Are You on Your Holiday Gift List?

by LINDA CASE

Don't forget a gift for yourself this holiday season,

We as artists and crafters need physical and

psychic nurturing but often put our needs at the bottom of the list. We are particularly bad at tending to repetitive injuries that result in doing the same motions over and over.

Here are some ideas:

· Treat yourself to a regular massage with special attention to the body parts involved in your work.

· If you already have an injury, find a doctor or practitioner who is part of your team.

· The well-known book “The Artist’s Way” prescribes handwriting three stream-of-consciousness journal pages daily – about whatever is on your mind.

· The same book (full of rejuvenating ideas) prescribes a weekly date with yourself to do something fun, different, new and inspiring artistically.

· Join some sort of artist community. There are a couple of local groups that meet weekly or monthly to work on projects, laugh and chat.

· Learn something new. Go with your gut. If it looks interesting, you’ll very likely figure out how to include your new skills into the work you are doing.

· Use some of your “art” time to just play with no concern for the outcome. Unless you are using platinum and diamonds, just throw out the result if it offends you. It’s all about the journey, not the destination. –

Happy holidays from all of us on the Over the Mountain Studio Tour!