... a manager.
And a secretary. And a housekeeper. And a tree that grows money on its branches.
And about four or five more hours in the day... Or an herb that reduces the
need to sleep. Not that I sleep extremely long hours. But...
When I started
my life as a quilt artist a coach told me that being an artist meant you have
to spend more than 50 % of your time not working in the studio making art, but instead
organizing, keeping your address file, meeting people, doing this and that and
even something else which on the outside did not seem to have anything to do
with making art. I found it very hard to believe then. Now I know that he was
right. And as much as I dislike it, I know it’s important.
But every
day that I spend doing more other things than working on quilts I still feel
uncomfortable. As if time were slipping through my fingers.
After all –
if I feel like I don’t spend enough time making art, why spend all the time
organizing all the stuff around it...?
So this
past week seems to have slipped by without achieving much at the sewing
machine.
 |
| I did work a little on a small quilt - which will be shown at the Prague Patchwork Meeting - but I haven't even taken a picture of it in its various stages, just of these cut-out circles! |
Let’s just
hope that all the other stuff I did will bear fruit eventually.
Perhaps I
will keep a more detailed list in the future of all the things I have indeed
done during an average day, to give myself more of a feeling that I have
accomplished something, at least on those days when no progress on a quilt can
be shown as a result.
I know what you mean Uta.
ReplyDeleteBut for me it has become the other way round. There are so many things now that I can't do physically....But what I can do is stay in my studio and make work! So, I sound very busy and productive. But it is because I have had to stop doing almost all the outside busyness. You are still not so well, but making work helps you forget about what you can't do.
I appreciate what you do for SAQA anyway. ;-)
Sandy
Oh Sandy, that is an aspect that I had not thought about when writing that post. Good for you, that you are still able to make nice work, and that it pleases you. I like reading about your various projects. Keep up the good spirit!
ReplyDeleteThe admin side is frustrating but definitely necessary when you are a professional. I do like the shading in the circles.
ReplyDeleteCalling it the 'admin' side certainly puts a different perspective on it - I'll have to think about that a bit more! Shifts the value. Although you still feel the "I'd rather be in the studio"...
Delete