Myself. Project.

11x14 mixed media on stretched canvas - new

So this is it. A new year...and vows to make some changes to see where I am going and where I have been. I'm calling this the "Myself Project". I am here to hammer out what it is I want to be doing at this time in my life..talk it out..and hopefully engage in some dialogue with you. Projects all over the place, it seems that a lot of times I have disregarded work on myself..which should be most important, right? I have no qualifications to be writing about this topic.. but I have to tell you that the first step- writing about it...makes me feel better already.

I've slacked off in making new art. Granted, I have stayed totally busy helping students and writing a book...but the exploration and gaining new ground has taken a back seat to the needs of others (including family). So, the first thing I did was think about what is slowing me down art wise... what changed between the last time I was cranking out art that I was excited about and current day Julie? Where did fun-time-Julie go?

I think she got bogged down with mundane projects and devoping classes. I think. I can't be positive, but my first step is to take those two things and drop them back a bit and see where my fun-meter goes. See, I think it's important to realize that the first moment that making art feels like work...then there is a problem...

So if you're reading this, and you think to yourself that your fun-meter is on empty a little bit..and the pressures of maintaining your blog readership and cranking blog post after blog post out is getting to you and feels like work...then you like me need to do something about it. Let's talk.

Rule #1: If the fun comes back the art will make me more happy.

Comments

[Kathy McCreedy]

Happy New Year, Julie!
I'm thrilled to reconnect with you, and linked over here after reading a post on Seth's blog about Master Classes. Sounds like you have been very, very busy and very productive... so a rest from some of the more "product oriented" work of art, seems like a good plan to me! Congratulations on all your successes over these past couple of years, Julie! I think if you look back over the past five years or so, you'll see you have REALLY come a long distance and you should be SO proud of yourself... I'm VERY impressed! I always think perhaps I need a complete break from "art worries" for a day or a week, and then find completely different, but still creative, things to explore. And I take time to sleep a bit more... rest my brain and soak up all the new images I've seen. You'll find your answer... you're a bright, energetic, talented young woman... and I am SO happy for you and all your successes!!!
All my best,
Kathy McCreedy

[Kim Mailhot]

I am experiencing some of the same questioning, Julie. I haven't blogged nearly as much as usual since the New Year and I am struggling to find time and energy to reply to comments, etc but at the same time, don't want to lose the wonderful friendships and connections I have made in Blogland. Art making has taken a back seat since way before Christimas. I am missing it. Isn't it weird how it is a physical need somehow ? This drive to create stuff from the heart, the Artist Soul ?
I think clearing the decks and allowing for some play time will be key to getting me back to the journal and what my Being really needs. Bringing the fun-o-meter back in line, as you suggest ! I think I need to schedule a day of paint splshing and slopping with no regard for technqiue or outcome. Maybe if I lose myself in the paint, make a new pile of gorgeous painted papers, I will get a little filled up with fun again ?
I hope your fun-o-meter is on the rise asap !
Happy Monday !

[Katie McD]

Hi Julie, I really like your new canvas -- esp the drips and the darkness in the bottom right. I just recently signed up for Layer Love 2.0 and can't wait to get started. I've admired your art for awhile now, and am excited to see any new work you come up with! I'm new-ish to art (and especially to painting on canvas) and you've inspired me to dabble in the more abstract art that has been pulling at me for awhile now. Can't wait to see where it goes! Good luck on your project :)

[David]

Fun back in art? Now that's concept!! I agree with you...with all the pressures to "blog" (or just making sure that your work is "Seen" in the right places...) I sometimes wonder....

Like you, I have goals coming out of my ears...and everyday I add more!! Keeping it fun is at the top of my list...yet....

It's going to be a good year...that much I know...and we will keep it fun!

[Chris]

Oh, boy, do I hear you. My productivity has really eased up the past year. This year is starting out with a lot of projects, but as many of us already know, often the art that doesn't build from inside us is not always the art that engages, heals, or impassions us. Sometimes I look upon the great, or not as great, artists who serve as touchstones for us, I learn or understand that they DO have a great focus on themselves, on their inner lives. There is not a lot of talk about how nurturing they were to their friends or how clean their houses were. It seems to me that if the cauldron inside is not bubbling, or even glowing, from self-growth or introspection, the art does not readily (even if filled with conflict) rise to the surface.

[lee]

love the art, love the post, so very true, where has my fun meter gone, worry about people not liking what I say on my blog, my art, i used to not care what people thought, it was my space and my art.

[Kelly]

I am totally there. Sometimes the juggle to maintain the full-time job, the part-time teaching, the family and the art just simply does not happen and completely wears me out. That coupled with the fact that I can't seem to concentrate on one thing and have SO MANY THINGS I want to experiment with that I completely lose focus. I have no idea how to find the right balance. And I've started to accept that balance just might not exist. :-)

[Seth]

It is always a good idea to re-evaluate and re-view...especially when things that you once loved seemed to have become a burden. As you say, the first sep. We will all be going on this walk with you Julie and will be there for you no matter the destination.

[rebeca]

congratulations to you and happy birthday to both of you.

i, too, left my high stress / high $$$reward job in 1/07 (yikes was that 5 years ago?). although i did not leave my job to give birth to a child, and although i did not know it at the time, that decision to leave lead me to do the work i am doing now.

and i still tell people that the thing i miss the most is the camaraderie of working with others. i am constantly working on expanding my network of local artists whose work i admire and whose company i enjoy.

yesterday a friend who also works in assemblage and i started making plans to bring together a small group of artists to meet periodically and share tips, show new work, ask for advice on specific projects, or get sincere critique on a new or old piece, and / or support when needed.

i think it is interesting that i read your post today, and so, you have reminded me to celebrate my own 'artist birth-day'.