Today is day seven, but you wouldn't know any of that because I have been on a secret mission to break through my creative block and focus on my new series. This plan was hatched by my wise friend Jennifer.

Everyday for the last seven days I have set my alarm for 6:45 and been out of bed and in my studio and ready to work by 7:15. I have not turned on the computer or done anything that might distract me from my goal of spending a certain amount of time each day in my studio working. I couldn't talk about it online or post pictures of progress or even tell Stewart. This was to be my time for my own personal reward and satisfaction. I would text Jennifer at the end of the session and that would be it. I started new ten paintings in the last week!

These paintings fuse old maps (so far of Scotland, America, Arkansas) on to panel. So far the only elements in the paintings are pencil lines and white paint allowing only the color from the maps to the be the "color" of the paintings... This may change, these works are all in their infancy. I had 15 new panels waiting for me to use and I have now used 10. I had been collecting vintage maps and I have now used all of them and even had to go out yesterday to get a world Atlas from 1947 so that I could start today's 10th work.

It has been interesting to see what happens when I roll out of bed first thing with my crazy hair and sleep laden eyes. I work and I focus, I have always painted best in the morning. I listened to music on CD's because my ipod touch of course is connected to the WIFI and that is too much of a temptation, a distraction. So for seven days I remembered what it is like to have boundaries, goals, a plan and to simply show up. I have enjoyed working on these 10 problems paintings, letting the works take me along with them as I solve for the answer and I am not there yet!

I have been showing and selling my work for 17 years, so of course I know what I need and how to make the work happen deep down in my being. However, it is easy to get off track. It is easy to read the news and focus on more trivial things. It can be hard to make the work you are on the planet to make, sometimes it is even a burden. However, it is a bigger burden to myself and all those that love me when I am not working. I have to work.

When I work, everything else falls into place (well maybe not everything, life is messy and imperfect) but lots of things fall into place. Once this morning goal was accomplished I found it easier to work other routines into my life, the morning meal, the cleaning of the house, feeding my cat Evie, making a list for the day. There was more order and sequence and there was more fulfillment and consequence and so I floated on from one activity to the next and that made me feel a bit safer in my skin, that I was dependable again and had a purpose.

For two and a half years I had the structure of the Underground, a reason to get up, get dressed, get out and make work. When I lost that, everything changed and it is taking me a while to get back in the swing of things. It takes time but for this week I remembered.

Now the question is, will my alarm go off at 6:45 tomorrow?