minutes or 30 minutes or five or ten days.

"Anxiety Hysteria" detail from 1008 Paintings Project.

So, for me, these figures represent the person sitting with what is: the ups and downs of life, the myriad human conditions that affect us all, directly or indirectly at one time or another. They also represent the Buddha nature of the meditator.

At large meditation retreats, I am always struck by the sight of hundreds of people sitting together. Each person sitting with all of their thoughts and memories and aches and pains and not leaving the room. Simply sitting with what is: simple, yet not so easy.

Whether a person meditates or not, we are all sitting with so much going on inside of us. Not literally sitting in meditation, but going about life with all of these thoughts and feelings and problems and challenges and joys and sorrows that no one else can see.

Everyone has these worlds within them, these human conditions and struggles, these breakthroughs and joys. But we don’t talk about it much, and it doesn’t really show in the outer world. I have always been fascinated with the interior life of us humans, and all of the unseen forces that shape us into who we are.

What are the paintings made of?

Recycled materials form the basis of this project. I’m painting on found pieces of cardboard, cut to size. The paintings are painted on top of my mixed media collages, made from old human behavior textbooks and encyclopedias and paper that I paint in my studio then tear up for collage.

Why 1008 Paintings?

When I was designing this creative challenge for myself, I wanted it to feel sort of like a marathon, or a long meditation retreat, which is equally arduous, but in a different way.

So, 100 paintings didn’t feel like enough of a marathon for me. 1,000 paintings felt much more like a marathon, in the mildly impossible category for me (considering I’m also doing a bunch of other stuff).

When I got up to 1,000, it was a natural step to round up to 1,008, which is a sacred number in many spiritual and mystical traditions, especially in Buddhism. The number 1008 represents the infinite, and is said to contain the dimensions of the universe. I’m not a scholar on these things, but the number 1008 just felt right as I sat with it.

My Psychological and Spiritual Training: The Short Version Minus the Gory Details (because the gory details make it a much longer story)

At the same time I was studying to become a psychotherapist, I was also practicing meditation and exploring various spiritual paths, including Buddhist, Christian, Sufi, Sikh and various indigenous traditions that seemed to keep finding me.

By the time I was working as a therapist in an in-patient psych hospital, I was already thinking that therapy was missing something, but I didn’t know how to articulate it.

All I knew was: I had already consumed lot’s of therapy, and I didn’t think it really helped me.

This realization that bothered me a lot, especially since I had just spent six years of my life and about a hundred thousand dollars getting the credentials to be a therapist. Uh oh.

"Automatic Writing" detail view, from the 1008 Paintings Project

What did help me was writing, making art and practicing meditation. So this is what I started doing with my patients.

Eventually, I quit working at the psych hospital because it occurred to me that all I really wanted to do was make art, and work with people who were willing to confront their issues without being locked up.

Also, the medical model of in-patient psychotherapy, driven and controlled by insurance companies, was not something that I observed was particularly healing, or even ethical, at times.

It took me about 10 more years to articulate, at least to myself, what I felt was missing with therapy: it was focused on what was wrong, it continually looked toward the past, and asked a lot of why questions which, even if you could answer why you did something or acted a certain way, didn’t really help you change or heal.

Plus, I was always bothered by the fact that psychotherapy was a very young “science” that was made up by a few pretty dysfunctional western white guys. Surely, their views and methods must be biased by that alone. Where was the female perspective? The indigenous perspective? The non-European, middle-class perspective? What about all of the wealth of healing traditions from the far corners of the world, going back for thousands of years?

Conversely, meditation practice looks at what is right with you, starting with where you are right now, focuses in the present moment and makes room for paradox and inquiry.

In these explorations, I found there is more than one answer for our questions, and our problems are not just interpreted as something pathological, but as an intelligent reaction to something that really was amiss. These ancient philosophies and traditions show us a bigger picture of our identity, as spiritual beings, and not just defined by our personalities, our ego identities or even physical bodies.

The more I studied various spiritual paths, I noticed that at root, they all agreed on key important points, even as they used different language, terms or deities to express them differently. The teachings and practices went back for millennia, and again, there were certain commonalities that existed cross-culturally, including using the arts for healing. These factors kept me exploring and applying what I was learning to my own healing process.

This is all still a huge exploration for me. The more I “learn” and study, the more questions I have, really. This 1008 Paintings Project is opening up whole new worlds for me, while at the same time, bringing together the seeming divergent paths that have so shaped my own creative work, and the work I do with others.

Typical view of my work table. A strong cup of green tea + painting = bliss.

Related posts:

1. 1008 Paintings Project Update #4
2. Painting #1: Anxiety (from 1008 Paintings Project)
3. Painting #2: Autoerotism (from 1008 Paintings Project)

A couple weeks ago, during a strategic planning review, I thought about setting a new, small daily action around creativity, which is one of my areas of focus.

The 1008 Paintings Project has been lurching along in fits and starts, and wondered if setting up some kind of daily action in this department would help smooth things out.

Sitting with pen in hand, contemplating what sort of assignment I might give myself, I had one of those struck-by-lighting-bolt moments. A voice within me said, quite clearly:

“Don’t add one more thing to your to-do list (I accidentally just typed d0-d0 list). You are already doing tons of daily creative actions.

Really? I am? (Answering back in my head. If I answered out loud, that would signal a different problem.)

“Yeah. Why don’t you write down everything creative you already did today, for example?”

By the way, this whole voice thing happened as the smell of my neighbor’s burnt toast drifted into my apartment. Not exactly the burning bush, but the biblical similarity was noted.

So I made the list. Being the a visual person, I wanted a pretty list in my journal. But didn’t have any pretty paper on hand.

Actually, I wanted ledger paper, the kind used for accounting. I’d been thinking a lot about how financial terms, like those used in accounting, are used liberally in productivity, goal setting, and even the whole self-help diaspora.

Give Yourself Credit

Hold Yourself Accountable

Small Change — Big Results

Don’t Shortchange Yourself

Lo! In my stash of workshop supplies here in Mexico, is a lovely handmade journal, made mostly with recycled ledger paper, from my friend Minnie.

She gave this to me a year ago, and it’s in the too-beautiful-to-use category. This image shows clear plastic sleeves she added full of lovely collage ephemera to play with.

Since I’m always telling people to dare to use their precious supplies (paper? I promise, you’ll get more) I got the journal out and dared to make a mess of it. Not using our supplies is a good way to get nice and blocked. But that’s another lecture for another time.

The journal from Minnie is the perfect journal to use for what turned out to be a very compassionate creative action: a daily accounting of everything creative I did. And there’s a time limit on the action. I’m just doing it for a month, or whenever the journal ends.

I’m not sure yet what this practice will reveal, all I know is that it feels good to acknowledge all that is getting done, and that am creative everyday.

The pages titles are stamped into the book as I think of them.

I call it my Ta-Da List.

Which sure beats the pants off the tired old Do-Do list.

Speaking of small daily actions, I’m doing an online “accountability” experiment with whoever wants to play along. You can check out this post on Small Daily Actions to learn more and join in.

So, what did you Ta-Da today?

What other accounting terms can you think of that go with this theme? (I’ve run out, I think.)

How do you give yourself credit for all you do? Or not?

What are your antidotes to the never-ending To-Do List?

If you are interested in daily creative acts, check out Creative Every Day, the luscious and inspiring website by Leah Piken Kolidas. She hosts regular Creative Every Day challenges which are a great place to connect with others.

I was thinking about her work when I was wondering what my daily creative action might be. Here it is, Leah!

p.s. My friend Minnie, when she isn’t playing with paper, makes the most unique jewelry I think I’ve ever seen. You can find her blog here.

Related posts:

1. Daily (Good) Habits: An online experiment in Daily Actions
2. What’s on your Scared To-Do List?
3. Embrace Stuckness

Trimming 200+ paintings = not fun.

Measure Twice, Cut Once

Let the above photo illustrate the intuitive creative mind at work.

(For those of you creatives who work with precision and measure things, you can sit back and have a good laugh.)

What Happened?

Ever since I moved to Oaxaca for an extended stay, my 1008 Paintings Project has just not had the big thrill it had when I was really cooking on it in December. I found myself not working on it much, and feeling just…stuck.

I did work a bit, in fits and starts, but something was bugging me and I couldn’t figure it out. I especially couldn’t figure it out in a time frame that was acceptable to me (like, yesterday) which just proved to make me feel more stuck.

My boyfriend, Juan, patiently listened to me on our nightly Skype calls where I reported doing not much with the project and feeling crappy about it. One night, I was really quite bummed out about it, and he said something along the lines of:

“Well, why don’t you just quit, then? Rename the project 108 Paintings and be done with it.”

That just made me feel worse, because I knew that giving up was not the answer. When I was done crying about it ready to brainstorm further, we talked about the two major reasons we get blocked on a creative project:

1. There is some kind of flaw with the project. Could be some kind of technical issue that needs to be addressed.

2. Our inner critic has taken over and is finding every reason under the sun why there is something wrong with us, or our creation, or both, and we might as well just quit. By the way, this voice is very often quiet, and speaks in reasonable tones, pointing out valid reasons why we have better things to do. More often, we don’t hear a voice at all, just have a vague feeling of angst or depression and can’t figure out why.

The next day, after meditating in my studio, I sat there gazing at a stack of paintings, wondering how I could possibly hang them on the wall so I could see them all at once. Then I remembered that I bought these plastic sleeves at the office supply to store them in once they were scanned and cataloged.

Why not hang them in the wall, right in the plastic sleeves? This would keep the dust out and solve the problem of not knowing exactly how the cardboard supports are going to be mounted.

When I realized the paintings fit perfectly in the sleeves, I suddenly had a burst of energy to get them all scanned at cataloged at hung on the wall.

Except…only the first few fit. All the rest were cut about 2-3mm or 1/8″ larger. And not cut well.

This was my fault, as I had my studio assistant cut the cardboard based on some imprecise (and always changing) template of whatever painting happened to be closest to her cutting area. I actually didn’t want the boards cut perfectly, I wanted them to be a bit more organic in shape.

Organic yes. Misshapen and trapezoidal, no. I wondered how in the hell I hadn’t noticed this before.

The good news: I realized my block wasn’t (this time) an inner critic thing. It was a technical issue that needed to be addressed. Once I knew what needed to be done next—trim about 210 paintings, plus the other 200 boards we already prepped for painting—I was back in business. Excited about the project again.

Now I’m alternating between trimming and scanning the trimmed pieces. Scanning is working so much better than photographing them. Thanks to a reader here who left that suggestion in the comments on an earlier update. Not knowing how to best easily and quickly capture and catalog the images, and also display them in my workplace, are two more technical issues that stalled my whole creative process.

I’m doing all of this work myself, as I don’t yet have an assistant here in Oaxaca.

If only Candy, the cutie-pie schnauzer who lives next door, could wield a box-cutter. That’s her peeking in the window. She comes over every morning the minute I open my curtains to see what I’m up to. I call her the supervisor.

If You’re Blocked on a Creative Project

Consider the above two common reasons for being blocked, and see what floats to the surface. I recommend taking some long walks and getting good sleep. It allows the conscious mind to be more receptive to something new. Juan encouraged me to get back to daily walks, and I culled this gem from my my notes:

Zen Quote from Juan

Whenever you give yourself a little bit of space, a little bit of compassion, you enter this other dimension of creativity and peace that flows with it’s own rhythm.

Consider Quitting.

Something else that helped me break through this particular block was letting myself really think about quitting, or changing the goal. Remember that reverse psychology stuff? Juan said he egged me on about quitting, not to frustrate me, but to help me realize that if I wasn’t going to quit, then what?

Find a Dog

I love that Candy is always interested in my work. At least that’s what I imagine. What if we took that same kind of interest and curiosity that dogs have to our creative dilemmas? They certainly will always beg us to go for those long, meandering walks…how smart is that?

Related posts:

1. 1008 Paintings Project Update #6: How Living in Mexico is Like Zen Practice
2. 1008 Paintings Project Update #4
3. Update #5: 1008 Paintings Project (Adrenal Glands: Take Refuge)

Photo by Tamsim Slater.

In Part 1 of this series on Goal Setting for Creatives, I introduced the annual planning process I use to create and track my goals for the coming year. Out of this process, I create my own Strategic Planner, which is a portable, visual booklet that serves as a beautiful and practical reference of the goals I’ve created for the year.

Part 2 shows you exactly how to design achievable goals by using a handy spreadsheet I developed.

In Part 3, I’ve created a video to show you how my 2010 Strategic Planner looks so far and how to put together your own.

Now comes the hard part: staying the course through the ups and downs of life. That is, all the things that pop up to derail us from those best laid plans we worked so hard to create.

By the way, if you did make a plan: good for you. Most people don’t do it, they think about doing it.

If you are still thinking about making a plan, good for you, too. Even more people don’t think about making a plan to get from where they are to where they want to be.

But since you’re here, reading this right now, you’re either thinking about it or have a plan in progress. I mention all of this up front to acknowledge that making (and sticking with) and kind of new goal is really hard sometimes. It might even be hard a lot of the time, depending.

Now that we’ve acknowledged that you are a gorgeous genius for even considering the courageous topic of goals, here are some guidelines and tools to help you design goals that can stand up to the trials that life (and our own old habits of mind and action) will present the minute we’ve decided to make a positive change or start something new.

Take a deep breath.
Staying on Track with Your Goals is more easily taken with a spoonful of sugar in the form of mantra (a phrase you can repeat often when you get scared or feel overwhelmed).

Our mantra is an ancient proverb from Japan:

Fall down seven times, get up eight.

I invite you to gently keep that in mind as we continue.

First: Make Sure Your Goals Are SMART

Because you can’t really stay on track if you’re not first on the track. Thankfully, someone, somewhere in the world of business invented this neat little acronym to evaluate our goals as being true goals, not just vague intentions subject to interpretation.

SMART is an acronym to help you remember the criteria of an effective goal: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timebound. If all of these criteria are in place, the goal is strong. These criteria make the goal more objective and less subjective.

SPECIFIC
Criteria such as frequency, rate, or percentage set for a specific outcome. “Expand product line” is open to interpretation. “Launch one new product line per year, consisting of three items with four color variations each” is specific.

Questions to ask: What specifically will the outcome for this goal look like? Could someone who did not set the goal gauge its success or failure? Specificity takes subjectivity out of the equation.

MEASURABLE
The way to measure the specific goal. Devise a system for tracking progress on the goal. Decide how, who, when, and where the goal will be measured and reported on.

Questions to ask: How will I know for certain I am making progress on the goal? How would someone else know? For business goals, if you have employees, how will they know they successfully meeting the goal or not? What quantifiable measures (number, frequency, percentage, time) are in place to track the goal?

ACHIEVABLE
Given available resources (such as time, money, help), and previous experience, how achievable is the goal?

Questions to ask: What resources must be in place to support this goal? Is it reasonable to expect these resources are available at this time? Do I have capabilities required to accomplish this goal within the time frame set?

RELEVANT
How is the goal meaningful to what you most want out of life? Or, for a business goal: how is the goal meaningful to the person assigned to execute it and to the company in general?

Questions to ask: For what purpose am I taking on this goal? Will the achievement of this goal positively affect my quality of life and/or business in significant ways? How is this goal aligned with what I value most?

TIMEBOUND
This is simply putting a timeline on the goal.

Questions to ask: By what date will this goal be completed? Without a deadline, an goal becomes a moving target that cannot be hit.

The Acid Test for a SMART Goal:

Someone else should be able to look at your goal and be able to understand exactly what the outcome should be. They should be able to evaluate whether or not the goal is progressing or not, based on the criteria you set.

A well-designed goal can be easily communicated to and acted upon by others, not just the author of the goal.

SMART criteria are especially handy when two or more people are working on something. It gets everyone on the same page, without ambiguity. It greatly facilitates communication. Since SMART criteria are objective, they can be looked at without emotion or drama.

Now that you know how to make SMART goals, use following guidelines for staying on track. They are presented in no particular order. Mix and match, make your own recipe.

Measure Your Results: Early and Often

Have you ever set a goal and then never really looked at it again? Usually we don’t look because we’ve gotten derailed almost before we started.

The best way to deal with this is to set up a measurement system and decide how often you’re going to chart the results. Your measures are in place to give that all-important objective feedback, not feed a shame spiral.

Check in as often as is reasonable, depending upon your goal. Budgetary type goals might only require a monthly check in. Weekly charting will give more immediate feedback — crucial if you can’t wait until the end of the month to count the money. A weight-loss goal might require a daily check in. The key is to find what works for you.

A daily check in works wonders for things that we are taking, well, one day at a time over a long haul. Things like quitting bad habits, starting new good habits, and goals that are related to significant personal changes that have been difficult to achieve.

Check In Early, Often and Fun

The more fun and nurturing and inspiring you can make your follow up and review time, the better.

These are simple things you can do to make the experience positive, instead of a big drag. Because guess what? We won’t do things that are a big drag.

Anything you can do to build in positive rituals with your check-in’s will begin to anchor positive feelings around your goals. Which is a big support when we are in rut.

Have a favorite cup of tea, light a candle, play inspiring music, do your review at a cafe or in another location that inspires you. If you have a buddy, schedule a virtual or in-person meeting to do your reviews together and plan for something fun.

Speaking of Fun: Treats

Build in some rewards for all of your hard work. They don’t have to cost money or be food-related if those run cross-current to your goals. List all of the simple things that give you pleasure, and build them in as rewards. Good dog! Get a treat. It works.

Get out your calendar as soon as you create you goals and schedule the check-in sessions. If you already have goals and don’t have a check-in plan in place, get one. Without it, your goals will tend to drift (or drown) with the currents of life.

Make Your Daily Tactics Something You Love (or at least like a lot)

Know what motivates you, and do more of that. If you hate to exercise, find something you like to do that will get you moving that doesn’t feel like exercise. For example: meeting a friend for a walk, instead of at a cafe where the pastries beckon. Or taking up some kind of sport or movement (martial arts, dance, yoga, hiking) that you really like.

Additionally, layer in as much pleasure as you can to the experience. Walking in nature, dance classes with great music, catching up with a good friend while you walk. The key is for the motivator to be so compelling that you actually look forward to it, instead of dread it.

Try Mastering One Goal at a Time

Maybe you’ve got a lot of irons in the fire and are tackling several goals at once. That’s fine if you are able to do it all. But if you are struggling, try reducing the number of goals until you find the right balance.

This is usually not what we want to hear, especially if we are in any way desperate to get big results fast. (Like losing 30 pounds in 2 weeks while writing a novel, holding down a full time job, raising kids, and training for a marathon.) That is only a slight exaggeration of how full our plates are with life, and then we go and add ambitious and lofty goals on top of it all.

Prioritize

Lessening the number of goals is easier when we prioritize. Make a list of all your goals and rank them from 1, being highest priority, 2, for second, and so on….until each item on the list has a number. This will probably feel impossible. If every item feels like a number 1, that’s a sign that there’s too much going on at once.

Something’s gotta give.
Let those items at the bottom of the list fall off or set aside until another time, at least until you’ve got traction with your highest priorities.

Instead of Throwing in the Towel, Consider Lowering Bar

A lot of times, the reason that we’re not accomplishing our goals is because we’ve set our standard for achievement too high. Because there is a fair amount of overwhelm and self-judgment built in to this scenario, the tendency is to give up out of shame. And then create all kinds of realistic excuses to try and mitigate that shame. Which doesn’t help us at all to get what we really, really, want.

Instead, make your goal easier. If you’ve got an all or nothing sort of attitude, that’s worth looking at. We’re afraid that tiny incremental progress (the turtle approach) isn’t going to get us to the finish line as fast as we want (remember the hare? didn’t work out so well.)

Make Your Goal Easier

Make your goal easier by looking at your M section in SMART (measurable) and make the measure smaller, less time-consuming, less daunting. It doesn’t matter whether or not your mind thinks you “should” be able to run 30 minutes per day. If you’ve never run before, or haven’t run since the Clinton administration, then maybe the easier goal is to walk for 30 minutes. Or 5 minutes.

In other words, be a turtle.

Locate Potential Conflicts

This might seem obvious, but make sure that you don’t have goals that are actually at cross-purposes with each other. For example, a goal to cut back on spending, and another goal to get in shape.

Next thing you know, you’ve joined an expensive gym, (and you hate gyms, or the location, or the hours, or all of the above), and then feel extra cranky about how it’s messing with your spending plan.

Both goals will go out the window as the the conflict builds. This looks like: paying for a membership and not using it. By the way, gyms depend upon this happening, that’s how they can oversell memberships. Imagine: a business model built on most people giving up!

When you use the SMART criteria and the steps in building a strategic plan, you probably won’t end up with this scenario. But I mention it because conflict between goals is a common pitfall.

The Buddy System

Many successful programs that require ongoing motivation implement the concept of the buddy system (AA, support groups, the zen sangha) so steal this idea from them.

Your buddy should be unconditionally supportive of your goal so they don’t accidentally sabotage your results. Ideally, pick someone not related to you or dependent upon you financially. Your buddy can even be a professional: a therapist or coach or some kind of online network.

There are like-minded people out there in your online social networks who love to connect around getting things done. Find them and see how you can support each other.

Find Your Own Inspiration

Speaking of online social networks, you can search for blogs and websites about the subject you are trying to master. Follow these folks who inspire you and read their blogs.

As a person who lives abroad and has lived and worked alone much of my life, I am grateful that Internet provides a way of connecting with people of like mind who are usually very far away geographically.

Bonus: sometimes my online inspiration folks end up becoming people I work with or become “real life” friends with.

Before the Internet (remember that strange time so long ago?) we had to get our inspiration from books and other media, and had to find support groups in the classifieds or on flyers in the health food store. Plus, the Internet is such a perfect medium for us introverts who are shy about making connections.

Use a Strategic Planner

However you design it, whether it is pocket-sized and portable, or a giant 3-ring binder that lives on your desk (or both!), a strategic planner is a visual, tangible plan that you can hold in your hands and look at everyday. Do not underestimate the power of having your dream/goal/plan mapped out in in a compelling way. Especially if you are a visual learner, creative thinker, or someone who just has a hard time with other types of goal-setting systems.

Personally, I’m very challenged by getting things done (my thinking and emotion modes of functioning are much more developed than my action mode) and I am not naturally well-organized. I have to work at both of those things. Using a strategic planner has made all the difference in helping me manage both, while keeping my artistic self happy.

Parts 1, 2, and 3 show you exactly how to make and use a strategic planner.

Your vision of where or who you want to be is the greatest asset you have. Without having a goal, it’s difficult to score. — Paul Arden

To Wrap Up

These guidelines will help you both set well-designed goals, and to diagnose potential pitfalls in with the goals you are struggling with. When you find out where the weak link is in your plan, adjustments can be made. Rinse and repeat as often as needed until you find the combination of strategies that work for you.

Even just one of these guidelines, when applied, can make the difference that makes the difference.

The important thing to remember is: there are different strategies that work for us at different times in our lives, and for different goals, and in different situations.

So if you’ve tried one or more strategies listed below and did or did not get results, look at what worked and what didn’t. Then try something else, or try it again, with a different perspective, time, person, place.

You know: Fall down seven times, get up eight.

How About You?

Got Some Tips and Stratgies for Staying on Track with Goals? Please share your links, resources and ideas here in the comments.

Related posts:

1. Strategic Planner Tutorial—Goal Setting for Creatives, part 3 of 4
2. The Guts of the Strategic Planner—Goal Setting for Creatives, part 2 of 4
3. Goal Setting for Creatives: My 2010 Strategic Planner, Part 1 of 4

As I toil away on Part 4 of the Strategic Planner series on Goal Setting for Creatives, I keep thinking about how much it’s the small, seemingly insignificant things we do on a daily basis that are the most powerful in moving us forward toward our goals.

Or away, as the case may be.

So, because I love a good experiment, I thought I’d try using Twitter and the twitter hashtag feature to post a tweet about my daily action (the intention) and my result (did I do it or not?).

Then I thought: This will be much more fun if others are doing it, too.

The goal of this experiment is to simply:

1. increase accountability for the small, daily actions that support our larger goals
2. gain support by connecting with others who want to do this

To participate (or just watch,  that’s OK, too):

1. Sign up for a free Twitter account (if you don’t already have one)
2. Post your daily action in Twitter, followed by #dailyaction
   Example: 5 sun salutes #dailyactions
   Example: No refined sugar #dailyactions
   This hashtag enables us to do a search for others who are doing this experiment.
3. Talk amongst yourselves and cheer each other on.

You can also go to TweetChat.com, type in dailyactions, and see a groovy compiled list of all the tweets. Cool, eh?

The link to our chat room on TweetChat is: http://tweetchat.com/room/dailyactions

From time to time, I’ll do a post on how the experiment is going, and will link to your posts about this subject.

Game? What’s your daily action today?

p.s. My twitter id is: @LisaSonoraBeam

If you do this, send me a tweet and let me know, (include #dailyactions in the tweet).

Feel free to share this with others you think might want to play along.

Thanks!

Related posts:

1. Roundup: What are your best creative habits?
2. To-Do List Antitode: Give Yourself Credit

Oaxaca street sign where I wait for the bus

For the last several years, I’ve participated in a Valentine’s Day art swap hosted by my beloved friend, painter, and completely original work of art herself, Ms. Carol Parks.

The swap is by invitation, and you send in a bunch of “valentines” which are mini works of art inspired by the day. In return, you get a gorgeous, decorated box full of these hand-made originals, just in time for Valentines Day.

I mention this because this year I am sadly not participating, due to being in Mexico and also being completely over-extended with all sorts of things that are not nearly as much fun as hand-making Valentines. That’s my lame excuse, and I’m sticking with it.

But in the spirit of sharing the love, I offer you this virtual valentine—a short series of photos showing what I love about Oaxaca, Mexico, where I call home this year.

Valentine display in front of La Olla restaurant, in Oaxaca, Mexico

One of my favorite creative practices is to walk, walk, walk wherever I am and take photos of what I see. It helps me be present, too. So in that sense it’s kind of a walking meditation, artsy-fartsy style.

I love that the original Volkswagen beetles are everywhere in Oaxaca. Their distinctive, sputtering engine sound announces their arrival and departure and is a sound I will always associate with Mexico.

In San Francisco, I had a chartreuse green “new” beetle. My favorite thing about that car is seeing how young children reacted to it when I drove by. Even really tiny kids seemed to know about Beetles and would jump up and down and point at my car. It made driving, which I am not at all fond of, a happy experience.

Street art in Oaxaca

The finest street art I’ve ever seen, until now, was in Paris, France. Now, I’m finding incredible examples of street art all over Oaxaca.

There unfortunately is also a lot of tagging in the city now, which is not graffiti, and not art, just vandalism. It’s heartbreaking to see tags all over colonial limestone buildings and churches. What is up with that?

Street corner nicho in Oaxaca

I love that, if you are paying attention, you might notice a member of the Catholic pantheon watching over the street you are about to cross.

Which is a good thing, because street-crossing here is something to be done with the utmost mindfulness. Or else. The only thing that seems to move with any speed in this country are the vehicles.

The street lights are new within the last several years. I remember Oaxaca with no stop lights and much less traffic. Glad for that.

Calle del Amor

When  I was gathering up a few images for this post, it was clear in my photo editor that these are all images having to do with the street, perfectly matching up with my opening image of the street sign.

I didn’t plan that at all.

May your valentines celebration be full of love for whatever makes your heart sing.

xoxo

Lisa Sonora

p.s.

This fall, (October 28-November 2, 2010) you can join me in Oaxaca for an Artful Traveler workshop taking place during the Day of the Dead celebrations, which originated in Oaxaca. Send me an email or leave a comment if you are interested. I’ll keep you posted on the details.

p.p.s. Love: Internet Style

Also in the spirit of virtual valentines, I want to acknowledge some folks who are so generously expressing themselves, through their work which inspires, and also through support they offer me.

They are, in no particular order:

Jen Louden, for her work in helping women find comfort in so many ways, and for sharing my links and tweets.

@JenLouden Jen’s website: jenniferlouden.com

Mark Silver, who is all about business with heart (perfect for a valentine’s post!). I love his writing and find courage to keep on keepin’ on.

@MarkHeartofBiz Mark’s website: heartofbusiness.com

Britt Bravo, who is truly a social media expert who is all about the social part, including social justice and do-good stuff. Plus, she’s one of the most positive, exuberant people I know, and she get’s shit done! Next lifetime, I want a personality like hers.

@Bbravo Britt’s website: havefundogood.blogspot.com

Kimberly Wilson, who made me very nervous when she signed up for my Mexico retreat (because I wondered how I could possibly help her?!) and is someone I can now call a friend and kindred spirit. If you don’t already know her, she’s defines creative entrepreneur: yogini, yoga studio owner, fashion designer, non-profit founder, author of two fab books, and so much more. You might like to watch and learn from her. I know I am.

@Tranquilista Kimberly’s website: kimberlywilson.com

Colleen Wainwright, a.k.a. The Communicatrix, Colleen is also one of those multi-talented, multi-faceted, deeply creative women whose writing and genius rocks my world. I go to her blog probably more than anyone else’s right now, just because I need to hear what she’s saying. I want to be like her when I grow up.

@communicatrix Colleen’s Website: communicatrix.com

Leah! Visual artist and hostess of Creative Every Day. I am so utterly inspired by the creative output of this woman! How does she do it? Inquiring and overwhelmed minds want to know!

@leah_art Leah’s Website: creativeeveryday.com

Love also, to the folks who have been leaving love notes here on the blog lately, and tweeting up my posts on Twitter! These are creative souls you might want to follow, too.

@thoughtsofjoy @shannatrenholm @JoGiesbrecht @carmentorbus

@Cre8onaMission

@fabeku @SanityJournals @DonnaThomson_AU @brenda2go

Related posts:

1. Where am I? Good question. An update from Southern Mexico.
2. It’s not too late to make handmade valentines! Here’s a recipe to try:
3. 1008 Paintings Project Update #4

A Jesus-shaped bottle of holy water watches over my paintings in progress

Well. I’ve fallen off the wagon as it were. A little. Or maybe a lot.

I just checked the date on my computer calendar and am startled to realize we’re well into the first week of February.

Which means January has come and gone and now it’s time for an official accounting of paintings completed. This will be easy, because the number is:

Zero. Ten. I painted ten in the few days between starting to write and finishing this post.

When I settled in to my apartment in Oaxaca, it was already the last week of January. And if I was going to meet my self-imposed goal of completing 200 paintings per month, I had to do all of them in about six days.

This only served to overwhelm me more than I already was. So of course, I did nothing. Eventually, I painted a little. In starts and stops. I got about 40 paintings in process that week. But didn’t really feel capable of more. It felt like I would have to exert superhuman effort to do more.

Instead, I found myself painting a lot in my visual journals, taking photos of my strange and wonderful new surroundings, and allowing my thinking/doing self to take a back seat for once.

my unfurnished apt. came with a full set of 1992 encyclopedias, which make a great press for flattening the cardboard for the paintings

My theme for this year is

2010: Plenty Zen

I’m living in Southern Mexico, which is a perfect place to practice being in the moment and allowing the flow of life to be more gentle, non-linear, and more ambiguous. You know the concept of being on island time? Well, there is such a thing as being on Mexican time. And I’m not referring to time zones or daylight savings time. Time and space and human interaction happen much differently than in the American urban centers of achievement and commerce where I come from.

Even the Spanish language and communication style is much less direct than English. Getting straight to the point is a very English-language thing to do. When we English speakers try to communicate like that in Spanish, it comes off as being rude and insensitive.

Picture of Juan on my Creativity & Courage altar. Polaroid art is by Chinako Miyamoto*

I joke about all this with my boyfriend, Juan, a native Spanish speaker who also knows a thing or two about Zen. (He’s a senior dharma teacher at a Zen center in Northern California.) I affectionately refer to him as: My Own Personal Zen Master, inspired by that Depeche Mode song from the 80’s, Personal Jesus: “Your own — personal — Jesus”.
Ringtone of “Personal Jesus” by Depeche Mode

Anyway, Juan has also lived in Mexico and kindly sympathizes with me during our nightly Skype calls about how living in Mexico can be so much like Zen practice. Only a lot noisier.

I actually take notes during our calls to help me remember the bigger picture when things are happening that push all of my buttons. That’s code for: when I’m freaking out.

You see, there are things that will likely always freak me out, no matter how much I meditate. Like when a winged cockroach the size of a hummingbird flies in through the screenless window, and buzzes over my head like a bush pilot before landing (right on the yoga mat, of course) and then walking right toward me.

After sweeping the bugger out, (while screeching like a girl all the while) I refer to my Zen notes from Juan and sip some water with a lot of Rescue Remedy in it. Come to think of it, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have something stronger in the house for situations like this. Like Tequila. Wonder what Rescue Remedy would do in a shot?

Today’s Zen Note from Juan:

“It’s about being able to laugh at yourself and your expectations and your plans and all the ways you think things should be.”

My Expectations/Plans Regarding 1008 Paintings Project (as of December 2009)
Paint about 200 paintings/month to so I’ll be finished with the paintings by May 1, 2010.

The actual outcome so far as of February 10, 2009

Paintings Finished: 225-ish
Additional Paintings in progress, near completion: 30

Amount I’m behind: according to original schedule: about 130.

So…I’m recalibrating my project goals to match what is actually happening in my life now. Which fits in neatly with Part 4 of the Strategic Planner series, which I’m just putting the finishing touches on.

*The “Let Love In” Polaroid is from the amazing Chinako Miyamoto.

Related posts:

1. 1008 Paintings Project Update #4
2. A Block and a Breakthrough: 1008 Paintings Project Update #7
3. Update #5: 1008 Paintings Project (Adrenal Glands: Take Refuge)

My art supply bag for Mexico.

Travel and art making have always been equal passions for me. Doing both at the same time equals bliss. The challenge is always: how to travel light with art supplies?

This is a carry-on size duffel that I don’t actually carry on. (Except for a recent incident, explained below.) I put this duffel full of supplies inside a larger checked bag. This keeps the supplies sorted, and also gives the option of checking the supply duffel in case I have collected more stuff during my travels that I need the space for.

• Several sets up alphabet stamps
• Cutting mat, hand-carved rubber stamps (and cutting tool plus extra rubber sheets, not shown)
• Various size circle punches (cuz a girl’s gotta have her polka dots!)
• Cosmetic brush bag that holds paint brushes
• Clear bag that holds ink pads and some clear stamps
• Round gear bag full of stuff I use every day (contents shown below)
• Large clear cosmetic bag full of pens, markers, pencils
• Tub of water-soluable wax crayons
• Large bottles of Gesso, Matte Medium, Glazing Liquid (by Golden, can’t buy in Mexico)
• 

  Close-up view of large cosmetic bag that holds pens, markers, pencils

Pens: I believe I’ve finally given up searching for the perfect black ink pen. I carry about a dozen of the same black pen I’ve used forever: The Sanford Uni-Ball Micro. They are not waterproof, but they hold up perfectly for travel— they don’t leak or respond unfavorably to climate changes.

I have not given up the search for the perfect white ink pen that will work more than two times (damn Uni-Ball Signo) and also write on paint.

Markers: Don’t use these much. But always have a few waterproof Sharpie’s (great not just for art, but for tagging (just kidding), and leaving notes taped to your door in inclement weather.)

Pencils: I love pencils! This is my go-to tool when I need the writing to be waterproof (obviously not talking about watercolor pencils here). I have all sorts of graphic pencils, plus my favorite colored pencils: the huge Lyra Color Giant. Appropriate name.

• Main painting tool while traveling: water soluable wax crayons

Ta Da! You don’t have to travel with paint to paint

In travel situations when I don’t have the luxury of being in one place for a while, don’t have the space to mix paint, or am just traveling carry-on and can’t bring liquids, I don’t even bother bringing paint.

Painting tool of choice: water soluable wax crayons. These come in a variety of brands and all work a little differently. I like the kind by Caran d’Ache called Neo Color II. These are really chunky, though, and heavy. There are more typically crayon-sized versions, just do a google search for water soluable wax crayons.

You can use these with water, but also any water based medium, like glazing liquid. I’ve used these alot in my 1008 Paintings series when I’m too lazy to mix paint.

Cosmetic brush bag makes a great paintbrush holder

Until I invent my own perfect art supply travel bags, I make do with whatever cosmetic bags I find in the Target cosmetics aisle.

My favorite paint brushes are the cheapies that come in a huge bag at the hardware store. For heavy duty painting with mediums, I use nylon paint brushes for kids.

I also have a well-worn set of fancy, shmancy paint brushes from France: Isabey watercolor brushes. I use these when I want very precise lines and detail work. They don’t like mediums too much, so I’m careful to use them with very fluid glazes and wash them immediately. They’re incredibly expensive, but very long-lasting if cared for properly.

The stuff in the blue gear bag

Finally, here are all the supplies I like to have on hand all the time. They live in the blue gear bag.

• Ruler
• Bone folders
• Brayer
• handful of pens, pencils
• permanent ink and bamboo pen
• glue stick
• stain remover
• clear packing tape
• masking tape
• scissors
• sandpaper
• tiny cutting mat
• folding water container with brush pockets
• mini bottles of mediums
• Golden fluid acrylics: just the primaries (to mix my own colors) plus a couple of shades of terracotta colors that I use all the time and am too lazy to keep mixed.
• Nalgene spill-proof bottles hold smaller portions of Gesso and mixed glazes
• A bottle of Traci Bautista’s marvelous Collage Pauge (creates yummy texture and so much fun!)
• Spray bottle of ink
• Plastic bottles with small points used for fine line work
• expired gift, coffee or credit cards: fun way to paint w/out brushes

To keep paint from spilling out, I snip pieces of plastic bags to cover the opening, then screw the tops back on over the plastic. Voila! Instant spill-proof bottles from any bottle.

So…what’s in you bag?

How do you travel light (or not) with art supplies? I’d love to hear your tips and all about your favorite supplies.

—oh, but first—

*The Carry-on Incident Mentioned Above (where all of my sharps were confiscated and I feared the situation might escalate to the International Incident variety)

After the Puerta Vallarta retreat, I was traveling from PV to Oaxaca via Mexico City. Since I was now traveling with the 200+ paintings I finished in PV, my two checked bags were full. So, the art supply duffle would be my third checked bag. Or so I thought.

On the way to Mexico the month previous I was allowed two checked bags. But the rules changed and now I could only have one checked bag. Mexicana Airlines told me it would cost $40 to check an additional bag, and $190 for checking two additional bags. Gulp.

After unsuccessfully trying to understand this math (flashbacks of junior high algebra all over again) $40, then $190…??? I tried a different tactic which usually works out well in these situations: Be an actress and play the role of a very nice but confused traveler.

The script: I’m sorry, but I’m confused. I know you’ve explained everything and I appreciate your patience. I’m wondering, is it possible that there might be another arrangement we can make? Or it is possible there is an exception? Is it possible?

Note: I recommend learning the phrase: Is it possible, in whatever language is being spoken where you are traveling. It has worked magic for me every time, when asked gently, nicely and with a (at this point not faking it now) confused look on my face.

Si! Es possible!

Lo and behold! Yes, something else could be arranged. Now, this doesn’t make sense, but…we’re dealing with the airlines. OK?

They let me pay $40 to check one extra bag.

They told me to carry-on the art supply bag. Even though I already had a wheelie carry-on and a “personal item” i.e., the carry-on sized purse.

I opened the bag to show them the paint. They said liquids are fine when traveling domestic in Mexico.

I forgot totally about the sharps. Which I so thoughtfully put all together, including my damn manicure scissors, lest they be take from my toiletry kit.

Didn’t remember about the sharps until my carry-on bags and I went through the x-ray machine a few times. And more and more officers were called over to look through the weird art supply bag.

Five pairs of scissors?

Soy artista. Soy pintura, I said (with the confused face) while pointing at the paint.

Lo siento. (I’m sorry). At this point I was so nervous I lost all of my Spanish and couldn’t explain why this was actually meant to be a checked bag.

Then they hauled out my half dozen box cutters. Which of course I use for their intended purpose. My 1008 paintings are done on recycled cardboard that I have to cut. With box cutters. Now there were four people combing through my stuff with all the care and patience of a bomb squad.

Lo siento. Lo siento. Lo siento.

At this point, my plane is leaving in 10 minutes. Which is not helping me look less nervous. I made sure my Virgen of Guadalupe pendant was showing (this usually impresses people positively in Mexico) and took a few deep breaths.

Glitter saves the day, I think.

When the most serious official of the officials pulled out bags of glitter from the bottom of my bag, they all started laughing. I’m not sure exactly what the joke was, but I laughed along. Soy artista, I shrugged.

The official shooed everyone back and zipped up the duffel with an air of macho authority, I swear. He handed it back to me with a look like: yeah, we know your type: Glitter-happy, virgen-wearing, gringa tourist who is too stupid to know you’re supposed to put the machete and box cutters in your checked bag.

I decided not to press matters by trying to get my manicure scissors back.

Oh…and when I hauled everything to the plane, of course the crew was freaking out that I had three carry-on’s. Yeah, I know. It doesn’t make sense. They checked my bag at the gate. Which caused a whole different kind of situation at the Mexico City airport. But that’s, as they say, another story.

Related posts:

1. Artistic Acts of Generosity: Your Supplies!
2. The Artful Traveler: Keep Calm & Carry On

Adrenal Glands (Take Refuge) by Lisa Sonora Beam from series: 1008 Meditations on the Human Condition

This Monday I started unpacking my suitcases into the apartment I’m renting in Oaxaca, Mexico where I’ll be working through August of 2010 (except for a trip back to the U.S. in April-May to teach a few workshops in California).

The previous Monday I arrived in Oaxaca from Puerto Vallarta, and was fortunate to be able to stay with a local Mexican family I’ve been friends with for several years. They graciously fed and housed me, then transported and translated for me while we conducted a non-linear (that’s how things happen here) search for my own place.

I’m renting a simple 2 bedroom apartment in San Felipe del Agua, a 10 minute bus ride from Oaxaca’s city center. I like the quiet here, the light, and the steep hills where I’m hoping to burn off last month’s diet of chips and salsa…and more chips. The landscape is not unlike the hills of Marin County, just north of San Francisco, where my “real home” is.

San Felipe "studio" with Adrenal Glands painting on wall.

I’m trying to think of a way to display the paintings on the walls as I complete them. Right now, they consist of just the painting on found cardboard. The plan is to find some reclaimed wood somewhere (perhaps discarded shipping pallets) to make the back supports. The supports will be like a frame, only glued to the back of the piece, to provide needed structure to keep the cardboard from bending. It will also make the pieces easy to hang.

I’ve experimenting with blue painter’s masking tape. So far, Adrenal Glands has been up for 2 days without falling down. If is seems to hold OK, I’ll put up the rest of the 200 plus paintings that are finished.

Yesterday I finally got back to painting again for the first time since January 8th or so, when I had to pack up my Puerto Vallarta studio to teach my retreat, and then do the Oaxaca move from January 18 through 25.

Adrenal Glands: Take Refuge

This was the painting that I grabbed (without looking) out of my stacks of 200 plus completed paintings to test the masking tape.

When I saw the image and the title, it felt a little like my paintings were a divination deck, like the tarot, and they were speaking to me. Taking refuge is just what I need to be doing right now as I settle into working and living again with my own routine and space.

Adrenal Burnout

I’ve been dealing with Adrenal burnout for sometime…and it is confounded by the paradox of having so many ideas and projects, and so little physical energy to do them all. My mental idea of what I could/should be doing rarely matches my output. Even though I actually do produce a lot. Even though most days I’m working a 10 hour day. See? It’s really no wonder I got burnt out.

Finding balance in work and life has always been something I’ve wanted to “achieve” however I’ve not found a way yet to experience this without limiting my focus and letting other things go. For example, when I was in business school, that was about all I could do. It was an intense two and a half years, and I wanted to wring the most out of the experience. So I downsized my life in order to afford to work less and make my job about studying. It’s similar to what I’m doing now, so I can “afford” to paint and do projects that don’t pay a lot.

So far, I have not found a way to “have it all”.

So I’m officially quitting this myth. (It might mean simplifying even more.)

The American culture perpetuates and profits from the myth that we can “have it all” and “do it all” and also…look and feel completely fabulous at the same time. I’m thinking of a specific series of ads for kitchen appliances involving a perky daytime TV hostess with the perfect husband, job, kids, house, body, hair, etc. Just seeing those ads in magazines or on TV makes me tired.

OK. So then why 1008 freakin’ paintings, girl?

I took on this 1008 Paintings project as a way to learn more about how I work, and a way to learn more about this thing called balance, and a way to do more of what I really, really, really want (paint!) in the midst of an already busy life. Also, as stated in previous updates, it’s like a painting marathon. Which is perfect for me since I am not about to do a marathon involving running.

The Project Goal and Where I’m At

The goal is to paint about 200 paintings per month to meet a May 1 completion date.

Just over 200 were completed in December.

Near 200 boards are cut and ready for painting. Of those, about 40 have backgrounds complete.

Since finishing retreat and moving in to new place, I’ve just started painting again yesterday.

With only 5 days left to work this month, I could state the obvious and say I’m “behind”.

But, unlike December, when I needed to take a break, I’m trying to work at a more reasonable pace, especially in light of above discussion on Adrenal Burnout.

How about you? What are your thoughts on living and working with balance — as defined by you, and not someone else? Do you think having it all is a myth or some kind of unattainable ideal? How have you found balance? Or not?

Related posts:

1. 1008 Paintings Project Update #4
2. 1008 Paintings Project Update #6: How Living in Mexico is Like Zen Practice
3. A Block and a Breakthrough: 1008 Paintings Project Update #7

view from my palapa (terrace) near Zimatlan, Oaxaca

Hola Amigos!

On Monday I left Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, heading south to the state of Oaxaca, Mexico.

In Puerto Vallarta I spent long days in the studio working on my 1008 Paintings Project since early December, and ended my stay there with the retreat workshop: How to Be a Gorgeous Genius. The retreat was an incredible experience, and I’ll be writing more about that and my own take-aways in coming posts.

Where Am I?

Oaxaca state is in Southern Mexico, bordering Chiapas. Chiapas borders Guatemala. Ten years ago, I began travelling and leading creativity workshops in Oaxaca, drawn by the rich artistic traditions of the people indiginous to this land. Oaxaca City, which is inland right in the center of the state, and home to many Mayan ruins like Monte Alban, is a high desert valley surrounded by green mountains. The city is a mile high, like Denver, Colorado in the U.S.

How Am I?

I just remembered this thing about the altitude today, and realized that there is some adjustment the body needs to make when going from sea level to high altitude in just a few hours. I’ve been physically exhausted, but there is also the component of culture shock, even though I’ve been here before.

Estoy Contenta

I am happy. Very happy. My heart is just happy in this place, that’s why I keep coming back. So the physical changes, and the post-workshop processing, and the fact that I’m having to communicate 100% in Spanish now, is taken in that context.

I’m staying at the home of my friend Marco’s family, most of whom I’ve never met before. They have given me a lovely room to stay in while I search for a furnished apartment in Oaxaca City. They live in a small (tiny) village outside of Zimatlan, Mexico, which is about 20-30 minutes to Oaxaca City. Or 10 minutes, if you are in a taxi with a particularly aggressive driver. I can thank Rick Steeves’ Spanish phrasebook for learning how to tell the driver to please slow down or else: Voy a vomitar (I’m going to throw up).

The mercado in Oaxaca, grilled meat entrance

Yesterday my hostess, Julia, and her daughter, Abigail, took me to eat at the market in Oaxaca. They offered to go to a restaurant, but I love the market. It’s where mostly locals go to eat. Going with them was a great opportunity to find a food stall (out of hundreds) that would be good and safe for me to eat at without getting sick.

We settled in at Fonda Flores, and all I know is that we entered the city block size market at the grilled meat entrance. After a few turns through a maze of very similar looking stalls, we arrived here, Julia looking for the amarillo (yellow) colored benches.

I’m not sure I could ever find my way back here alone. There are some aisles, and then some very narrow pathways, not unlike the souks in Morocco. Beware of the generous samples of Mezcal handed out from vendors as you wander. Being a bit buzzed can only add to the disorientation.

Our meal came right out of these pots on the stove. If you think you have a small kitchen at home…

I ordered one of my favorite dishes from Oaxaca: Mole Negro. It was perfect in every way, fortifying me for the apartment hunt, which like most things in Mexico, do not happen in a straight line or according to schedule or plan.

Me, Julia (center) and Abigail at the counter

Related posts:

1. 1008 Paintings Project Update #6: How Living in Mexico is Like Zen Practice
2. Update #5: 1008 Paintings Project (Adrenal Glands: Take Refuge)
3. 1008 Paintings Project Update #4