Monday, November 17, 2008
Fragments
So many times I just wish for smooth sailing. I make wonderful plans for my week, my day or even a few hours. And then the winds of my life change and I am blown off course. I looked at my art workspace this morning and find it is an outward picture of my inward mind. There are several projects in process but none is finished. I look at my moleskine journal and find it has half finished pages and thoughts on the pages. Nothing seems to have any rhyme or reason, just bits and pieces: fragments (Oh no, that gives me yet another idea! A page titled fragments)And I find myself wondering how to bring the fragments together one by one until they form some sort of picture I can live with. That's the crux of it all. I feel so unbalanced. I have a need for more order. I need to be able to be more focused. I wonder how other artists find that still small place within themselves to create in peace. Or do they also find themselves restless and fragmented? I have decided for today to pick up just one of the unfinished projects and pick up all the others and place them on a tray and set them aside. With my work space clear, I will attempt to work on this single project and bring it to completion. I will place a small notepad beside my work and if new ideas or thoughts come I will write them there briefly and then return to the work at hand. Hopefully that will make things a bit easier. I don't know if anyone is reading this So many times I just wish for smooth sailing. I make wonderful plans for my week, my day or even a few hours. And then the winds of my life change and I am blown off course. I looked at my art workspace this morning and find it is an outward picture of my inward mind. There are several projects in process but none is finished. I look at my moleskine journal and find it has half finished pages and thoughts on the pages. Nothing seems to have any rhyme or reason, just bits and pieces: fragments (Oh no, that gives me yet another idea! A page titled fragments) And I find myself wondering how to bring the fragments together one by one until they form some sort of picture I can live with. That's the crux of it all. I feel so unbalanced. I have a need for more order. I need to be able to be more focused. I wonder how other artists find that still small place within themselves to create in peace. Or do they also find themselves restless and fragmented? I have decided for today to pick up just one of the unfinished projects and pick up all the others and place them on a tray and set them aside. With my work space clear, I will attempt to work on this single project and bring it to completion. I will place a small notepad beside my work and if new ideas or thoughts come I will write them there briefly and then return to the work at hand. Hopefully that will make things a bit easier. I don't know if anyone is reading this that would have good suggestions, but I am open to ideas. I have decided to try out my idea and will stop back this evening to let you know it if helped
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I know exactly what you mean. There is a quote that says "Life is what happens while we are making other plans." No matter our best intentions and desires for what we want to accomplish, life just keeps happening, and blows us in the opposite direction of where we wanted to go on a given day.
ReplyDeleteI think your idea of clearing your workspace, and focusing on a single project is a great idea. It's overwhelming to have so many things to do all piled up and competing for attention. My desk looks like a hurricane hit it, and I can't even think straight when I sit down there. I will try your idea also!
Pick the project that resonates the strongest with you today, and go for it! Writing the other ideas as they come to you is great...you can come back to them later without losing track of where you are now. I keep thinking that one of those voice recorders would be a wonderful gadget to capture those fleeting thoughts through out the day.
Hope your plan works out well for you, and that whatever you do...take time to just breathe deeply and enjoy the moment!
Shelley