The Studio Source.com

I’m supposed to be officially on hiatus for the summer, but I had a half-finished post in the works, which fits nicely between two guest posts, so here I am, breaking curfew.

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I spent the afternoon with a painter friend recently. We talked about her work, about our time in art school (same university, different years), about teaching and drawing, and what it means to be an artist.

We even talked a little about business. But not much.

Not much business talk was necessary. She does great work, and she knows what she needs to do to build her career. How, when, and if she does it is up to her.

You have those same choices.

All that freedom can hang you up sometimes.

Do you have an unfinished project lurking in your consciousness? One way or another, it’s time to set it in motion.

It’s difficult to move forward when you’re surrounded by unfinished business. It might be a special order or commission you should have started already, or one of those “just in case” ideas that usually comes with stuff that requires too much storage space in your studio, or in your head.

Clear it out.

Here’s a revolting development: I have run out of words.

No, that’s not true. I’ve run out of ways to string the words that regularly bounce between my ears into coherent thoughts. I’ve been trying to write for two solid days—reasoning, cajoling, threatening, and pleading ideas into solid form.

It’s not happening.

This morning I thought about the last time I had a vacation. By “vacation,” I don’t mean taking time away from regular work to do other work, like siding a house, for example. I mean the kind where you do whatever you want. Spend the day in your pyjamas, eat popcorn for lunch, read comic books, sit and watch the wind blow.

When did I do that last? 1996.

The last time I took a real break was 14 years ago.

I am spent. Go figure.

So I’m taking a week off to do whatever the hell I want.

I could have scheduled posts to be published in my absence, but I wouldn’t be around to respond to comments, which is poor manners. And if I did show up to reply to the great people who take the time to share their thoughts, it wouldn’t be a real vacation.

Sometimes the only thing you can do to get your creativity moving again, is stop.

I will be back next Monday—World Water Day, if you’d like an event to mark it—with bells on. Or at least a few coherent thoughts. In the meantime, I leave you with a wonderful animation called “Procrastination” by John Kelly. If you’re reading this in your RSS feed and can’t see the video, you can find it here on YouTube. A big shout out to Eugen Oprea, who brought the video to my attention.

Enjoy your week, and many thanks to all of you who have come along for the ride so far. Talk to you soon.

I’m kind of on the DL this week (that would be the Disabled List for those of you who aren’t into sports). I have a knot in my shoulder blade big enough to require a name, and it’s been sending late-night scouting parties north to make me grind my teeth in my sleep. I’m not in the best of shape at the moment, so until I get myself fixed I’m trying to stay away from the keyboard.

Instead of limping through a half-baked post, I have a question for you. Actually, I have a few questions:

What do you do in a slump?

If you make work that relies on the sales cycle that peaks in mid-December, you’ve likely got some time on your hands right now. What are you doing with it?

Seeing your income drop is scary business, even if it’s a seasonal lull. Somewhere in the back of your mind, nestled in the midst of recession headlines, you wonder if maybe this time sales won’t rebound like they used to.

The economy goes up, the economy goes down. All of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again.