the storming of the Bastille !

and the Declaration of Independence.
You might think I am confusing my holidays -- but really, when in 1789 the Paris peasants and intellectuals revolted against the monarchy and released the prisoners from the Bastille prison, they were declaring their independence from tyranny.
Much like the Americans had done 13 years earlier in their declaring independence from Britain.
and in honor of these two holidays, I am declaring something myself.
I am going to make my art what I do.
My Number One Priority.
I have spent the last 25 years in service to my family.
yes, I also helped myself in that process, and I did allow myself lots of time to make art, but my family always came first.
As they should have -- they needed me.
But as of today, that needs to change.
I have found myself becoming more and more resentful and unhappy, and it has gone on long enough that now I have physical symptoms.
I have been working on my health for some time, and dealing with both conventional medicine, diet, yoga, and meditation and exercise to figure out how to feel better.
But I have finally come to the conclusion that it is my art that will save and heal me.
My journaling, my studio time, my collage making, my mail art, my curating shows and teaching workshops -- all of these things are what I need to do to be me.
This probably won't really change my life all that much, but my attitude will be different.
I have taken up the flag of liberty to make art!
I have decided that following the vision of creating is what I NEED to do to live, and although I am happy to help my family as much as I can, from now on, a clean house and dinner on the table is not what I do.
all the neatness of a happy family has to fall a bit on their shoulders, and I am not going to serve them they same was that I have been.
adults can cook and clean and shop, after all.
So -- Happy Bastille Day, everyone.
Declare your Independence and take your life back if you have been held captive by something other than your own vision!
It might be chaotic, but like this page - all the fish in order is just not what life is about - learning to live with the jumble is part of the path: