SAVED BY PASTA

(Sharing a page from 5 years ago)

I think I’m going crazy, or at least flirting with it.  I’ve lost my way in the studio, unable to settle down and do anything substantial.  I spend a lot of time reading and thinking about the paintings I want to do.  But I’m not painting, just thinking about it.  When I do sit down to work I must decide what to paint, and how to do it. My options include watercolor, pastel, acrylic, oil, clay, or mixed media, and I won’t even try to go into the range of subject matter from which to choose.  (It makes me wonder how I ever got anything done.)  You can understand the torment that has been dogging me for so many weeks.

Now a lesser man than me would be a basket case at this point, but I have the one thing that keeps me tethered to reality and sanity…PASTA.  Instead of wringing my hands and fretting in the studio I’ve kept myself busy in the kitchen reading my cookbooks and reviewing recipes.  My goal is to prepare as many different pasta dishes as possible, from the most mundane to the most unique.  I look at the different recipes for ideas on which I can elaborate or modify to fit the ingredients available to me in Paducah.  Of course this means pasta every night, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make.  My dear wife Patience, bless her heart, is willing to support me in this endeavor.

I am confident that I will be painting again, but I will not be turning my back on pasta, not after all that it is doing for me.