Baren Digest Thursday, 11 September 2003 Volume 24 : Number 2368 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Bette Wappner Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 09:13:20 -0400 Subject: [Baren 22729] Re: procrastination/motivation Barbara wrote: I wonder why I was so resistant to doing something that gives me so much joy. Maybe it is fear of failure or fear of white paper...who knows. I think for me it's fear of delving in so deep I know everything else will suffer. In other words, once I commit to a project I just work and work and work and I don't do the basic stuff of every day life. It is hard to come back from that kind of concentration and not see the imbalance. I guess with me it's "all or nothing". Also, I'm not able to accept interruptions at the time of working. This makes me almost a machine. So I find myself initially balking at the thought of getting into that mind space, though I enjoy the work. ~Gayle I'm the very same way Gayle. I need no interuptions, a full bracket of time, concentration, comfortable temperature, appropriate music if necessary, and I prefer solitude. Is that asking too much? I have a hard time getting from the design process hump into the production. Barbara Mason? - would Lee be interested in putting me on his call list? :) But most of all, I'm a self-rewarding procrastinator who works best under pressure and deadlines? So participating in exchanges is the answer for me too. Might be my ex-graphic design habits, but I hate it. Will this old dog ever change? See Renee...you're not alone! Bette Wappner northern KY ------------------------------ From: FurryPressII#aol.com Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 10:16:39 EDT Subject: [Baren 22730] Re: procrastination/motivation I have no problem doing my art obsession it is my more mundane activities that keep being put off. Only once in the last ten days did I not do art and that was to go to a cubs game in Milwaukee. CUBS WIN CUBS WIN!! that and the beer was fun. I have two books to finish, go on a road trip with my son and maybe as the kiddies say "get real" and get a job. (not looking forward to that but reality will stare me in the face soon enough). We will be going to New England and eastern Canada. Please don't call me a tree hugger but fall colors can be worth seeing better than grey/brown brick anyway. Lots of history out east to see both in places like Boston (which is a great town to be a tourist in I might add) and Quebec City (even with all the walking and the hills I gained 10 lbs one of the times I went to Quebec City). Quebec is a wonderful place to find old wood carving tools (don't call them antique the price more than doubles) I even found old engraving tools their ones they don't even make anymore. john center ------------------------------ From: Frank Trueba Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 07:39:57 -0700 Subject: [Baren 22731] Re: reconnecting Renee, et.al. Living as a lurker, mostly, one great benefit I get from Baren is exactly what Jack R. proposes. By signing up for an exchange I have to produce something. At times, the production is enthusiastic; sometimes the production is labored, always the production is a learning experience; but foremost, I do produce (boy, don't deadlines & commitments do wonders for the soul!). So definitely sign-up for an exchange (and let's not forget: you get 29, or so, great prints back as a bonus!). frank At 10:43 PM 9/9/2003 -1000, you wrote: Sign up for a Baren print exchange :>) ,then you are commited to producing something! Jack R. ------------------------------ From: ArtfulCarol#aol.com Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 11:02:40 EDT Subject: [Baren 22732] Re: procrastination/motivation My 2 cents... This is what keeps me going: No outside interruptions for 3 hours, INVIOLATE. Except for emergencies, and calls from museum curators. Hoping the first is very seldom and the second very often. Day of Achievement: Monday is the designated day for starting the daunting art items and proactive ideas that have occurred during the week. Not always successful, but satisfying when I know at the end of Monday that can say "I did something". I have completed many things that I would not have the gumption to do otherwise. Time Management: I found very helpful The 7 Habits by Stephen R. Covey. Take a Break; For me it is an early movie break or walk between work sessions. Come back fresh. Cocktail Time: Can I say that on public e-mail? I love concocting and mixing. One per couple. After Dinner: Couch Potato! Carol L. Irvington, NY ------------------------------ From: Charles Morgan Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 08:13:04 -0700 Subject: [Baren 22733] Re: procrastination/motivation (1) Another thing that I do to get going is to be faced with some really odious task ... like housecleaning, cleaning up the basement, rebuilding the deck railings, etc. Then it is easy to convince myself that I REALLY should get into the studio ... life is too short to spend all one's time cleaning, cooking, and doing chores. Substitute studio time for some noxious task ... give yourself the gift of skipping some chore in order to be creative. (2) Ask yourself: As I am lying on my deathbed, reflecting on my life, am I going to be saying: "I really wish I had spent more time doing chores." Or maybe: "I really wish I had spent more time watching TV." I think not. Won't you be saying instead: "I really wish I had spent more time in the studio." The time is yours ... spend it wisely. (3) Just set aside 30 minutes, or 1 hour, or ANY amount of time and go to the studio. STAY there for the allotted time, even if you do nothing but sit. Do that every day. Make it a "date" with yourself. Just do it. You will begin to work. (4) As everyone else notes, exchanges with deadlines are GREAT motivators. Cheers ....... Charles ------------------------------ From: "Brad Teare" Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 09:14:19 -0600 Subject: [Baren 22734] recharging charset=us-ascii Renee, Once a year or so I get so drained I tell myself I am going to chuck it all and become a shoe salesman or toaster repairman. This lasts about a week. ------------------------------ From: Bette Wappner Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 11:30:32 -0400 Subject: [Baren 22735] Re: recharging Renee, Once a year or so I get so drained I tell myself I am going to chuck it all and become a shoe salesman or toaster repairman. This lasts about a week. Brad, thank you for the great chuckle! :D shoe salesman - feels like a heel instead of an artist haikuology by b'oki. :) ------------------------------ From: Barbara Mason Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 09:15:55 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Baren 22736] fall colors Hi all, Maybe we need a little injection of fall color to get us going.....I used to sort of laugh at people going to see the leaves. We get color in Oregon but nothing like the east. It is not cold enough here soon enough to turn the colors bright. We were in Ontario Canada in October a couple of years ago and it was truly magnificent. We missed the snow by 4 days....any of you who know me know I go into total hibernation in snow...so we were real lucky. Bette, I will see if I can get Lee to yell at you too... We all need a little kick in the pants to get going. I am kicking myself right now to go cut foam core for the Print Arts NW gallery. We finally got a stack container for framed work. Things are looking up, but the all take time. I am actually teaching woodblock again at the PAN gallery...thursday nights starting in October. So if anyone wants to join our work group, 6:30-9:30, come on down. I just know enough to teach the beginners....after that we go to the baren encyclopedia! Best to all, Barbara ------------------------------ From: Sharri LaPierre Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 10:26:05 -0700 Subject: [Baren 22737] Re: Baren Digest V24 #2367 Renee, Trips to galleries are a good idea, but what works for me are deadlines, even if they are arbitrarily set by me for me. I am so easy to trick it is unbelievable. I can get myself to believe I really have a deadline even though I know I can move it if I have to. It helps to have a very simple brain, however, dealing with complex issues can be a stumbling block. Maybe that's how I hurt my knee earlier this year! Sharri ------------------------------ From: Wanda Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 11:19:15 -0700 Subject: [Baren 22738] Re: western papers for Moku hanga on 9/9/03 3:09 PM, FurryPressII#aol.com at FurryPressII#aol.com wrote: STONEHENGE for printmaking not unless you use a press and it will were out the block too much sizzing really a drawing paper. john center Oh, yeah? I did my exchange #3 on stonehenge - dampened and with a baren. For linoleum & woodcuts with oil-based ink- I like Arches 88 printed dry-with a press. like I said ' to each his own" in paper, subject, politics, whatever. Wanda ------------------------------ From: Julio.Rodriguez#walgreens.com Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 13:15:18 -0500 Subject: [Baren 22739] Re: puzzle project PC Calendar-2004 prints received from Suzi Sutherland-Martin....thank you ! Kylie writes: "whats this puzzle you are all talking about? Hi and welcome to the group's forum Kylie, the "puzzle" is a BAREN project conceived and coordinated by Maria Arango (Las Vegas)around the theme "What is [Baren]"...each participant will carve a small block expressing his/hers thoughts on the theme and then mail the block back to Maria for final assembly and printing. Each participant will receive back a copy of the final print from Maria. The project is at the stage were particpants are mailing back their carved blocks to Maria...44 in total to make up the two 20X28" block/matrix/assembly. You can read more about it and see the photos of Maria and the puzzle project at: http://www.1000woodcuts.com/puzzle/project.html thanks...Julio Rodriguez (Skokie, Illinois) ------------------------------ From: "Robert Canaga" Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 12:29:24 -0700 Subject: [Baren 22740] Re: Spam Alert: paper and such Clean your studio. This may sound silly but if you are like most people, you set a "must do" task and go for it...this becomes a reason to avoid doing it, so you get sidetracked by a drawing you suddenly want to work on, a block you find that strikes a cord...all these little things you run into while "cleaning" will get you distracted and the next thing you know you will be doing art! > Hi Everyone, > > I am very fond of the Lenox. I have used it for drawing, watercolor >and mixed medium, I sometimes gesso it for acrylic paintings on paper. >It is sturdy and I like the creamy white, sometimes I tear the edges >rough (it comes with cut edges) it is very good dry,for block prints >(oil based ink on the press), or wet for embossing. I am interested in >trying it with Moku hanga--I am encouraged by everyone's efforts whether >a great success or a difficult challenge--there is always something to >be learned--I usually learn a great deal from the catastrophes :)=20 > > I am thowing a question to all-- I have had a difficult time getting >started with my studio work after being distracted for several months >(illnesses -one after another-, family requierments, politics at work, >that feeling of being so far behind , etc, etc,.) I have made some >drawings some painting studies, some ink drawings and I have even drawn >two images on the blocks, but I just can't seem to start the carving and >printing--here's the question-- How do you recharge? re-inspire >yourself? re-connect? I realize this is not a one-size-fits-all >remedy, just wondering. > > best to all, > > Renee U. ------------------------------ From: "Maria Arango" Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 13:07:01 -0700 Subject: [Baren 22741] swift kick start and paper On paper: I've printed on many varieties of paper, each has their own delicious quirk. For a review of my own experiences, go to: http://1000woodcuts.com/Studionotes/Paper/Paper1.html To say that "you can't print on ----- paper" just makes me want to try it the more. Printing on anything is possible with the right dampness, a wee bit of muscle and stubborn determination. On swift kicks of inspiration: I TOTALLY agree with Robert Canaga, clean your studio...really a metaphor for "just get going!" Place yourself in the setting where creativity takes place and start fiddling with something, sharpen your tools, sand blocks, rearrange your stacks of paper, dust the lamps, sweep the floor...soon you will find yourself actually doing something. And if not, at least you will come back the next day to a spotless, organized studio. On another but related note, there is necessity and adaptation...when I first started doing art festivals I was also a slave of creative routine (perhaps less than others, but still a slave). I would enjoy days of uninterrupted time in the studio, days of creation, days of carving, days of printing. I could not understand how many traveling artists would do 40 shows per year and find the time to squeeze in new work. Nah, I needed my time of uninterrupted solitude. Then I started booking festivals, the good ones invariably back to back in different states. Long story short, mostly out of necessity, I decided to create new habits rather than submit myself to the chains of my old ones. I simply didn't have "weeks" or sometimes even "days" of free time. I started squeezing in exchanges (they definitely help) in between festivals, I would design in my head, sketch at a campground (or parking lot), carve between customer sales, print between framing and loading...a bit chaotic at first, but I really started to enjoy the multi-tasking-parallel-processing of it all. Funny thing is, right before a festival I now get both a rush of creativity and a spell of industriousness that allows me to keep up with exchanges and the demands of the traveling life. As I said, chaotic for sure, but excitingly so. I am showered with ideas while driving and know to take a half dozen blocks with me on the road; I get to carving on a block and don't really notice the wind and rain buffeting my carefully framed prints; I began toying with printing on the road and have rediscovered water-based relief inks to ease clean-up tasks, as well as the strange contentment and effort of hand-printing. When I do get a few weeks off the road, I start thinking of the next spell of festivals and work like a madwoman to get ahead. Any laziness or thoughts of "resting" are quickly dispersed with a swift self-kick in the rear; as Charles so wisely put it, I don't want to wish I "would have" spent more time in the studio when my body is no longer able. And lastly, I have a long-term goal...1000 woodcuts before I die with calluses on my hands and a smile on my face. Working on that calendar as we speak, Julio! Maria <||><||><||><||><||><||><||><||> Maria Arango maria#mariarango.com Las Vegas Nevada USA http://www.1000woodcuts.com <||><||><||><||><||><||><||><||> ------------------------------ From: "MPereira" Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 18:54:01 -0300 Subject: [Baren 22742] Re: reconnecting\ HI, Frank Trueba, you're wright saying: "By signing up for an exchange I have to produce something." and "So definitely sign-up for an exchange (and let's not forget: you get 29, or so, great prints back as a bonus!)." I agree with you. I was in Exchange 16 and I"m still very happy for that participation. Frank, your print is great! I like it very much. Congratulations. I unsubscribe for 18th but I want to be in 19th...... Best wishes, Murilo ------------------------------ From: Margaret Szvetecz Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 19:29:10 -0700 (GMT-07:00) Subject: [Baren 22743] RE: reconnecting I have one more suggestion for reconnecting and remotivating oneself to work on art. This is to set reasonable goals. As we all know, life is complex, what with career/job responsibilities, relationships with family and friends, and other personal commitments. For me, waiting to do art until I have the physical space for large pieces and big blocks of time to work would mean waiting a very, very, very long time. It's been a somewhat painful lesson, but I am finally learning to do what I can, without recrimination and without battering myself against the edge of my strength. For me, this means a baren exchange once in a great while and a little project here and another little project there--well, you get the idea. Not a glamorous way of working, but, hey, at least I'm able to do some work... Margaret Szvetecz margarszv#earthlink.net ------------------------------ End of Baren Digest V24 #2368 *****************************