Tidiness Saves Lives
You know what's a good way to get started again when you think you've hit a creative wall? Clean House! I tried that this week and I have a new lease on my creative life. You see, when I left my studio uptown I had to give up my large flat file and that was a serious sacrifice because I had no place to keep my large pieces; the only place was under the bed. That was a bad idea is SO many ways, so I eventually got our handyman, whose name is, appropriately, Angel, to build me a cabinet. This is not a perfect solution as the work has to stand up and sometimes it curls up at the bottom but it's an improvement over under the bed.
I took a few pieces out to let them flatten and had a eureka moment;
Shooting big pieces is not easy--I have to put them on the floor to get enough distance and then my studio assistant has to have a say. But he's very helpful and I think he has a good eye.
Where did "Tidiness Saves Lives" come from? I had a friend who was obsessively neat and pretty defensive about it. To make her feel better I said, "You know, many serious household accidents occur because of things left about, like on a staircase, causing serious falls." and my friend said, "You see, we're talking about saving lives!" So, Tidiness Saves Lives. I won't argue with that but I don't go overboard. Tidiness has an ebb and flow in my life. I like it when my desk is clear but it has a way of getting messy that is not of my doing. Some of my possessions, like my reading glasses (and, being nearsighted I never needed them until recently--I used to take off my glasses to read and put them on to do sports but now I can't read without them which I find very annoying) and my phone have a way of walking off and the inks and water jars on my drawing table move relentlessly on their own to the right across the table until I'm hanging on for dear life at the edge and then I say it's time to tidy up.
I was so excited about the new ideas that sprang up from my cleaning spree that I ordered new paper from Blick, and it came in a huge box that will come in handy for transporting my new work. Stay tuned.
Now I'm off to Chicago to visit Sam, Annye and Sunny, and then on to Boulder, CO, to a memorial for my dear friend, Betty Van Zandt, the one who introduced me to Robertson Davies, and a reunion with my pals from my teaching days, so I'm writing on Wednesday but you'll get it Friday morning as usual.
Have a great weekend--maybe it won't rain?
Robertson Davies! I forgot about him. I'm going to reread. I think this was a gem of information dropped from heaven via your blog. Thanks! And have fun on your travels.
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