Time... the problem is that we think we have enough of it. There is never enough time. EVER. I was so happy to find this set of excerpts from the book "How to Fly a Horse : The Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery" by Kevin Ashton... which will be one of my next Kindle purchases... One such part of what I read was:
Time is the raw material of creation. Wipe away the magic and myth of creating and all that remains is work: the work of becoming expert through study and practice, the work of finding solutions to problems and problems with those solutions, the work of trial and error, the work of thinking and perfecting, the work of creating. Creating consumes. It is all day, every day. It knows neither weekends nor vacations. It is not when we feel like it. It is habit, compulsion, obsession, vocation. The common thread that links creators is how they spend their time. No matter what you read, no matter what they claim, nearly all creators spend nearly all their time on the work of creation. There are few overnight successes and many up-all-night successes. - Kevin Ashton, "How to Fly a Horse"
Keep reading below for my discussion about this ARTicle.... (click here to read the original "article")
| Learn to Say "No"...I am SO bad at saying "No".... it makes me feel like I am missing out on something, or hurting someone's feelings. I myself also hate to hear the word "No" (which my mom and boyfriend will attest to). But I have also heard plenty about how I need to learn how to say "No" to things, and stop absolutely overloading myself with things I should be doing. Reading through this article made me realize that "No" is actually my friend, not my enemy. |
"No" is what guards my studio time, it keeps me doing what I should be doing... creating! Don't get me wrong, I love to spend time with my friends, go out for a glass of wine and some good food. It's good to get out of the studio and go for a walk and see some people (being an artist can be an incredibly lonely life). But it is also good to make sure that you are leaving enough room in your life to still dedicate time to energetic creativity and work on what you are passionate about.
It's not just nights out with my friends, and soaks at the Wellsprings that I am saying "No" to... it's also work. I get so many offers of projects to work on, and even have my own events going on (ART.MUSIC.PASSION has grown beyond what I EVER thought it could!) and I cannot possibly say "Yes" to all of these things and still have adequate time to create comfortably. This is originally what spurred me to have "Art Church Sunday", a day to dedicate to my passion of Art and spend it in my studio. Occasionally hosting potlucks at my house as well so that I could socialize with other artsy friends while they work on projects (go check out #ArtChurchSunday on Instagram and Facebook to see some of what we got up to on these days!). ANYWAYS... I have had to start saying "No" to new projects and jobs. It kills me to throw so many opportunities to the side like that, but I HAVE to.
When you really look at it in this way, saying "no" to the world is really saying "yes" to my art and creative self. My art is incredibly important to me, and I have chosen this life time and time again when presented with other options. So there's no time like the present to start saying "no" more often and start getting back more time to do what I really love... Next time you find yourself on the receiving end of a "no" from me, know that I still love you and that I likely need some more time for my creative self and my studio. And you are always welcome to come join me!! (I even Skype!)
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