There's nothing like getting away for the weekend. It's liberating to leave behind the endless to-do lists, routines, and distractions. Recently, my wife and I spent a weekend together in a cozy house surrounded by tall redwoods, next to a stream (which was more like a small river), swollen from all the winter rains. True to the forecast, it rained almost every minute we were there, and it turned out to be the best thing that could have happened. Instead of fixating on all of the things we weren't doing, we were able to really relax, spend quality time together, cook amazing meals, and make art.

The unstructured time allowed more room for curiosity and experimentation. I tried painting with some common food items: instant coffee, black tea, and salt. I cut up an old ink painting and taped it back together, trying to strike a balance between abstraction and representation. I was able to do research on some future work without feeling like I was missing out on precious making time. This weekend showed me that my studio practice is also filled with endless to do lists, and expectations of producing an unrealistic amount of work in a finite amount of time.

I was struck by how free it felt to make without expectation or a deadline. I'm going to try to take this lesson back with me to Oakland and my studio practice.