Lisa Call

Structures #53    ©2006    41" x 66"

Busy

The last few months I have been doing a bunch of art marketing work. All of the art and scrum stuff really helped me get focused and motivated on that part of my art business. It feels great to feel all the resulting forward momentum. I’m in love with my art career and know it is going to work out great.

Previously I would often find myself busy doing stuff but not really accomplishing much. Doing things isn’t very productive if they aren’t the right things to be doing. I’d fall in the trap of filling up my time with activity that doesn’t move me closer to my bigger vision.

Space

I’ve also taken a lot of time off to relaxed recently. Spending time in the mountains with Jim and not doing art stuff. Long hikes, excellent meals, fun conversations. I could lose myself in doing nothing. It creates a space in my life that I treasure and Jim is wonderful.

Unfortunately with all this space and all the activity around the art career something had to give. And that thing was creating art. Yes I’m actively working in my studio each day but an hour a day only adds up to 7 hours a week. With the weekend away for my show I’ll end this week at 4 hours of studio time. Not much after years of working 20 hours a week on my art. I can feel my inner artist screaming "I want to make more art!"

As I work towards turning the art career into the main source of money in my life I know that means I will have less time to make art. Now that it is happening I’m feeling a bit of rebellion, which is probably natural. I need to process it and make sure it’s all going in a direction I’m okay with.

Balance

Basically I’m in search of balance. Course aren’t we all. I’m not one that believes that balance means that every day or week or month I’ve got it mastered and everything falls into place perfectly. I do think there is an ebb and flow to activities, but something has triggered my "you are out of balance" meter and I’m finding myself a bit on edge and in need of adjustment.

As a start, this morning I went and had acupuncture, which I absolutely love and find it does wonders to restore my sense of well being. Not to mention the huge physical benefits.

Next step in understanding my needs is to take nothing with me to distract me from myself on my trip to Ohio this weekend. I usually have a list of todos when I go away. I can’t help it sometimes. I’m a 3 on the enneagram and my natural state is that of doing and achieving. But even I can get sick of myself and all my activity sometimes.

So this trip there will be no quilts that need beads or other stitching. No papers to shuffle or magazines to get through. No todo lists to make or organize.

I am bringing one book with me to read, I Will Not Die an Unlived Life: Reclaiming Purpose and Passion by Dawna Markova, and my journal.

For those not familiar with this book it starts with this poem by Dawna Markova:

I will not die an unlived life.
I will not live in fear
of falling or catching fire.
I choose to inhabit my days,
to allow my living to open me,
to make me less afraid,
more accessible,
to loosen my heart
until it becomes a wing,
a torch, a promise.
I choose to risk my significance;
to live so that which came to me as seed
goes to the next as blossom
and that which came to me as blossom,
goes on as fruit.

I’m looking forward to seeing where I find myself at the end of the weekend. I don’t think I’ll have a lot of time to be alone, as there are many friends to see and the museum show opening, but instead of thinking I need to do something in the down time, I plan on doing very little so I come home rested and ready to get back to life with a better sense of what I want next

Structures #53 at the Butler

The above piece will also be in the Butler Museum show that opens this weekend. This is one of the first pieces I made with the very thin lines and it’s still one of my favorites. I will be on an airplane flying to Ohio to see it at the Butler Museum around the time this post appears on my blog. Can’t wait to see it in the museum!

And a Clock

As a final note, artist Paula McCullough from self taught artist is doing a fun promotion for her first 10 piece edition of her found object clocks. She’s got an ebay auction going with a chat box on her blog to follow along. Lots of fun to interact with an artist in this way. Check it out!

Paula’s Art Clock Auction

Paula’s blog is one of the first blogs I read when I see she has a new post. Her writing is wonderful and her honesty about her life as an artist is refreshing and informative. I always come away with something to think about after reading her posts.