Saturday, June 2, 2012

Won't give up!

'Rustafari'  
created for June Skateboard Show at Space Monkey

June is gonna be a doozy!

There's only 8 more days of school for my boy, that's 8 days left of private studio time for mama! After that, it's anyone's guess HOW I'll get anything done. I have a big show to prepare for at the end of the month and I'm starting to stress that I won't be able to put all that I want to into it. This month is going to be about Time Management, testing my limits and hopefully discovering what I'm made of. Am I capable of meeting all my goals? Can I be a full time artist and a full time mama at the same time?  I sound like a broken record, but it's the same old conundrum any self-'employed' parent faces on the verge of every Summer;  How the Hell am I gonna pull it all off?!

When I started this blog 3 years ago, it was in response to my layoff; to track my transition through a major life change. But I haven't really blogged much, and when I do it's usually just an announcement about my latest piece and where it's showing. I rarely delve into how I got there or what happened along the way. I hope to reach deeper now and expose a bit more of the engine that makes it all go. It may be tedious, self-absorbed and boring, but it's time to use this blog less as a forum for self-marketing and more as a tool for self-discovery. I have such a convoluted idea of who I am and where I'm going, but I am on a mission to make that clearer to myself. It's a personal struggle that may or may not be of interest to anyone else, but it's work I've got to do and for some crazy-narcissistic reason, I've decided to make it public.

So for the 28 days left in June, I'm undertaking a Blogathon (on top of everything else!). The idea is to track my process, focus and account for my time and what I spend it on. Can I remain on track and be present and directed. . . we'll see!

I have to admit that my renewed dedication to this Blog is hugely inspired by the incredibly motivational commencement speech Neil Gaiman gave at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia:


"The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can.

The moment that you feel that, just possibly, you're walking down the street naked, exposing too much of your heart and your mind and what exists on the inside, showing too much of yourself. That's the moment you may be starting to get it right."

Watch the whole thing!
http://www.uarts.edu/neil-gaiman-keynote-address 

See all the decks of the Skateboard Show on view thru June at Space Monkey




3 comments:

  1. Thankyou for the link. Inspiring indeed. Good luck with the school holidays AND blogathon! Yikes! You're a brave woman!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I Love that you're sharing the "inner-struggle"!
    What a lot if people don't realize is that Art for some is a religion/addiction; it becomes how U see the world.
    So searching to make a living in Art is not just practical ....it is spiritual survival of sorts.
    I think this Blog will help U to see (from the outside) and may bring about the "catalyst"...the epiphany ....that will lead to Great opportunities!
    I sure do hope that for U!

    ReplyDelete
  3. . . . as I hope the same for U DQ! So much work to be done! xo

    ReplyDelete