I am at the studio wondering how I will manage to do everything that I want to do today: two video calls/meetings, an opening, a magazine (final edition) release, a Christmas dinner (where I need to be at the venue early in order to give out tickets that the artists’ club has bought for the committee and others). All that I really want to to do is potter about the studio!
… I forgot something else … I want to make a prototype box for transporting the tie drapes to the exhibition. I would really like to get this done today as I am working three days next week (and have meetings at on least two evenings) and then it’s Christmas … I have been invited to friends which is lovely but it means that I need to make something to bring to the table and get some ’token’ presents … I also have to get a tree and do grocery shopping for myself.
The new job is going well, though to be honest I miss not being in control of my schedule … it’s something that I will have to get used to as ’my schedule’ does not generate income. I listened to an artist’s talk the other evening while washing up – it was kind of ’advice for young artists’ … there was lots of encouragement, and good emphasis put on finding one’s own voice and making conscious decisions about how to be the artist that you want to be … I found myself questioning (again) whether I have ever really given myself the chance to be the kind of artist that I want to be … a particularly pertinent question as I start a new job after only four months of what should have been a year long sabbatical. The economic reality is that those four months were sufficient to demonstrate that without significant additional earnings the savings that I have would not last the year … and those significant additional earnings are not only not guaranteed they are seemingly less feasible. None of us working for Supermarket may get the same the fee as last year – the fair received a 40% cut in its core funding – very worrying indeed.
So while I would like to be a studio artist who sells work, gets both public and private commissions, does a bit of guest lecturing, and is selected for museum shows, I have to accept that that boat may well have left the habour.
What can I do to increase my sense of ,at the very least, being heading in a meaningful (to me) direction?
- Recognise that the part-time job provides sufficient basic income, I need to start seeing other ’opportunities’ (to earn) as threats to my own practice and I need to prioritise time in the studio.
- Learn to say no! And limit the amount of time that I give to unpaid work/projects.
- Set some goals for the coming year, and have a five year plan.
So now to get on with the day …
