Well this is the first 1st Friday in a decade that I don't have an annual retrospective of the best cartoons of the year down at the distillery. Nor anywhere else (except the required faculty exhibition) this year, like cafes, dispensaries, museums or galleries, and only the one public gig for the newspaper.
A few more notes below the fold...
What a difference it has been in redirecting the creative dividends of more time + energy into other endeavors. Not there's anything to show for it, as in a new body of work, since the full-time teaching gig effectively eclipsed any output, but learning how to manage time more effectively has yielded significant changes in juggling resources, so attaining the goal of better balance between both sides of the drawing table is showing positive results.
In other words, it's happening: slowly but surely opening up the schedule to spend time fostering new projects and investing in my own work. Also jettisoning the freelance and taking classes were a couple other monumental shifts along those lines as well.
The reestablishment of routine goes hand-in-glove, or ink-in-barrel, with rediscovering the simple, unfettered pleasure of doodling, the creation of images not for any demo or client, money or meaning. It's a salient point of the semester to realize what a tightrope it is to try and teach the skills needed to draw/be a productive, successful artist, while simultaneously running the real risk of extinguish the very same flame you are trying to culivate - or burn out entirely. Again and again the recurring struggle is real.
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| Passing the Sniff Test |
Still, bittersweet to note the subtle change, and in conjunction with spending the holidays (Shmanksgiving, Xmas, b-day, solstice) alone - except for the cats - it has given some sorely needed space to mull this newfound perspective over. Bonus: This recent brutal extended cold-snap additionally meant a couple weeks of good old-fashioned cabin fever after being holed up inside. Which is not to say the mind doesn't wander, in it's own way opening up strange and wonderful new worlds to explore... inside. But I really wanted to come up for air and say thanks to everyone - especially you, dear reader - who's helped along the way to get to this quiet but monumental point. It makes appreciating the random encounter in a hallway, side-road or or supermarket isle that much more important... so safe, stay warm, and stay 'tooned.
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| Creative juices: keep the coffee and ideas a'flowing... |
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