I’ll try to keep up the newsletters but honestly, only those art gurus NOT creating art are the ones who go on and on about how YOU too can be an artist . I like to think that those of us who do live our lives as self employed artists, share the same highs and lows that artists from every previous century have faced. None of them had the time nor was it even an ideal, to wonder about “what is art?” They worked at the craft they were best suited to and that helped them make a living. Period.

So in keeping with evaluating the ROI on our time writing articles on making a living as an artist, it will be easier and more cost effective to share a few things here and there via Facebook. Because honestly, if you have not taken up the challenges to become an artist in the 5 years we have been sharing our knowledge, then you simply aren’t going to.  This lifestyle is not for the faint of heart.

SO pop over, add your comments, get inspired.

Theresa and Steve

I don’t think I ever knew if my dad was naturally neat or if his years in the military honed his skills, but the fact remains that his legacy is with me always when I am tempted to leave the yard tools out, not unload the dishwasher or more importantly for my art business, after using supplies in the art studio.

My dad’s workshops, wherever we lived, had vast expanses of pegboard with items not only hung up but outlined with marker. His rationale, when asked, was that if there was an empty hook,  he knew what was missing by the outline and could look for it or  find the culprit who borrowed it and did not put it back. Nails, screws, wire, electrical thingies, all were sitting in clear plastic (“they don’t break,” he said) instant coffee jars on shelves. Everything had a place, and everything was in it’s place.

It’s hard to argue with that logic.

I think I rebelled for awhile. I am not anal neat. But I am, I discovered, anti-clutter. Weird. When it gets to the point where I feel there is too much clutter in every room, everywhere….my brain rebels and the “clean slate” mentality takes over and my family hustles. Ask my 4 kids who knew that if mom says she was going into their rooms the next day with a big black trash bag, ( after repeated, useless efforts to get them to do it themselves)  she WOULD fill it and she WOULD take it to the dump.  The amazing result of this happening, get this, one time, was that it never happened again (go figure).  After the first event, I would only have to give fair warning and it was like I switched on  hidden kid motivation motors and the room cleaning activity by four kids went into 4th gear.  They were too bent to the tasks in their rooms for me to see the eye rolling or hear the muttered comments, but I didn’t care. Everything was going into….some place.

The kids are all on their own now and there are only two people to blame if the clutter gets bad. My artist husband does not have my father’s sense of cleaning up behind himself. He too has seen the results of my anti-clutter blitz. He may think that as a spouse he is exempt to my one woman war on “shit everywhere”, but he knows better. Just like my kids, too much stuff means you don’t really know what you have, even when it is gone.  And the Goodwill is all the better for it.

Now let me clarify that it takes a lot to get me to the blitz mode. It is bad. It is 2 days of dirty dishes in the sink, paths through the studio,  unloaded art supplies from the vehicles from shows, classes, exhibitions…..all set inside the door like the area around the top of some attic stairs. When it is too cluttered, there is an area in my brain that is cluttered. Most importantly, it affects my creativity. There is something to be said for reaching for whatever supply you need and having it right there.

Perhaps the one iconic moment that marked the end of my “oh it doesn’t matter” attitude was searching for my car keys one day. My dad used to refer to such moments as  “the great treasure hunt.”  When I found the keys where I had tossed them upon entering the house, it dawned on me as clearly as the sun outside that if today had taken twenty minutes to find this one item, I had probably wasted at least a year of my life, over time, trying to find something that had not been put back in it’s place. It was one of those “Ah Ha!” moments. I could say that the apple didn’t fall far from the tree, or I was truly my father’s daughter but the truth was that I was tired of disorganization that affected my life. The car key problem was solved easily (and I might add for the whole family of driving teens) by putting a key ring hold by the front and side entrances to the house. Every time someone walked into the house with car keys, any keys, they were hung up in plain site. It worked.

I think it was like losing weight-once the first few pounds come off, the motivation to keep doing whatever you’re doing, intensifies.   So I set about organizing everything, all the paperwork files for the business, appliance warranties, insurance papers, kids’ papers…and the feeling of needing something and being  able to lay hands on it was…..miraculous.

Oh it creeps back and you have to stay vigilant. Yesterday I attacked the studio. It was actually unplanned. But I have a student art camp coming up soon and was not getting my act together to plan what I needed to do. My “list” was not growing. So one thing led to the other and I moved, tossed out, hung, secured, dragged and otherwise organized the art studio back to a positive, creative, “want to be there” space and I am happy. My brain is not cluttered in the art corner part of it and I am ready to attack my plans and organize the activities. It is a good place to be.

Funny thing is that the trend today is to hire someone to unclutter your life, organize your closets, design the perfect clutter free environment, or join on line groups that make your lists for you .

But in the long run, you have to have the self motivation to do it yourself.

And it really is as simple as finding a place for everything and then putting it all back in its place.

Thanks Dad. You would be proud (mostly)

Today was one of those days where we were able to check off yet one more thing on our perpetual “to do” list!

And what we checked off was the fence in front of the Art studio! As with any big project we’ve put a lot of time and effort into our art studio. We spend a lot of time in here and we try to make it not just a place to work, but a retreat.  Visitors love the look and feel of our studio.

We built it a little over ten years ago from recycled materials gathered from a 1910 house being demolished, a warehouse of construction leftovers and good old fashioned muscle and help from family members! …it took us almost two years  because  we paid as we went along. No debt .

So today, we were able to step back and admire our new section of fence. It’s the same kind of fence we have around our rose and herb garden. Tobacco stick screwed to treated wood…and the sticks, if not touching the ground, last as long as the treated wood!  We had to first tear down the picket fence we installed at the beginning as the invading wisteria (yes we stupidly planted it on purpose!) had started to pull it down. Putting up the fence was the easy part. Attacking the vegetation with chainsaw, clippers and Round Up, was a the hard part . Oh well the original concept was good…we just picked the wrong plant for an arbor!

Artists often need beauty and quiet times for inspiration…. it’s a perfect place for many of our classes and our art retreats. Sure you can find the beauty elsewhere as an option. But being a part of it, nourishing it and reveling in it…well now, that’s the artist’s life!

Same type of fence around herb and rose garden

Maybe some people call it a Zen thing. I call it the “Art Zone”. No matter how long you have procrastinated or how many chores still need to be done,  clients  to see, bills to pay, kids’ games to see…….somehow, it all goes away when you are creating.

I suppose you can compare with that quiet time everyone tries to steal for themselves at some point in the day- that perfect cup of coffee, a good book,  an evening glass of wine, a peaceful moment .

All artists have their  Art Zone moments but it is the same universally. Lost in thought, concentration…..whatever you are creating seems to just …..happen.  For a few minutes or hours you can become immersed in another world-one known only to artists who create.  This is the art time that flies, the concerns of the outside world fade, and the immersion is total.

When all is said and done, it’s what makes you tick as an artist. Call it what you will, the Art Zone is  the balm of artistic people.  And for those creative people who don’t pursue this sanctuary in some form, nothing in your life will be complete or total until you make the time to go to the Zone.

So whatever it is you like to create, go do it!  Once you step into the Art Zone, however momentarily,  and experience what it does for you, you’ll make the time to enter it regularly. Not only will it change your life for the good, it will have a positive impact on the lives of those around you.  And really, life doesn’t get much better than that!