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For the most part, I'm a fairly cautious person. I rarely jump into an endeavor without planning, or make a major purchase without researching and then shopping around for the best deal. I do, however, have an adventurous side that shows every once in a while. (It might show itself more often if I were younger, healthier, and had more money, but that's beside the point.)

I am somewhat adventurous when it comes to food. I'll try ALMOST anything once, as long as it's not moving. My husband has a similar approach to food. That said, it shouldn't have surprised me that this summer, while we were vacationing in Tarpon Springs, Florida, he wanted to try broiled octopus, a specialty of one of the many Greek restaurants in town.

So we tried it. We ate the whole thing--all eight legs, and it was delicious. If I had been squeamish about it just because it looked odd, I would have missed a treat. It was worth the departure from a familiar, safe menu.

As an artist, it's easy to get in a rut. It's easy to use the same "safe" techniques and materials. If something works and I get good results, I'll keep doing it. Sure, I'll try to push the limits of those techniques and materials, but it's still the same stuff. It's safe because I know what I'm doing.

Sometimes I need to back away from the familiar and "eat the octopus." I need to give myself permission to try something new, knowing that I may be producing work that is less than stellar. Or even if it's good, it may not fit with what I normally do.

I'm in one of those experimental periods right now. Much of what I'm doing isn't really good enough to show. This means that, for a time, there will be very few brand new works on my website. And what does get posted may be different from my usual work.

Experimental periods are temporary. The experiments are for the purpose of helping me grow as an artist. Then, when I've finished eating the octopus, I'll be back to tilapia, but maybe with a slightly different twist.

Experimentally,

Elva