Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.
- Thomas Merton, Trappist monk and author.
Welcome back! I hope you all enjoyed your holidays - I certainly enjoyed mine. We spent some time with my parents, some time with Kevin’s parents: baking, eating, snowmobiling, and generally enjoying one another’s company. And now it’s back to work!
’tis the season to look forward at to the year to come, it’s the season for resolutions and goals. In past years, I made a list of artistic goals for 2008. This year however, instead of making a list, or of limiting that list to artistic goals, I’ve decided instead to have a “theme” for 2010: balance. As a Libran, you’d think the whole balance thing would be second nature for me, but it’s not. I tend to be something of a “serial thinker” and can become deeply involved in an idea, which is great, but it sometimes means I forget to tend to other areas of my life. So this year, instead of working on a list of things to do, I’m going to make sure that the projects I take on contribute to my life in a balanced way.
The “map” I’m going to follow to help me achieve balance in my life will be the seven dimensions of wellness: http://www.uregina.ca/recservices/Wellness/index.html
Physical: strive to maintain a high level of energy and lead a lifestyle that will enable me to stay healthy.
Social: strive to make more time for family and friends, and recognize the importance of personal time in my daily life.
Intellectual: strive to engage my mind in a variety of aspects of the world around me.
Spiritual: strive to maintain a positive sense of purpose in my life.
Emotional: strive to develop ways to deal with stress and the emotional ups and downs of my life.
Environmental: strive to maintain a better understanding and positive perception of the environment.
Occupational: strive to obtain and maintain the resources to positively influence my life.
Can you believe it’s already the end of June? The year is half over!
I’ve had a few things develop over the past few weeks, including several new commissions, two shows in the Fall, and last, but most time-consuming, a new day-job. Long story short: I need to take a six-week break starting at the end of this month. Something’s gotta give and I’m afraid this blog is it (well, temporarily at least). I thought this might also be a good time to review my goals for the year.
1. Daily drawing: I’ll admit, over the past month or so, I haven’t been drawing every day, but I have been drawing more than five times a week. Even though the next several months are going to be hairy this is something I must make time for… maybe I’ll have to put a time-limit on each session?
2. Blogging: this was supposed to be daily… but I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m not a daily blogger - and I have to stop feeling guilty about it. I need to give myself permission to take the time to write and reflect, and posting every day doesn’t allow me to do that. When I return in mid-August, I’ll be posting every other day/three times a week.
3. Web site: I have been making updates, improvements and changes to my main website. My e-commerce research, while slowed significantly over the past few weeks, is progressing.
4. Networking: while I doubt I’ll ever be a natural at this, I have become better at it. For example, when I joined Facebook to network with former highschool classmates for our reunion this Fall, I included an album of my work and it’s resulted in a few enquiries about commissions. I realise this is pretty basic stuff, but it’s a huge leap forward for someone who, as a child, would get sick at the thought of selling raffle tickets.
5. Entrepreneurial: as much as I love (love, love) research, I thought taking a few seminars and workshops on marketing and small business would be a more effective use of my time. I’ve started with the Biz Launch seminars through Staples and we’ll see what happens from there.
6. Paperwork: updating my books at the end of every month may have been one of the best decisions I’ve made with the whole business side of art thing. Next year’s tax season aside, I think it’s made me more alert to cash flow and budget issues.
7. Creative writing: this is another goal which will undergo a change. While writing haiku has been personally satisfying, I’m heading into a huge time crunch over the next several months and I think I need to re-direct this energy. During my break I’ll decide if haiku is something I’ll put on hold a bit longer, maybe to after Christmas? We’ll see.
I’m going to use the time off to get a handle on my new day job, get some serious commission work done, and hopefully, take a week off up at Lower Fishing Lake at the beginning of August. I hope you have a satisfying and restful summer and I’ll see you again mid-August.
I thought now would be a good time to take a peak back at my artistic goals for 2008 and see how I’ve progressed thus far:
1.) Daily drawing: while I haven’t posted many results here (which I may decide to do from this point as part of “Wordless Wednesdays”) I’m really pleased to look back at my sketchbook to date and see all the drawing I’ve done over the past three months. I think one of the positive side-effects of the daily drawing has been exposure to a wider variety of subjects (other than my usual “fur/feathers/fins”) and I think you’ll start seeing this influence my work very soon.
2.) Blogging: I’ve found keeping the Monday - Friday posting schedule has been a bit of a challenge on some weeks. I’ll continue to work on a pattern of themes for the days, e.g. Mondays and Thursdays - easel check, Tuesdays - tutorials, Wednesdays - wordless (sketches?) and Fridays - haiku.
3.) Website: I did overhaul my main website in January and have continued to make alterations, but I think I could improve this by adding new work to the site as soon as I’ve finished it. I’m also seriously thinking about adding some form of e-commerce to my site: first step, research! (My favourite step of any project.)
4.) Networking: The RFA Spring Show was the first run on my new mailing list and I think it went pretty well. I do have some improvements to make in two areas: be more aggressive about what names I add to the list (one artist at the show introduced me to her pharmacist. I don’t have a regular pharmacist, but if I did it never would have occured to me to put her name on my mailing list!) and send e-mail reminders to as many people as possible about three - five days before the show (I had a few people show up on Sunday saying they’d almost forgotten).
5.) Entrepreneurial: does using my new mailing list count? ’cause otherwise I think I forgot about this one entirely - eek. I’m gonna have to get back to you on this one…
6.) Paperwork: I’m very pleased to say, except for the two sales over the weekend, I’m completely up-to-date with my business books. I’m hoping this earns me enough karma to excuse my sales/marketing research goal… probably not.
7.) Creative writing: I’ve done 10 Haiku Fridays and am looking forward to more. I think the state of mind one enters into to write haiku is the same one enters to make visual art and I’ve found the process a satisfyingly creative one. Maybe there’s a connection between making art and writing haiku?
Did you make any artistic/creative goals for 2008? If you did, how about you post a comment and let me know how it’s going so far?
Still Life with Grapes and Pears. Scratchboard, 10 x 8 in. Copyright 2008, Tania Nault.
Remember this one? See, this is what happens when I set something aside for a “couple days”! I can see a couple touch-up areas on the background, but otherwise I’m calling this guy finished.
Funny thing about this board: it’s the one I’d started in (yikes!) January when I first started feeling off about my work. Over the past few days of finishing it, and surfin’ the ‘net looking for ideas about how to handle my End of Winter Slump, I think I’ve come up with a plan on how to learn/work my way out of it. On March 31, the day after the RFA group show is over, I’ll let you know all about it.
Until then, I’ll return tomorrow with another ”Tutorial Tuesday” and we’ll have a look at varied hatching - well, it better be varied hatching because that’s what I did the sample of over the weekend!
My Studio Setup: Sketch. Pen and graphite. 8 x 8 in. Copyright 2008, Tania Nault.
Today, over on Making a Mark, Katherine Tyrrell asked the question, “What increases your artistic activity?” and challenged her readers to “show off and/or fess up.”
So… here’s my list:
1.) My artistic productivity increased dramatically when I set aside a dedicated space to do art. Carving out a space to do my work was symbolic to me (and others) that my work was a priority. It’s also very practical because even if I only have fifteen minutes to do art, I don’t have to waste time setting everything up or taking down. I know that everyone can’t set aside an entire room for their work, but I think even claiming a desk in the corner of the bedroom, or clearing out an armoire (oh, come on, how many sweaters do you need, really?) means that your work is worthy of its own space.
2.) Another thing that I recommend is: keep a sketchbook. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “A sketchbook! I hardly have time to do the real art I want to do, why should I waste time with a sketchbook?!” Artists, particularly those of us who also have a day job, children or other external draws on our time, can’t afford to wait for inspiration to strike when we finally do get a moment or two to sit down and make art. We have to be ready to go, now. And a sketchbook is a great way of a) keeping ideas from getting lost in the laundry, and b) letting the idea “simmer” until you can come back to it again. The instant you open the page and look at it again you’ll know what you need to do next.
3.) And my last tip: go outside. There’s just something about being outside that stimulates creativity. Maybe it’s the fresh air, maybe it’s the association with building tree forts or sand castles when we were kids, or maybe it’s because you’re surrounded by Mother Nature (yes, even in the city). But “get the hell outside” is probably the best advice any parent ever gave a kid and I think it holds true here.
Things that drain my creativity and I, therefore, recommend you avoid like the plague are:
1.) Showing a pre-draft version of a work to anyone. I recently broke that rule when I showed you the early versions of my polar bear sketches. Huge mistake. Somehow, even without hearing any criticism, all I could think about were the problems with each composition. It was paralyzing and a mistake I hope I won’t repeat soon.
2.) Wanting things to be “perfect.” Note the “Serenity Prayer” in the sketch above. Endlessly tweaking a thing, hoping to improve it, is probably the single biggest drain on my creativity. It’s something I struggle with endlessly.
3.) Television. I love TV. I love “Grey’s Anatomy” and “House” even “Roseanne” reruns. But every second I spend in front of the television is time I spend watching other people practice their art and another second I didn’t spend making my own. If I had the guts I’d drop the damn thing out the second storey window.
I just thought of one more thing that works for me, well, sometimes at least… trying new ideas I hear from other artists! Let me know what works for you, I’d love to give it a try.
