Taking a Long Look ~ Part One

[Just Show Up ~ One of my latest studio creations]

Oh dear ~ another late night blog post.  I say "Oh dear" because I'm in one of those moods where I feel the urge to dive into a topic that has no easy answers or clear conclusions.  This is, shall we say, another one of my explorations.  But it has been on my mind quite a lot lately, and when something swirls around in my head for that long, I eventually like to discuss it here.

I think this is all being churned up because I have been spending so much less time online this summer than I have in quite a while.  Before I moved most of my art supplies into the studio, I got myself into what could gently be called a state of complacency but more aptly be classified as a rut.  The rut was simple:  Too much time on the computer, not enough time creating.  Spending my energy trying to stay on top of this blog, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Etsy, and all my online projects, not to mention other pursuits and obligations having to do with magazine articles, licensees, book ideas and a myriad of connections and relationships that span the globe thanks to all this wondrous technology. 

I created my first website in 1996, and have kept some form of an online journal for I don't know how long.  I made this journaling official in 2005 when I launched this blog, and I've been coming here ever since, chronicling most of my work, some of my woes, many of my joys and an endless array questions (oh, the questions!)  I have also met many, many people through this blog who live all over the world.  These connections have been extraordinary, and I have traveled far and wide to meet many of them face to face.  I have built an entirely new repertoire of work that has been seen, sold and licensed, mainly thanks to what I do online, a feat I find quite miraculous considering how different it is from the work that built Swirly.

In other words ~ there is much I am grateful for as I look back on the past five+ years, the years that mark my time as an official blogger.  Social media and networking, online connections and the like have given me many gifts, gifts that would not have come to me had this blog never been born.

What this has also given me is a fascinating perspective of the flip side of how things worked when I started Swirly in 1995.  The foundation of Swirly was built by sheer determination on my part, determination that compelled me to create tens of thousands of handmade greeting cards before I invested in inventory, and eventually had me packing and shipping up to twenty orders a day for 1200 accounts across the country.  I built that business over the course of many years, and Swirly's online presence rested on this foundation, not vice versa. 

With my current work, the opposite is true ~ my online presence is the foundation, and the additional work (for licensing, Etsy orders, etc.) feels like it supports that.  I might have had just as much (actually more) exposure to a broad, global audience with Swirly, but I still felt like my work was in front of me ~ in a very tactile way ~ and it wasn't necessary to spend additional time and energy trying to reach and maintain my audience online.  I pulled my audience together by shipping thousands upon thousands upon thousands of cards, journals, and more, all of which were created, printed and inventoried by me.  Today the creative work I do is wildly different, but I am still having to put in the time and effort to create new works of art and pieces of writing (as well as trying to get them seen, sold, published, licensed, etc.)  But now ~ on top of all this ~ I feel obligated to enmesh myself and my work in every possible avenue of social media lest I fade away into oblivion because there is so much out there clamoring for everyone's attention. 

I know I am making it sound like I am constantly agonizing over these issues, but it isn't so much a constant intensity as it is a series of moments when I long for the days when I simply worked my ass off and went home, with nary a concern about whether or not I fulfilled any additional online duties.

{To be continued...}

Comments

[Nursing cover]

Great creation!looks awesome...i like that art.

[doorways traveler]

just catching up here. stirred up in this pot right along with you. can't wait to read the rest of your brew.

xx

[Karen Maezen Miller]

I have much to say about this topic as well, so I'm not surprised to see it surface here. I think we will see it surfacing everywhere before we know it, as the truth spills (nay, gushes) out from the cracks in the earth. I console myself by remembering that the world in front of me, the sky, the ground, the wind, the way, is boundless and real. And that the online world appears to be big and real but it is actually tiny and unreal. That settles the unrest right quick.

[Marianne]

I know you've been working with this question for a while now and I'm interested to see where you end up - because I know it'll be exactly the right place for you and your art - for now. xx

[Susan]

Hey Christine, I just wanted to say that this latest studio creation took my breath away!
It sure seems like a crazy world right now, but you are making beautiful art, enjoy it all, the "stuff" will take care of itself.

[leonie]

i quit facebook because it was a(nother) thing sucking the life out of me.

and i am not so keen on the premise that unless you are online building your brand and presence all the f'ing time you aren't working hard enough to make social media work for you either.

yes, i have made some A.MAZ.ING. friends via the internet (that i likely wouldn't have found otherwise), and yes some opportunities have presented themselves to me that wouldn't have also. and yes, the internet (and people i know) have also helped the words in a little poetry book take flight, however...

there is something to be said for visiting a friend IN PERSON and settling in for a really good catchup over wine. or going offline to smile at the sun, play with my husband or simply go for a walk.

i doubt whether you could EVER fade into oblivion and i vote that if it feels true and right for you - do it. if it doesn't, then don't if the only reason that you are is because 'someone else' on teh internets says it must be so. but you know this already, right? right.

eagerly awaiting pt. 2

[Lisa]

Sounds as if you're in a transition...and they are wonderful, since they are a bridge to a new place! Just put one foot in front of the other, no worries....

[Nadia]

you will never lose my attention. take the time you need for yourself. do for you, not what you think others expect of you. all will be waiting for you...happy creating! ciao!

[jill nalette]

take it easy, christine!! not everything has to be done in one day.
xo and smiles~ jill