I've been spending a lot of time in here lately! I have a show opening on August 11, as well as a couple of big tile commissions, so it looks like I'll be hands-in-clay for most of the summer.
I love seeing pictures around the blogosphere of other artist's studios - I especially love the really pristine and orderly ones, which my studio is not. I like restoring order between projects, but I am not a neat worker. Things fall where they may. When I'm creating I move quickly, often laterally, and I get excited, and these qualities don't foster tidy work surfaces.
I guess it's about learning to value and honour my own creative process - and my own creative process is sometimes messy.
Actually, much of the process must be orderly and disciplined, and the studio must stay clean to support our health and be welcoming for our clients. But if I don't also open up space for the messy bits of the process, the magic doesn't happen.
I think this is true in so many areas of our lives. We love plans and order, we feel safe when things happen within a strong and predictable structure. And yes, like children, we do need that structure, it's essential to our well-being.
But there also has to be space and time within that structure for a little bit of chaos. There has to be permission to play, a place to make a mess, time set aside for useless and nonsensical activity, time for out-of-bounds, veering off the trail, letting your imagination run wild.
Remember Miss Frizzle in The Magic Schoolbus?
Remember her recipe for how to learn?
Get messyIs there a place in your life where you enjoy running a bit wild? How do you nurture your imagination? Do you feel fulfilled in your creativity or do you want to invite more of it into your life?
Take chances
Make mistakes
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