This morning a friend called to say she was going to do some photography at a local farm, 30 acres of row vegetables and orchards that supply one of Sebastopol's most popular restaurants, The French Garden. Did I want to go with her and paint while she was taking pictures?My first response was that I had too much work to do, too many paintings from other outings that needed finishing touches as Open Studio weekends approach in June, as well as a long overdue storyboard for a book, etc. But, some lovely said, "Is it true that you are going to turn down a 70 degree day of painting and time with a good friend?" So I grabbed my pastels and headed out to join her.
My first reward was foxgloves...on of my favorite flowers, and
the painting you see is called FRENCH GARDEN FARM. It needs cleaning up, and I brought home another that needs finishing. Both are reminders that sometimes when we take time off we can do our most rewarding work.
I realize, with reminders like this morning, how many of my best ideas, my most pleasurable writing, starts with "time off". I think one of the joys of being an artist is that we are always working with our minds. The more disciplined part of our jobs...the cleaning up, the editing, the revising may feel like work, but most good ideas start with pleasure.
In this economy it is tempting to try to create what we think will sell instead of what pleases us, and we feel guilty (or at least I feel like I'm not trying hard enough) when work feels like time off.
So, at schools and conferences lately I have been asking teachers and administrators if it is possible to create a time in the day for unfinished projects...to start something that doesn't have to get done, to experiment, so that the students can experience the exhilaration of starting on a new idea and the freedom of a little time off in a creative environment. Schools have authors,, like myself, come and talk to the students about our finished projects, which I love to do. But I also talk to them about how much fun I have had with unfinished, or as yet unpackaged ideas. It is my wish for them as well, that there is time in their day for this, for it is the place where good work comes from.
