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Sunday, January 25, 2015

A (Wo)man with a Plan

I'm not sure what to call this post. I sure have been a slacker poster and a slacker art maker. In the past few months, I have been trying to change habits. I read The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business and got some good ideas.

I've been trying to (in no particular order):
  • Spend more time with the girls. They are growing up so quickly.
  • Spend more time with K. Still keeping up with our Thursday night date night.
  • Be in better touch with people I love. (I might have an idea how to do this. See below)
  • Exercise more. I have been getting down to the basement to row multiple times per week. I was introduced to rowing by my dear college roommate Mandi, and I have fond memories of rowing in the crew room at Tufts with her and my sister. Recently though it was Frank Underwood who inspired me to get my Concept 2 out of storage and start using it.  
  • Eat better. I still have that sweet tooth (see here) but I have been trying to use our winter farm share to the fullest as well. How's this for a fab recipe I made tonight?
  • Buy less. I don't need more stuff. 
  • Declutter more. And keep up with the house. I know I have two kids under 5, so this is something I have to accept that won't be easy. And K and I won some time with a declutterer in the HOPEsudbury auction. I got in touch with her today. That's a start! As an artist though, it's hard to get rid of things. (Might be another thing I can do with...see below)
  • Read more. At least I have been listening a lot lately. And it's been helping me keep up with the cleaning and decluttering.
  • Give more. I am excited that the Friends of the Goodnow Library brochure is going to be printed soon -- it's been a fun way to give back to the library.
  • Spend less time on the computer. Mostly time wasters like FB and obsessively checking email or stumbling upon stuff and getting lost online for hours. (After today, I am hoping to write less on this blog, too, because I want it to be more about the art.)
And then there's the art. What this blog is all about. I have been pretty good about some of the above and I need to make the art a habit again.  I have been reading posts by Dayna and Jennifer (as I mentioned a year ago, the last time I wrote...) and have continued to be inspired by two women who also have young kiddos.

And then I read Jessie's post How to Do a Drawing a Day. I need this kick in the pants. Thanks Jessie! I know I have tried this before. But maybe I need new guidelines. Or maybe I need less structure and I need to give myself permission to change the rules if they aren't working.

So I am putting my brainstorm in the open. Here it goes. And I start tonight.

  • Once a day.
  • Start small. 10 minutes. I can do ten minutes. Let's see how it goes. If I want to push it up, I can.
  • Length. This is key. I never thought about this. I always say a year and basically set myself up for failure. Jessie says "How long your drawing a day project goes on is up to you. Maybe it’s just a week, maybe it’s a full year. Or maybe you want to take it easy and see how it goes, like a month-to-month lease. " I love the month-to-month lease idea. Let's do it!
  • Format? I'm thinking small. 4x6? I have these super inexpensive (but awesome for this project) NYJJTA frames from IKEA. I am going to put drawings I like in the frames and hang them on the wall. I'll rotate them out. It will be inspiring. Or I can send these artworks in the mail to people I want to stay in touch with. Maybe some of each? Again, this doesn't have to be set in stone.
  • Sharing the project. This blog, I guess. I was thinking Instagram since it is solely photos, but the square format doesn't go with the format of my choosing. 
  • Medium. I use the term drawing loosely. Enough said.
Ok, enough thinking, more doing. 

5 comments:

Unknown said...

yes yes yes! I am trying the once a day concept too. So far it just has to be art related. Sharing helps me. Thanks for the shout out!

Unknown said...

Also thanks for the drawing a day link! So excited. I think I will make a it a design a day for windows or mosaics. Thanks!

Marsha said...

I love the idea of doing a drawing a day! I finally got a Hobonichi Techo and really want to use it for daily creative exercises. My problem, though, is that I have a hard time figuring out what to draw. The ideas just don't come to me easily. (But when I do have an idea, I enjoy playing with it.)

I look forward to following your project's progress here—partly because I love to see your art, and partly (I hope!) to get some ideas from you. :)

Unknown said...

Thanks, Dayna and Marsha for the support!

Marsha, I have never heard of a Hobonichi Techo but I looked it up and that's a great idea!

I never know what to draw either -- I just wanted to start with something organic so no one would know it I screwed up and I could have more fun/freedom.

And our farm share veggies are so dirty, I really thought it was a watermelon radish until I scrubbed it. It still could be! I can never tell those radishes and rutabegas and turnips apart.

I think there is a good book with drawing ideas I have in my studio but i am too lazy to put on boots. I'll send you a link soon. Oh, this is it: http://www.amazon.com/642-Things-Draw-Chronicle-Books/dp/0811876446/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422245077&sr=8-1&keywords=things+to+draw&pebp=1422245077961&peasin=811876446

Marsha said...

Thanks for the book like! That seems like a fun book. Now that I have my Techo I don't want to carry another book around with me everywhere, but maybe I can get some ideas from it.

While poking around I've come across this: http://artprompts.org/. Looks way cool, but it probably much more than I need for my purposes! :)