Saturday, 11 December 2010
Thursday, 9 December 2010
‘Work-Life’ Balance
Are you getting your ‘Work-Life’ balance right?
I have always been puzzled by that question because it seems to suggest that ‘Work’ is one thing and ‘Life’ is another! Is this the way most people think of their work, as something separate from and in opposition to their ‘lives’? Maybe. But I doubt if artists and others who make their living being what’s generally termed ‘creative’, look at it that way. For me, and I suspect many others, my ‘work’ is a vital part of my ‘life’.
In fact I would go so far as to say that drawing and painting and some kinds of writing are often more like ‘play’! They involve the same elements of curiosity, imagination and experimentation that we all had in abundance as children. And this is a very necessary part of my life; it makes me feel right. feel like I’m being ‘myself’ more than almost anything else that I do.
'The only time I feel alive is when I’m painting.' Vincent Van Gogh
This has caused a few awkward moments as it’s so difficult to explain convincingly to friends who don’t feel this need to do ‘creative’ things on a regular basis. On several occasions I’ve excused myself from social visits if they coincide with time I’d set aside for myself to paint. I generally give ‘work’ as my reason, preferring the ‘tut-tuts’ that suggest that I’m being branded a workaholic, to having to explain that I’m more desperate for some ‘play-time’ than I am for company.
I wonder why it’s so hard to admit to needing time to play? Playing is so good for us and we’d probably all be a lot happier and healthier if we did more of it. But I think that for many of us - and I venture to suggest this applies to women in particular - allowing ourselves time off to play when there are so many other things and people requiring our attention is quite difficult. This may have its roots in lingering traces of ‘puritanical’ thinking that suggests that we are not here to enjoy ourselves!
'To love what you do and feel that it matters – how could anything be more fun?' Katherine Graham
A great quote, as long as we haven’t been programmed somewhere along to line, to think of ‘fun’ as an expensive luxury that we probably can't afford.
But all that aside, for me, and probably for many artists, what prevents us from spending as much time as we’d like on our creative pursuits - that we may call ‘work’ or ‘play’ - is the fact that we need to somehow make a living!
I recently read a blog post about someone who had suggested that artists should not be paid for their work but take care of their bills by taking a ‘proper job’, making their art in their spare time. This, of course, provoked a great many outraged comments from artists and the common claim that relegating one’s creative pursuits to ‘spare time’ after a day at an unfulfilling job, was a good way to kill off one’s creativity!
But even if an artist makes it their full-time job, the whole business of bringing in some money from one’s art can be time-consuming and a drain on one’s energy. When I first began offering my greeting card designs for sale, I was told that I’d need to spend 80% of my time on marketing and 20% actually creating. And so it has been!
In fact, in the past few months, the ‘non-creating’ activities have threatened to squeeze the opportunities to draw and paint right out of my life. So for me, and probably for other artists, the imbalance is more likely to be between actually creating and all the time-consuming activities that we have to take on in order to make a living from what we have created.
I haven’t yet got the balance right – but I’m working on it, trying to find a way that I can spend at least 25% of my time on my art. I'm hoping to take a step back over the Christmas holiday period and learn some lessons from 2010 that I can put into practice in the new year. Because, quite apart from how it makes me feel to have no time paint, if I’m not giving myself time to produce the artwork, am I not, in a sense, ‘killing off the Goose that lays the Golden eggs?’
I have always been puzzled by that question because it seems to suggest that ‘Work’ is one thing and ‘Life’ is another! Is this the way most people think of their work, as something separate from and in opposition to their ‘lives’? Maybe. But I doubt if artists and others who make their living being what’s generally termed ‘creative’, look at it that way. For me, and I suspect many others, my ‘work’ is a vital part of my ‘life’.
In fact I would go so far as to say that drawing and painting and some kinds of writing are often more like ‘play’! They involve the same elements of curiosity, imagination and experimentation that we all had in abundance as children. And this is a very necessary part of my life; it makes me feel right. feel like I’m being ‘myself’ more than almost anything else that I do.
'The only time I feel alive is when I’m painting.' Vincent Van Gogh
This has caused a few awkward moments as it’s so difficult to explain convincingly to friends who don’t feel this need to do ‘creative’ things on a regular basis. On several occasions I’ve excused myself from social visits if they coincide with time I’d set aside for myself to paint. I generally give ‘work’ as my reason, preferring the ‘tut-tuts’ that suggest that I’m being branded a workaholic, to having to explain that I’m more desperate for some ‘play-time’ than I am for company.
I wonder why it’s so hard to admit to needing time to play? Playing is so good for us and we’d probably all be a lot happier and healthier if we did more of it. But I think that for many of us - and I venture to suggest this applies to women in particular - allowing ourselves time off to play when there are so many other things and people requiring our attention is quite difficult. This may have its roots in lingering traces of ‘puritanical’ thinking that suggests that we are not here to enjoy ourselves!
'To love what you do and feel that it matters – how could anything be more fun?' Katherine Graham
A great quote, as long as we haven’t been programmed somewhere along to line, to think of ‘fun’ as an expensive luxury that we probably can't afford.
But all that aside, for me, and probably for many artists, what prevents us from spending as much time as we’d like on our creative pursuits - that we may call ‘work’ or ‘play’ - is the fact that we need to somehow make a living!
I recently read a blog post about someone who had suggested that artists should not be paid for their work but take care of their bills by taking a ‘proper job’, making their art in their spare time. This, of course, provoked a great many outraged comments from artists and the common claim that relegating one’s creative pursuits to ‘spare time’ after a day at an unfulfilling job, was a good way to kill off one’s creativity!
But even if an artist makes it their full-time job, the whole business of bringing in some money from one’s art can be time-consuming and a drain on one’s energy. When I first began offering my greeting card designs for sale, I was told that I’d need to spend 80% of my time on marketing and 20% actually creating. And so it has been!
In fact, in the past few months, the ‘non-creating’ activities have threatened to squeeze the opportunities to draw and paint right out of my life. So for me, and probably for other artists, the imbalance is more likely to be between actually creating and all the time-consuming activities that we have to take on in order to make a living from what we have created.
I haven’t yet got the balance right – but I’m working on it, trying to find a way that I can spend at least 25% of my time on my art. I'm hoping to take a step back over the Christmas holiday period and learn some lessons from 2010 that I can put into practice in the new year. Because, quite apart from how it makes me feel to have no time paint, if I’m not giving myself time to produce the artwork, am I not, in a sense, ‘killing off the Goose that lays the Golden eggs?’
"Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life" - Confucius
If only it were that simple!
Wednesday, 8 December 2010
All sorts of iPhone and iPad cases...
...on my other blog today!
Frosty Ivy iPhone case by helikettle
See other iphone designs
By the way, you may be interested to read Jackie Walker's blog post about the birds enjoying apples, coincidentally published on the same day as my 'Feeding the Birds' post!
Monday, 6 December 2010
Feeding the birds!
In November I posted a photo of the nasturtiums that I had reluctantly removed from my garden when they began to take over the paths!
In the background were the fallen apples, that I leave for the blackbirds and I was beginning to wonder what was happening as there was no sign of the birds - until last week when we had snow!
We didn't have a lot of snow, compared to Scotland and the North-East of England but it was enough to cover the apples and, as we had some of the lowest temperatures in the UK, presumably to freeze them too! So I thought they would be useless to the birds in their hidden and frozen state.
But that was precisely when the blackbird appeared, accompanied by a second male blackbird and a female and they tucked into the apples with enthusiasm!
I'm absolutely no bird photographer! Apart from anything else, any birds that I spot through my kitchen windows are well gone by the time I open the door! And my new camera can cause me problems in some light conditions as I can't alway see what I'm photographing! So my first attempt to catch a blackbird enjoying an apple (above) was pure chance! And so was my second -
I did a little better with the sparrows up high in the apple and pear trees because I could more or less see what was going to be in the picture -
The following day I noticed from inside that there were not only the blackbirds and sparrows in my little fruit trees, but two blue-tits and two thrushes as well! The only thing missing in the pear tree was the 'partridge'!
I think I could get quite hooked on this bird-watching. I've never known a tiny garden with so many different birds. There's a robin too and some nights I can hear an owl very close by, though I've never managed to see it. And I'm sure the birds in Wales sing more sweetly, in good Welsh tradition, than anywhere else! Maybe it's a consolation for not having a cat these days?
But I realise that I need to improve my photography somehow, especially when I see the wonderful bird photos that Jean posts on her blog!
Maybe, one day, I'll have a go at painting them instead!
Saturday, 4 December 2010
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
Handpainted Christmas Cards from GCU Artists
As I said in my previous post, on joining GCU a year ago, my impression was that most of the card designs were digitally produced. However, there are still plenty of wonderful designs available that were painted using traditional methods and here is a selection of them for Christmas.
The small size of these images makes it difficult to see just what'is so special about these handpainted designs, so click on the images and see the larger version.
Myrna Migala's watercolour
Diana Ting Delosh's watercolour and ink
Sharon Eyres' Folk Art Style
Steve Delmonte's watercolour and ink
Brenda Thour's
Amy Reges'
Robin Chaffin's coloured pencils
'Snowman Friend Merry Christmas'
Judith Cheng's
'Tis the Season to believe in Magic'
Mary Harris's aatercolour and iInks
Nativity Scene - the Angel
Christie Black's
'For friends - Lion and Lamb - Merry Christmas'
Cindy A Teresa's acrylic
'Christmas Peace - beautiful, snowy Winter Scene'
Lane Cobb-Combs' acrylic on canvas
'Silent Night'
Barbara Schreiber's watercolour
'Merry Christmas Card - Robin with Hat'
Harriet Masterton's acrylic
'Merry Christmas'
Lyn Norton's watercolour
'Angel Harpist'
When you click on an image to take a closer look, you will also find the link that enables you to explore all the cards in the artist's store.
The small size of these images makes it difficult to see just what'is so special about these handpainted designs, so click on the images and see the larger version.
Susan Alison's watercolour
'Dog' Christmas Tree
Myrna Migala's watercolour
'Twelve Days of Christmas'
Diana Ting Delosh's watercolour and ink
'Polar Bear, Cub and Christmas Wreath'
Sharon Eyres' Folk Art Style
'Christmas Snow'
Steve Delmonte's watercolour and ink
Ho Ho Holiday!
Brenda Thour's
'Cardinals'
Amy Reges'
'Christmas Yellow Labrador tugs Santa down Chimney'
Robin Chaffin's coloured pencils
'Snowman Friend Merry Christmas'
Judith Cheng's
'Tis the Season to believe in Magic'
Mary Harris's aatercolour and iInks
Nativity Scene - the Angel
Christie Black's
'For friends - Lion and Lamb - Merry Christmas'
Cindy A Teresa's acrylic
'Christmas Peace - beautiful, snowy Winter Scene'
Lane Cobb-Combs' acrylic on canvas
'Silent Night'
Barbara Schreiber's watercolour
'Merry Christmas Card - Robin with Hat'
Harriet Masterton's acrylic
'Merry Christmas'
Lyn Norton's watercolour
'Angel Harpist'
And here's my favourite from the handpainted paper collages I made for this year - with a Welsh Greeting!
When you click on an image to take a closer look, you will also find the link that enables you to explore all the cards in the artist's store.
Enjoy!
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