I have less than twelve hours to finish 5,000 more things before I leave for ACC tomorrow. That's allowing oh, say two hours for sleeping.
I hadn't planned on writing much today. But I received another e-mail from a new reader that touched my heart.
I'm quoting here without permission, so I'm disguising all details to protect the guilty. You know who you are. :^)
The person is at that stage where everything has promise and potential, and perhaps this person is having trouble focusing on exactly what direction to take.
This sounds familiar because 1) that's how I started out, and 2) that's how I still am today.
(In case you were not noticing, I'm going to use lots of lists today.)
The writer goes on to say, "I am at a loss as to where to go next. I’m afraid that when this show is over, that this lovely influx of energy and ideas will go away."
"I’m also afraid that it won’t and I’ll be stuck in a small room with an ever growing inventory of stuff that I’ve made (and since I already have a hefty inventory of raw materials (don’t ask about the bag of turtle bones in the corner) it would most likely mean moving to a large warehouse where I’ll spend the rest of my days trying to find room for that box of very cool sticks that I picked up and talking to myself)."
Let's take the first one--the fear of running out of ideas and energy.
1) It won't happen.
2) It won't happen.
3) Okay, eventually it WILL happen, for a little while anyway, but if you keep making stuff even when you don't feel like it, your ideas and energy will continue to flow.
How do I know? Because everyone who is creative worries the good ideas will stop coming.
Let's say that again, with some capital letters:
EVERYONE who is creative WORRIES that the GOOD ideas will END.
I could go into a lengthy piece here, but you know what? Today YOU can do the work and go back and read my blogs for the last year, where I hit a dry spell (I thought) and obsessed daily about how to get through it. Meanwhile, I wrote 3-5 days a week in my blog, wrote a regular column for Crafts Business Magazine, developed many new jewelry designs, revamped my retail booth for a special sales/demo opportunity (I had to convert a 10'x10' set-up into a 30'x20' set-up. And hire and train help. And provide demonstrations. And make work to fill the space. Etc., etc.) I also totally revamped the way I eat, the way I dress, and the way I look. And dropped my cholestrol 30 points. (Okay, I'm bragging, but it's true!) I was featured in American Style magazine and juried into the American Craft Council Baltimore show with my "sad, tired old work...."
I know I'm going on, but the short message is, if you keep doing the work, you will not run out of ideas.
The benefit of this is, if you keep exploring long enough, eventually you will either find what sets your heart afire and needs your full focus. OR life will find a way to MAKE you focus. My husband finding out on a Wednesday afternoon that he was laid off from his job of 10 years effective that Friday was just the wake-up call I needed to get serious about MY art. A year later, a brush with a possibly life-threatening disease was a second wake-up call for me. I hope your wake-up call is gentler.
Second, what if you DON'T run out of ideas, and keep accumulating stuff?
1) Nothing.
Well. You will run out of room and eventually you lose your children and family pets in the mess, or you are forced to clean up a bit. That's all.
2) You're not crazy. This is what artists do.
I'll keep it short this time, I promise. Please read my blog entry UGLY DUCKLING and I think you'll find some comfort.
And as a last comforting thought.... I once talked with a woman who had to settle her dead mother's estate--and her mother was a pack rat. The woman said mournfully, "Don't do that to your children! Clear that stuff out NOW."
I felt awful for ages, until I talked with a much older woman & related what the first woman had said. This older woman was a major pack rat, too.
Her response? She snorted and said, "Heck, what do YOU care what your kids think when you're gone??!! I LOVE my stuff, and I don't care what my kids think, or what they do with it when I'm dead. They can set a MATCH to it for all I care!"
I burst out laughing, and we came up with elaborate "funeral pyre" scenerios for the rest of our visit.
What a relief. ENJOY your stuff. You can clean it all out and I guarantee you, you'll have it back in a few years anyway. (Please don't ask how I know this....)
I really won't be around for the next two weeks, so everyone, if you have enjoyed reading this blog, remember, when it comes to being appreciative:
1) the best thing you can a blogger is to spread the word;
2) The best thing you can do for an artist is to buy their work;
3) and the best thing you can do for a woman is to listen to her.
Now go make stuff and tell me about it when I get back.
P.S. Um.....are you going to use ALL those turtle bones? If not, could I have some?
