going for a walk
When things get complicated or I have so much information that I need to process, I go for a walk. There’s nothing like bucket loads of fresh air to clear the head and with miles and miles of lovely hills to explore where I live it’s doubly rewarding. There’s something about going for long walks that’s especially productive in the processing of data. Freed from the chains of staring at a screen, or a book or going round in circles in the studio, the monotony of putting one foot in front of the other, while just conscious enough about where you are going gives the brain a chance to do something easy and relax.
On my recent walks I’ve been trying to sort out in my head what it is exactly I want to know that will help me move my practice onwards. I had hoped that I would be further along this path than I actually am with the peer support. However, the barrier I’m finding the most taxing – and most unexpected – is not aiming high enough. It seems the longer you do this art game the number of true peers diminishes. Sure, every artist is a peer at one level and that’s something I’ll never just take for granted, but some words of wisdom I remember from the distant past told me that I should always be looking up. Always looking for advice from those above where you are. Recently I made contact with one of those on my list of people I wanted to talk to for this project. While it was good to know that they not only knew who I was and knew my work – and in fact were big fans of my work, which is always nice to discover – when I approached them about offering some professional development they told me I probably knew all they knew already and it became a very brief, but enjoyable conversation.
I hadn’t expected that.
Fortunately I have others on my list who are still happy to meet and offer advice and insight. However, I’m now looking what I thought was a long way up the professional ladder and it’s a lot harder to coordinate diaries for meetings.
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There was a recent podcast by the editor of LensWork which made me think again about my peers. ‘Your Fellow Traveller’ talked about how we can all see further by standing on the shoulders of giants, but who are the giants we want to stand above? Besides the great and legendary artists there are also other artists who are treading the same path as you – your fellow travelers. I love the idea that no matter where we are heading – how remote or seemingly uncharted – there are others heading in the same direction. These are not competitors – art isn’t a race after all – but companions. Look to them as friends. Look to see what they’ve done and learn from their mistakes and build on their successes. By treading the same path in many ways they are helping you along too. Just knowing they are there and share the same values and destination as you is a comfort and also helps to gauge where you are in the greater map of art.
Seems walking as a metaphor is useful too.
