Artist’s Way - First Date - Animus

After much anticipation and writing about other things instead it is time for the second part of the First Date! Yay! We’re going through the actual space today, and some hard rational brain considerations about the experience itself.

Anima, for the emotional, irrational side of the experience; the foreplay, buildup, and inner dialogue.

Animus, for the rational, physical experience of the place and the corporeal.

So I arrive at the Place. It is an old school house building thing that has been converted to a handful of lil condos. They have quirky layouts and high ceilings with tall windows and gorgeous light coming in.

Cute little secure foyer, stairs that curve around but not quite a spiral. It has that magical old building soul, I love the sound of floors creaking and whispering their decades of stories.

I feel the need to have some significant intentionality with this space, as per the requirements of the Date but also the pressing emotional state as demanded by myself and the space itself.

I'm greeted immediately by the Every Day Goal Calendar. It's quite magnificent and inspiring, I think I need to pick one up in a bit. Got that really nice aesthetic with some tactile stim for the tisms. Bet it feels great to press it and mark the day. I’m trying to develop habits, intentionality, goals, endeavours. and follow through with them. it hits different Accountability. Anyway!

The kitchen is a little dated, in appearance. It's got those old laminate countertops, and it vaguely reminds me of my childhood in the townhouse I grew up in.

The bathroom has swanky hexagon tiles with a neat pattern, and loving, gentle updates.

The way the kitchen opens to the vaulted living room is majestic, it has such an energy. The light, the air, the way you'd interact with people in the space.

And there's tiny little shelves and storage tucked away in the kitchen, too. But it feels so loved and intentional, not too much and not too little.

Enough.

And there's asymmetry of it all, the bar counter tapers and respects its shared existence in the space. The deep magenta wall receives the southern light and emblazes the whole with the most lustrous hues.

I wander around, there's books I recognise, books I don't, books that I knew that I'd find, artefacts of art and passion and interest, and an undeniable, inescapable sense of curated identity. I love it. I knew I’d find this book, House of Leaves, here. I have no idea why I knew this to be, and I had to take a moment to see it on the shelf, but it was there. And it greeted me.

The sleeping area is in the loft, tucked away and adorned with low shelving and more books, trinkets, and venerated objects. I have a chuckle that the walk-in closet, is for short people only. The ceilings are low and the space is utilised so effectively for the purpose. It's an interesting contrast to the soaring ceiling in the living room; both exquisite in their form and substantive in their function. Everything there felt to have a purpose, a need, a want. Desired and invited.

It was very inspiring, and in such varying ways. I wanted to have an experience taking photos, or like, just taking in the sights and sounds and smells. But that's what the conscious mind wanted, and not really what the heart or the soul needed. Visual inspiration exactly what was prepared for me.

But I got emotional, mental, life inspiration. I'm in a weird place, truthfully, and that's okay. It's part of the journey, the experience of life. And the act of curating the contents of that life.

This place was perfect. I've always wanted a place to call just my own, and this hit all the boxes. Yes, it's influenced by the contents of the space itself, and the zeitgeist the owner has cultivated. But it's also the shape, the location, the place, the structure and its forms.

It's empowering. I have no idea the future ahead, all of these things to come, whatever may come or go or pass away or be reborn. But to see these places, it's inspiring to do better every day. Strive for something, and achieve it. Do it for me, with no undue outside influence or expectation. The culmination of specific, careful self care and acceptance.

I'm so excited.

In conclusion, afterwards I drove through Denver the slow way. It was really beautiful; grey, windy, with a little bit of sunshimmer to light up the buildings in the distance.

There was an installation on the side of one of the downtown structures, that interacted with the wind. These little tiles, they emulated the agitation of water in a stream. It was entrancing.

I went through neighbourhoods I hadn’t been in, ones I hadn’t seen in ages, and all the inbetween. Took in the area, the feel. Sat with my thoughts and music, engaged with the experience as it occurred. Then, yes, I returned home and succeeded in doing the oil change on the car. That was actually pretty fun and straight forward; the Audi has the oil filter on the top, so with a (suction) extractor, I am able to do this in the safety and trust of my own garage, holding only myself accountable for the neatness and quality of the work. She the car needs a deep clean on the inside, what with the snow and wet. But that will be soon, when it’s just a bit warmer. My hands dont work so well in the cold…