Starting the New Year

I am introducing the first piece of art I have created in the new year, 2009, on Jan 1. It is a 7 x 5 collage on mat board. It came about as some friends were over on New Year's eve and close to midnight we were trying to figure out the correct time which raised the question of: "Where does time start?" The obvious answer is Greenwich, England.

But if you think about this some more, just where does time start? Can we actually start time any time we want? We count time for cooking, or doing something, or getting paid. How about starting a new time when we decide to do something new?

I feel as if I have been chasing glory (well, not really glory but really recognition), a hold over from my childhood. Praise was hard to gain in my family. I have tried during my life to be the kind of person my mother wanted me to be, to prove myself to my father, to prove that I was good at my job, to be a good mother, etc., etc.

So, really, what do I have to prove?

When I lost all of my art work and most of my quilts in our house fire in 1995, I realized that things are things. It was the response of friends, and even people I didn't really know, that mattered. And the friends responding more freely than family. Interesting....

There has been discussion on the QuiltArt list about creativity etc. There has always be, at least in the quilting world, those who are process orientated and those who are product oriented. For some, getting the thing done is the most important part...something to show for their time. For others, it is the doing, the creating, that is most important, and once completed, the finished object holds little interest.

I find myself falling into the process side of this equation. I really enjoy the processing, the thought processing, the problem solving, the creating part of art...once done I would like to be done with it.

I think this is why I have been having problems sticking to a plan for my marketing. It is not the joy of creating. I do gain some recognition and I feel that I probably have enough. Good things are happening when my art gets out there and I know that I need to develop some ways to improve that. But the constant marketing is hard, very hard, for me and something I tend to procrastinate over. But the pile of work is really piling up...that is why I would like to sell it and get it out of the house into some one else's abode.

The process of finding someone who responds to my work is hard. It is so gratifying when it happens. But it needs to happen more often...or at least those who respond need to buy more often....that's it! I just need more buyers!

Oh well, today I send in my contract to Alameda County to create three pieces. I have been thinking about these and am looking forward to creating them. I start teaching my Advanced Better Art by Design class this weekend with several students who completed the beginning class this past year. By teaching at home I am able to do this with a much smaller group than would be profitable within a retreat type setting. I do miss the face to face but the students I have had are great. I have an idea for an article floating out there waiting for approval and I have been contacted by a book publisher...maybe I will write a book. I have new work to create for a show in May and also in October and am looking forward to that.

And, I am sleeping better and am much more rested during the day! Wow! What a change that is!