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Creative block. It is like trying to get through one of those recorded telephone menus while calling from a rotary phone. Only this is worse because you are battling with yourself instead of a recording. I know the composition in there; I just can’t push the button to get to it. I have sent out emails to galleries in our next few states, and received many positive replies. The problem is that I know they are expecting something great, and knowing of that pressure turns my creativity to mush. This isn’t the first time that I’ve been paralyzed by the pressures of this project. After all, I am finishing a canvas
a week, where it usually takes me months just to meddle over an idea! Today, I just feel as if I standing at the edge of black hole, and the only direction available is forward. I know it will pass, I just hope it passes in time for me to make my deadline.
Thankfully, I break through my brick wall just in time to meet with our Indiana gallery. We visit LAMP Fine Art in Indianapolis, where the owner, Jennifer Kaye, is full bubbling over with energy. I love young gallery owners like her because they are less judgmental of our age, and more open to experimental art. The playful painting from Michigan fits in perfectly here! Before leaving, Jennifer shares a little about the city and gives us an insight into what we can expect in Ohio. She said there is a field of cement corn that is slightly controversial, but an oddity like no other. We scribble it into our “must-sees” and continue exploring Indiana.
Indianapolis seems like a very clean city. We enjoy the canal walk, where gondola’s run beneath the city streets, and Arts Garden that arches above them. One of the strangest sights that catch my eye is an LED screen on the sidewalk. The screen depicts a life-size woman standing at the crosswalk. She sways back and forth, and then begins to walk. I can’t understand its purpose, but it is worth noting. At the capital, we look for a place to parallel park, and a middle-aged man waves us to his spot. He is just getting into his car to leave, and as it turns out, has an hour left on his meter. His little act of kindness really brightens our day.
As we are leaving Indiana for Ohio, night begins to take shape, and street lights flicker past us like lighting. I strain my eyes to look at the Indiana map and notice that the capital is right in the center of the state. Main roads appear as roots, with each small town bringing nourishment to the nucleus. As I say goodbye to the Hoosier state, I imagine Indianapolis pumping like a beating heart, pushing its strength into each little village and small town.
