Support the Artists to Support the Arts - The Consortium

thwart

(thwôrt) tr.v. thwart·ed , thwart·ing , thwarts To prevent the occurrence, realization, or attainment of: They thwarted her plans. To oppose and defeat the efforts, plans, or ambitions of. [Middle English thwerten , from thwert , across , from Old Norse thvert , neuter of thverr , transverse ; see terk w - in Indo-European roots.]

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

In perusing the preceding definition of the word “thwart,” you will, perhaps, notice the example sentence contained therein:  “They thwarted her plans.”  Indeed, they did.  And she isn’t very pleased about it.

“She” is, of course, me — and “they,” unfortunately, are the vile little triggers of the sinus infection that laid me flat this week.

Writing and Painting

This week, my husband was away in Florida for four days. Not one to bewail my lack of spouse for such a short period of time, I hatched grand plans to spend four days in the land of creative bliss. I would complete two — nay, three! — chapters of my current fantasy novel, Tapped Out. I would also finish my painting-in-progress in preparation for starting on cover art for Aaron next week.

The Good, The Bad, and The Sniffly

The good news is that I finished Chapter Five of Tapped Out and got close enough for government work in completing Chapter Six. With the fair maiden in tow, the wizard’s apprentice is on the brink of fleeing the wicked king’s castle. He just has to get past his spelling problems first.

I also wrote and scheduled for publishing yet another article concerning What I Learned About Writing This Week. So far, my plan to keep four articles ready at all times is working out smashingly.

The bad news is that none of my painting plans came to fruition. This is partly due to my being out-for-the-count with my sinuses; lying down does not preclude typing on the computer, but it does cause some difficulties in handling easels and oil paints.

Furthermore, we had a hail storm in May. One might think that such an event couldn’t prevent an artist from working her art two full months later. But one would be wrong in such thinking. May’s storm tossed a piece of golfball-sized hail through a window in my office/art studio. The window has been boarded up ever since. On Friday of this week, workers arrived to replace all of the broken windows throughout our apartment complex.

The construction necessitated our moving everything away from the window: my husband’s desk and amateur radio equipment, a rolling file cabinet, two bulky office chairs, a computer, and a spaghetti-like tangle of cords and cables. In order to leave the workers enough walking room, we had to pile the furniture and the odds-’n'-ends against — you guessed it — my drafting table.

Not that this is the only table in the house at which I can paint…but it is the only table in the house at which I can paint free from worry over staining various and sundry objects with my oils.

As of this evening, the sinus infection is releasing its dread grasp upon my beleaguered physique, and the husband has returned ready to put my art space back in order. I am determined that this week shall bring copious writings and painting galore!