River of Longing 8, 24x80", oil on panel ©2009 Janice Mason Steeves I decided to have a retreat in my home last week, to have no communication with the outside world other than to listen to CBC Radio . I booked the week off. No appointments or meetings or dinners with friends. I turned off the computer and unplugged the phone. Freedom! I spent the time meditating, reading and spending long days in my studio. The days stretched on endlessly like when I was a kid playing outside in summer holidays. I even managed to get some big housecleaning tasks accomplished. I hate housecleaning! Perhaps it kept my feet on the ground to do such nice mundane tasks. I spent a couple of hours one afternoon scrubbing ten years of paint off my big old worktable. A friend tells me that such cleaning makes room for the birth of something new. The creative ideas started to flow maybe on the third day of the retreat. I have creative ideas at other times too, but with a long ...