May 19, 2011

mindfulness fail




















I've been fantasizing lately about having a separate studio. When 8 p.m. rolls around and I still haven't done the laundry (or, conversely, when 8 p.m. rolls around and I still haven't put brush to canvas) I realize that I have trouble with transitions. I don't multitask main activities effectively because I can't switch gears easily (lots of grinding). What I can do is set myself up with my drawing board and watch the hockey game, browse Facebook, eat pizza and play with the dog while I draw: one main activity with lots of ancillary activities. It's what practitioners of mindfulness would consider major fail. But there still won't be any clean laundry or real meals. I'm good at space management but lousy at time management so a separate studio would act like a sort of efficiency-enforcing device. The studio would need a comfy sofa, though, because when I'm on a roll I might forget to come home.

11 comments:

valerie walsh said...

this is a tough dilemma... loving the peices btw... i have studios in home so it really does all become a blend. When i have separate studio that i have to drive to, i find it harder to get there and then i feel guilty... But part of that is that so many studios up here are on windy roads with quite a drive and if you forget to bring something it is a big ol drag... :P you might welcome that chance to get outside of your home and it can be a very wonderful thing!

Melody said...

I've often thought of a separate studio as well... I get caught up in the everyday "stuff" around here but the idea of driving nips that feeling in the bud. Don't think I would work as much if I had to get in my car and drive there. When I was younger (not that I'm an old bat quite yet) I joined a gym thinking that since I paid money and joined I would hop in my car after work and go work out .... guess what? I worked out twice ...

Anonymous said...

I tried to say that what you really need is a housekeeper...blogger seems to have gobbled that one.

And for printmakers, having to "go to" a studio is a real pain when inspiration/desire strikes late at night! ;-)

p said...

i think i would hate a separate studio, i can hear why it might work for you though. but yeah...i think if i had to go somewhere outside of my place to work i'd do much less. i love walking around and working and moving on when nothing is happening but being able to keep going into my space without physically having to drive/walk/ride bike there. sometimes just spending a few minutes in there accomplishes more than hours!

andrea said...

If it was only me or me and a partner that I had to answer for I might be better at organizing my time but I think Di is onto something: I need a domestic slave!

angela recada said...

You already know that I really, really understand this dilema. Every day I struggle, too, with doing everything that's expected of me, and everything that I expect of myself. Husband, children, pets, elderly parents, friends, the house, the garden, etc. - all need attention. There is ALWAYS laundry to do or a meal to get together. Some days just moving enough of my art supplies from the dark dining room where I now store them (much better than the basement and various closets, where I stored them before), to the bright kitchen table where I work takes more time than I have. I want a space where I can leave my work-in-progress and just jump right back into it whenever I have the opportunity. That's all.

. . . wait - a comfy sofa is definitely a necessity for me, too. . . :0)

Angela Wales Rockett said...

I LOVE having a studio outside the home! There are days when it seems like a pain to have to drive there instead of just heading to the next room, but once I'm there, my brain gets what it's supposed to do because all I do in my studio is make art. I don't even have a computer connection there. And if I do need to stay at home, I can always get out my sketchbook. The transition I have trouble with is once I get home from the studio sometimes it's hard to remember I have other things to do, but I'm getting better at it. :)

Angela Wales Rockett said...

These are beautiful drawings, btw.

andrea said...

But no computer!?! It sounds hard but I think I could do it...

Hayden said...

yep. no internet and it might just work. understand completely.

INDIGENE said...

I've had them both (studios) and have to admit, I do more work, when I have it in my home!!! Maybe, if I had included some comfy chairs in the away studio, I might have completed more work, outside the home. I still think the best studio is outside the home, but not so far, maybe several hundred feet will suffice. I like the idea of my family nearby, but not too close, but close enough to get to them in minutes, and far enough for their voices not to distract me! Lol, I don't want much! Just stopping by, looking through your beautiful work and commenting. :) :)