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-Just about to give up, when...
5 years ago
Greetings all you fellow FA Artists, Writers, Musicians, Crafters and other highly creative type people.
Not too long ago I was considering hanging up my creative talents for good as a really bad bout of depression hit me, most likely brought on by the way the Corona Virus and the COVID 19 restrictions have been playing "Whack a Crisis" with the world's collective Psyche. It gets knocked down, but it gets back up again, so it gets knocked down, but soon it's back up a-GaaAAAnnn... (Uh. Sorry. I got off on a "Chumbawamba" kick there.)
Anyway, I started clearing out my room and my studio of all the extraneous junk I didn't need any more, but I had a box full of little, half finished miniature figure sculptures I had made years and years ago in my hand and poised over the trash can and I was ready to consider them "Permanently Unfinished". I don't know what it was, but I looked at those little in process forms and I heard tiny voices in my head crying out, "Wait! Give us one more chance!" On the other paw, I was able to get rid of a LOT of old files, bank receipts, holiday and birthday cards, plus old sketches and art images I had no desire to work on anyway. My efforts ended up just about filling the Recycler bin three quarters full but I decided not to try and do it all in one day. The bins will be empty next week, and I'll take another crack at my "Lifecleaning" efforts. Speaking of re-organizing, I recently have added a second set of bookshelves to the one Schirm gave me back in December, and got rid of a lot of old books and magazines that I didn't need anymore. I still have about five or six large boot box sized boxes full of my "Little Treasures" safely stacked aside to repopulate the new shelves as soon as I get the time to re-shelve them.
Most troubling of all through this time of personal turmoil, I found I had no desire to sketch or draw at all. To complicate matters, my friend Sherry commissioned me to design, draw and print out several cards and images for her, but I just couldn't get motivated to do anything artistic wise. My brother Sterling persuaded me to keep at it though, considering how through these past few years the ways Sherry has done so many nice thing for us, and it would be a good gesture on my part to do something nice for her. I got through it, and her Niece and husband liked their card, so it was "One down, two more to go." Whew.
I'm still getting back, bit by bit these days. I've changed my habits by sleeping through the day to beat the heat, then getting up after sundown, and often working through the night, often retiring well after Two or Three O' Clock in the morning. It's almost as if I get a new mind after midnight as the creativity really gets going in those wee hours of the morning, and I also can enjoy listening to my favorite music through headphones. It was a habit I got into while I was living in the "Old Folks Home" more than Fifteen years ago, so I guess my body remembers those good times and those practices again. It seems so strange to have to resist the urge to layout and sketch "Just one more page" before I finally decide to call it a night and return to bed.
Oh yes... And the Dodgers games are back on the radio. Things are returning to something close to "Normal," but it's still apparent things will never be the same again.
For now... Let's revel in the harmless, and occasionally humorous aspects of the insanity. Let's make a reason to look back on these dark days and share a little laugh.
"Peace."
Not too long ago I was considering hanging up my creative talents for good as a really bad bout of depression hit me, most likely brought on by the way the Corona Virus and the COVID 19 restrictions have been playing "Whack a Crisis" with the world's collective Psyche. It gets knocked down, but it gets back up again, so it gets knocked down, but soon it's back up a-GaaAAAnnn... (Uh. Sorry. I got off on a "Chumbawamba" kick there.)
Anyway, I started clearing out my room and my studio of all the extraneous junk I didn't need any more, but I had a box full of little, half finished miniature figure sculptures I had made years and years ago in my hand and poised over the trash can and I was ready to consider them "Permanently Unfinished". I don't know what it was, but I looked at those little in process forms and I heard tiny voices in my head crying out, "Wait! Give us one more chance!" On the other paw, I was able to get rid of a LOT of old files, bank receipts, holiday and birthday cards, plus old sketches and art images I had no desire to work on anyway. My efforts ended up just about filling the Recycler bin three quarters full but I decided not to try and do it all in one day. The bins will be empty next week, and I'll take another crack at my "Lifecleaning" efforts. Speaking of re-organizing, I recently have added a second set of bookshelves to the one Schirm gave me back in December, and got rid of a lot of old books and magazines that I didn't need anymore. I still have about five or six large boot box sized boxes full of my "Little Treasures" safely stacked aside to repopulate the new shelves as soon as I get the time to re-shelve them.
Most troubling of all through this time of personal turmoil, I found I had no desire to sketch or draw at all. To complicate matters, my friend Sherry commissioned me to design, draw and print out several cards and images for her, but I just couldn't get motivated to do anything artistic wise. My brother Sterling persuaded me to keep at it though, considering how through these past few years the ways Sherry has done so many nice thing for us, and it would be a good gesture on my part to do something nice for her. I got through it, and her Niece and husband liked their card, so it was "One down, two more to go." Whew.
I'm still getting back, bit by bit these days. I've changed my habits by sleeping through the day to beat the heat, then getting up after sundown, and often working through the night, often retiring well after Two or Three O' Clock in the morning. It's almost as if I get a new mind after midnight as the creativity really gets going in those wee hours of the morning, and I also can enjoy listening to my favorite music through headphones. It was a habit I got into while I was living in the "Old Folks Home" more than Fifteen years ago, so I guess my body remembers those good times and those practices again. It seems so strange to have to resist the urge to layout and sketch "Just one more page" before I finally decide to call it a night and return to bed.
Oh yes... And the Dodgers games are back on the radio. Things are returning to something close to "Normal," but it's still apparent things will never be the same again.
For now... Let's revel in the harmless, and occasionally humorous aspects of the insanity. Let's make a reason to look back on these dark days and share a little laugh.
"Peace."
(Thanks for the Hug. I needed that.)
I havd it open to a private group channel of invited members of other artists, our minion admin helpers, etc. This means I can be drawing happily while also streaming that live art on Tigerdile ( or Picarto ), and I am not just talking to myself or fans watching, but to another person, artist, streamer, etc. I have been chatting with
And I totally get the figurines feeling. I've got some unpainted miniatures from 1st ed D&D from back in the early 1980s, and they're always taking up space and always never done, yet I don't want to just throw them out.
Anbessa? Go make Crazy with those paints.
You promised to draw my otters. *^^*
Idea: Lei-Lani and her sisters ever encounter a deep sea diver?
I can help with anything you need, just note me on Discord. *^^*
Well, it's a chat service like Skype or Telegram, only it also has this option to have your own server and set up channels for people to talk in. *^^*
Glad yer findin' a way through the muddle.
I hear you on them minis. I found all of them again while tidying up and moving within the house, and throwing them away is just out of thew question. I hope my paints are still good, though...
That's good to hear that you've not completely hung up your art skills just yet! I feel I'm in a similar boat, the SS Fuk Covid... because it's been ruining my motivation to art as it has for you. But likewise I'm working my way back to activity and I wish you well with that too!
Hopefully thing will get better soon
Maintain a pace .. even if it is glacial .. don't quit til you're dead!
You mention tiny voices. Lenna the Coyote and Larna the Wolfess do not have little voices, but the Polar Bear lady is louder still. I need to settle down for a few hours and complete her story. I seriously do not want her mad at me!
V.
Right now the Nuthatcher is on hold while I hunt for and learn horlw to do video editing and work out a small desert home with a hanger and work shop of course.
As I re-read your comment I had the vision of a little A shaped house with a geodesic dome in place of a garage with a funny, upside down "T" shaped door popped up in my head.
But I will keep my little centaur ferrets and articulated Rabbit Lady model projects not only because the thoughts of one day completing them keeps me going, but they also give me a good reason to face another day.