Seeds

Ballerina :: Collage/Illustration/Watercolor

Over the past few weeks I have been able to spend a great deal of time creating in my studio. To help nudge me closer towards a more disciplined approach to my work during the holiday season, my coach Andrea set up a system for me that has worked like a charm. Put in the hours or part ways with what little money you are actually earning from your work these days. Very simple. Very effective.

I have been responsible for spending a minimum number of hours at work in my studio, and just the act of keeping track of my hours has made a huge difference. I feel like a bit of an idiot having to admit the need for such a system of accountability - I am an artist, after all, at least this is what I claim to be. Why on earth would I need the threat of financial punishment to get me creating? It isn't that I do not want to create, it is more that it is all too easy for me to get very distracted this time of year. Presents to buy, create, wrap and ship . Grocery shopping. Christmas cards. Phone calls. Visitors. Yadda, yadda and more yadda.

I knew two things going into this year's holiday season: one, that creative time was going to be my safe haven, and two, that if I didn't stay focused time would slip by and I'd be in a straight jacket by new year's eve. I love the holidays - I love twinkling houses at night, Christmas carols, walking home with bags full of presents, decorating the tree and watching A Christmas Story. I love that our house has become the defacto orphanage, with seats at our dinner table always open for anyone in need of a festive place to go during this time of year. We always end up with last minute additions for holiday meals and the biggest dinners tend to be created in our kitchen. To me, this is what the holidays are about. In the midst of all the mirth and merriment, however, I am a girl who needs her down time, and I knew that every week that went by without me creating would only take away from my ability to be as available as I could be for my family and friends.

So I told my coach to fine me cold hard cash if I didn't stick with the program. Bingo.

It is a few days before Christmas and there is still plenty to do before our house fills up with guests, but the thing I am feeling especially joyful about right now is all the work that is now scattered throughout my studio (and down the hall and on the walls.) This month was about creating from the purest place possible, the goal of which was to end up with all kinds of ideas, seeds and concepts made real. From all of these little treasures I can go deeper, explore further and take what I learned and apply it to whatever work I do in the new year. As I look around at what I've done, I see pieces I absolutely love and pieces that aren't quite working. Both are of value, because I can look at whatever doesn't feel like my best work and try to figure out what it is about that particular piece that isn't clicking. It is like a mystery to be solved, a puzzle to decipher. Why do I look at one painting and feel aglow and look at another and feel flat? What works and what doesn't? What do I want to take further and what didn't turn out to be so interesting after all? These are all intriguing and challenging questions, and I find this part of the creative process perhaps the most fascinating. With every new creation, I understand how much I still have to learn.

"There are no days in life so memorable as those which vibrated to some stroke of the imagination." -F. Scott Fitzgerald

Comments

Yo Swirlygirl. It's Sam Tharp, from back in the day. I got a classmates.com email today and it made me start thinking about folks like you, Carrie, Jim, Cal.

Terry told me about your site a few months ago, so I thought I would say hello. I hope you are well.

And if I may take this opportunity to do a shameless plug...some time ago I launched my own website. It's called The Mega Board and if you come visit, you can post/view ads for free across a range of categories (except jobs, because as we all know, Monster.com is the best jobs board ever). You may say, "Sam, this new site of yours is nothing but a Craiglist rip-off." Well that may be true, but the Beatles started off imitating the great artists of their time and then evolved into something entirely unique and wonderful. Only time will tell if TheMegaBoard.com is more like Ringo than John, but I intend to create something I can call my own. Please visit if you get a chance.

Take care,
Sam

Posted by: Sam | December 28, 2005 at 08:22 PM

you go girl! i've made a commitment to myself to write something, anything everyday of this holiday season. i guess words are my form of artistry and creativity. here's to your fabulous creating. oh, and you're not going to believe this but i've never seen a christmas story.

Posted by: la vie en rose | December 24, 2005 at 04:59 PM

I love the ballerina...she makes my heart smile this Christmas Eve morning...reminding me of the ballerina buried deep within me.
So good that you are creating and creating and creating some more right now. And I am so touched by the way you describe how your home is always open for people who need a place to go. Beautiful. Your heart. Is beautiful.

Posted by: liz elayne | December 24, 2005 at 07:04 AM