So the need to get back to posting a
little more regularly has been nagging at me this week. Yes,
sometimes I should just do short posts – maybe this will be one of
them (but don't hold your breath.) I woke up this morning and
thought that I should get off my duff today and post something. So I
went through what I have in the can, and although I am pleased with
it, nothing struck me as quite right for today.
The answer then becomes, “so write
something.” But what? Well, here I am. As I thought about what I
had to say, what I've been up to....and it was “not enough.” So
I thought I'd talk about remembering that even the small victories
count. And they add up.
I've been blessed with an unexpected
summer at home. And I thought I'd have so much more done (always the
way). But I completed 3 courses for an unrelated interest early in
the summer, and that ate up a bunch of time, and that is a victory.
And I have been working, albeit piecemeal, on a number of projects
that have needed getting to. And I've been working on the garden –
which is a long term project here that does, in fact relate to the
business.
So, beginning to make the pattern
pieces from the ones I was fortunate enough to get from a generous
tinsmith is a small victory. Layout of some of the pieces for the
Museum of Dufferin show I will be participating in for Christmas is a
small victory. Getting more of the garden layout and planting done
is a (medium sized?) small victory. And allowing myself the rest I
needed to feel like I could start to tackle things again is actually
a pretty big victory.
It is hard – particularly when you
are self employed and an artist in any sense – to look back on what
you did that day and see any kind of accomplishment. Oh, if you
finish a painting, or complete an order, or do a bunch of production
of castings, maybe not so much. Those are the easier days. But when
you are figuring out a pattern or doing trial and error of how to
construct a piece, carving, or laying down a wash and just the
initial ideas...not so much. No one is setting or keeping track of
the schedule but us. It can be hard at the end of the day to
remember what it is you did.
Last summer I started to write it all
down in a notebook. 3 hours here, 2 hours on that, half hour
lunch...so that at the end of the day I could see that yes, I'd spent
hours photographing pieces, or working on building the inventory
program. It helped immensely. This year I've let that slide, but
I'm thinking I should pick it up again. It really helps to keep
track of the small steps that lead to completion. It reminds us that
we did do the work, that the work is leading to something.
When you can keep track of the small
victories, and remember where they are going, it really helps you to
get to the finish line on any project. I have about another month
before my time starts to get divided – maybe a little less. I have
a lot of goals on the list that I haven't even started working
toward. Perhaps my biggest goal should be reinforcing the pattern of
work – when there isn't a deadline I try to do a little on this,
switch tasks (unless I'm engrossed), a little on that. Slow bites of
progress that cover a lot of ground and keep me from getting bored or
overwhelmed.
Sometimes it is enough just to do the
work – any work – as it gets you moving in the right direction,
gives those creative juices a direction to flow in. Sometimes it is
enough just to light the forge, pick up the hammer, or prep the paper
and pick up the pen, or the brush. If we think of that act as a
small victory we can see we are one step closer to the goal.
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