Sparks 07.21.2011
I have been reading The War of Art, which has been fascinating in its descriptions of Resistance and annoying it its ability to get me to procrastinate by reading a book about procrastination.
I have been struggling with getting things done this summer. I'm still getting things done, but it doesn't flow like it usually does. I'm not even depressed, just slow. I know this feeling and this place, and, as I mentioned to Hilary on Tuesday, it usually just means that it is time for me to make some real progress somewhere. So, I'm trying to make that progress.
Mostly, this has involved forcing myself to sit down and finish up work projects that have been on my desk for a very long time. The backgrounds for A Double Edged Sword are finally painted. (Sadly, in putting it all together, I found that I need to do the center face *again*. Also, they probably have to dry for 6 months before I can varnish for shine. Yeah, I don't know why I felt I had to use oils, but there it is.)
I have no idea why that took me a year, but I think it has something to do with it being a project started before I decided to take this all a little more seriously - before it was work.
Changing something into work is powerful magic. It means that it goes from the bottom of the priority list to the top. It makes it more important than housework. This is a valuable weapon against the procrastination beast.
Anyway, progress has been made this week. It has, in a way, helped to have Jason out of the house. I find his work is philosophically distracting, as lame as that sounds. And my work is often loud or full of fumes or just plain weird, and I don't want it to interrupt his work. We work in very close quarters, and we hadn't really found how to make that work. I do like having him closeby, though. He manages to say smart things without interrupting or taking over my creative process. So, it's worth working this out.
Still, that settling in is no reason for me to not be making progress. Fall will see me at home on Mondays and Wednesdays, and I need to find a way to make that time count. Part of that is going to be getting everything in order before then. The site really needs to be finished and updated. My drawing/painting area needs to have a different flooring under it and some small rolling drawers. Etc.
I think I've got it now, but it sure took a lot to get my balance back. The procrastination monster... it sure is one immortal pain in the ass, innit?
Anyway, here's a treat for making it to the end. These are the prints that I did in the one week I took of my monoprint class. I'm looking forward to exploring more printing when I'm done with the first leg of school.
Remembrance
by J. Djinnaya Stroud
Monoprint
11"x14" Arches Paper
Sainthood
by J. Djinnaya Stroud
Monoprint
11"x14" Arches Paper
Larger versions are on my art collection on flickr.
I have been struggling with getting things done this summer. I'm still getting things done, but it doesn't flow like it usually does. I'm not even depressed, just slow. I know this feeling and this place, and, as I mentioned to Hilary on Tuesday, it usually just means that it is time for me to make some real progress somewhere. So, I'm trying to make that progress.
Mostly, this has involved forcing myself to sit down and finish up work projects that have been on my desk for a very long time. The backgrounds for A Double Edged Sword are finally painted. (Sadly, in putting it all together, I found that I need to do the center face *again*. Also, they probably have to dry for 6 months before I can varnish for shine. Yeah, I don't know why I felt I had to use oils, but there it is.)
I have no idea why that took me a year, but I think it has something to do with it being a project started before I decided to take this all a little more seriously - before it was work.
Changing something into work is powerful magic. It means that it goes from the bottom of the priority list to the top. It makes it more important than housework. This is a valuable weapon against the procrastination beast.
Anyway, progress has been made this week. It has, in a way, helped to have Jason out of the house. I find his work is philosophically distracting, as lame as that sounds. And my work is often loud or full of fumes or just plain weird, and I don't want it to interrupt his work. We work in very close quarters, and we hadn't really found how to make that work. I do like having him closeby, though. He manages to say smart things without interrupting or taking over my creative process. So, it's worth working this out.
Still, that settling in is no reason for me to not be making progress. Fall will see me at home on Mondays and Wednesdays, and I need to find a way to make that time count. Part of that is going to be getting everything in order before then. The site really needs to be finished and updated. My drawing/painting area needs to have a different flooring under it and some small rolling drawers. Etc.
I think I've got it now, but it sure took a lot to get my balance back. The procrastination monster... it sure is one immortal pain in the ass, innit?
Anyway, here's a treat for making it to the end. These are the prints that I did in the one week I took of my monoprint class. I'm looking forward to exploring more printing when I'm done with the first leg of school.
Remembrance
by J. Djinnaya Stroud
Monoprint
11"x14" Arches Paper
Sainthood
by J. Djinnaya Stroud
Monoprint
11"x14" Arches Paper
Larger versions are on my art collection on flickr.