Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Week 16: No Rest For the Wicked

This week's post is a little late because..... I'm on vacation.

"What?!?!?" my slavedriver-self demands.  "How can you take a break NOW when you have a whole new collection to put together?!  You should be working around the clock, not resting on your laurels!"

Well, trust me, I will be working around the clock.  I've never been someone who waits until the deadline crunch to produce work.  Neither my personality nor the nature of the medium will allow me to do that.  But one of the many, many gifts my family has given me is the gift of balance.  It is so easy for me to get so absorbed in my work that I lose perspective on the other aspects of my life.  My family reminds me to stop and take a look to appreciate what I have.

Unfortunately, my slavedriver-self will not take a break with me. Nag, nag, nag! As a compromise I have brought some things to work/play with.  Recently an artist friend and I lamented that we just don't allow ourselves time in the studio to just play without an end result in mind.  So, I've packed up some antique doll bodies, buttons, thread, tags, metal and other ephemera to simply create.  Will these creations end up in a piece or simply decorate the studio I don't yet know.  But the more I work with these items, the more my imagination is stretched.  I'm enjoying the process, not the product.  But most of all, I'm having fun AND keeping the slavedriver-self still....at least for now!