My deadline is looming...the one to package up 6-10 pieces for the Teeny Tiny Art Show in New Hampshire. Still trying to have new work for much of what I send, but as I suspected, I don't work well under pressure and as each day goes by, there is more of it building so that I have spent much of the day rushing the process, smearing ink that I've not given time to dry or adding bits of this or that just to add them, realizing immediately what a clumsy thing I have done. But, such an interesting process, as once again, I listen to the voices at work there in the studio....trying desperately to help me, if only I'd relax and listen. There were a couple of key moments when the Observer got through to me. At one point this morning I had about 6 or 8 pieces in various stages in front of me on the desk, trying to work a little on each one and move it along, but as you can imagine I was feeling pretty fragmented. I heard one of my better selves...."choose four that you will send and work on those and set all the others off to the side...can't you see that you can't even concentrate with so many irons in the fire?".....Gotcha!!!....I chose the four with the most possibilities and relaxed into working, but it wasn't long until I began to see the smudged ink on one of the pieces and realized I'd been rushing through the drawing, just so I could move on to the next one. It wasn't until I slowed down even more this afternoon that I began to feel better about what was happening with the pieces. Some people work better under pressure...a looming deadline somehow brings out the best in them....if only it were so with me.
Have a great weekend....I know where I'll be, but that's not a bad thing!
