I just got Twyla Tharp's book THE CREATIVE HABIT. I put it down after the first chapter.
Not because it isn't excellent--it is! But I knew what I had to do.
It's called "discipline". I have to do fiber work in my studio. Every day.
It happens naturally with the jewelry, because I always have jewelry orders. Ideas come quickly and relatively easily, and problems are steadily worked through. Now to apply that principle with the fiber.
Although I'm still trying to slog my way through a period of change (both physical, professional and artistic), there are no shortcuts--even a year in! It's like seeing the end of the pool at the beginning of your hundredth lap, you still have to swim that lap.
The realities of what I've undertaken are settling in, too. I may want to get down to a new body of work. But the ACC show is in less than six weeks, and I have to ship everything well before that. There is simply no time to reinvent myself between now and then.
Nor is that the point, I've finally realized. The point is to do what I do well, and let the new direction, whatever it is, come naturally out of that process.
Which means--as Ms. Tharp puts bluntly--the discipline of doing what the work is now, every day.
And I've been doing that all week. Simply eliminating what distractions I can, and starting in a simple place, and going from there. Every day this week.
So I won't be showing totally new work. I'll be showing new reworkings of "old" work (relatively speaking, of course!) But that good enough for now. Heck, it's been FINE for the past year, why would it suddenly not be "good enough"??
I also committed to a small artist gathering this weekend, and of course promised to bring the new pieces in. So I have added incentive to lose the deep thinking piece and simply do the work. Thank you to Mary Reynolds, a friend and fellow artist for suggesting this. Interestingly, I received Mary's e-mail suggestion and the e-mail invitation to get together from another artist within minutes of each other. How synchronistic!
And when my universe gets synchronistic, that's when I know I'm on the right path.
Thanks to all who wrote or called with messages of support and hope. I apologize my entries got so whiney the last few weeks. It really is "darkest just before dawn". I have new insights and stronger resolve about my situation, and that has made all the difference in my outlook.
P.S. Ms. Tharp also commented on HER 3 a.m. voices, also very noisy and also about things that seem very trivial at 8 a.m. It's either the nature of artists, or women of a certain age, neither of which I am able or willing to change. So it comes with the territory. Just knowing that makes it a little more bearable.
