Thursday, April 23, 2009

Frequent Sketches

Ooh, boy, I've been busy: cleaning out the studio, moving things around, reorganizing, taking inventory, and just generally doing some spring cleaning.
Because I'm not motivated to make commitments and changes in January when most people do (I just don't have the energy), I wait until spring. This year, not only am I making some much needed physical changes but I've made some much needed new commitments to myself and my work. Here are the biggies:
  1. I've written out my mission statement and have it posted where I read it daily.
  2. I have also posted my list of professional goals where I can read them daily along with their deadlines.
  3. Each goal is broken down into workable steps with each date marked on a goal calendar.
  4. To avoid the inevitable (for me) lag time between finishing a piece and starting a new one, I will strive to have more than one project going at a time. This is also very helpful when I am struggling or bored working on one particular drawing.
  5. I will sketch. I am not committing to a daily schedule, but a frequent one. It's just impossible for me with a young son and so many other commitments to sketch daily. But I have promised myself to try to work on a simple sketch for 30 minutes or less. I plan to share many of these sketches here.
  6. I have made a daily work schedule to block out large chunks of time to commit solely to my artwork. This schedule is then being shared with my family so they can be aware of when I am working.

Making these commitments and cleaning out that studio has given me a new boost toward my work and creativity.

Does anyone else feel the need to "spring clean" to recharge the batteries?

3 comments:

Ann said...

It seems each change of season inspires me to re-evaluate where I am with my art work and other yearly goals. This sounds like an ambitious yet very sound plan. I like your sketch and look forward to seeing more!

Carolina said...

Great way to find motivation and feel organization in your life, thanks for sharing.
And, I like your sketch, it's nice. Maybe you might consider making a series of tool sketches.

Rose Welty said...

I agree with Ann, changes in the weather always seem to spark some sort of "evaluation" mood in me. At spring time, especially, I feel a need to lighten the load and declutter! Sounds like a great plan...