All through the year evaluation is necessary for me to check my attitude and activities in my practice of Art.
I adopted and refined some notions, really rules of the game, with a small “r”, to improve my attitude and to make my Art experience [work] more user-friendly. After all, I am the designer of my Art organizer.
User-friendly means my attitudes and activities support my goal’s and objectives during my time on task. Even daydreaming when I should be art-ing al fresco or, as I say, washing window glass.
Second, simple and easy is the concept, with easy being what I want to give to my limited time. Suffering is the result of my poor planning. I see at least three ideas to consider.
A. Easy clean up. Yep, If I begin with how I plan to clean up I may not get out forty pounds of clay.
B. Easy organization. That’s being able to find what I need in the environment to get busy in the work room [shop, studio, desk, pantry].
C. Completely enjoyable work set up. This is a big concept always under refinement. Related to this are key attitudes that make the fun more probable.
- Like items are together. Exact things are exactly together.
- If together, then in their place.
- No obstructions to ensure visual control–don’t stack things in front of other things. Same for stacking. It’s okay if I have two cans of white spray paint front-to-back, nothing else obscuring the white paint.
- All materials secured in the most dependable and safest fashion.
- Do not run out of a standard material. I keep certain things in the shop, like dry-wall screws of various sizes. I like cabbage and onions in the pantry. These are ‘staples’, meaning they get used a lot. Don’t run-out.
- Prepare the work area. Sift [sort], set-in-order [secure], shine [spic-and-span], standardize, then sustain.
Fun is good. If I do not have to work before I begin a creative day that is a benefit. Other good things include non-distraction, increased focus, non-cluttered zones, improved flexibility and agility for production, more safe work area, and I know what I need and have it at hand.
D. The continuous refinement and the will to adhere to a simple-to-remember structure improves my morale and makes working on Art more enjoyable. At least it removes more stumbling blocks and positively assists me in using my time to create, even more, with fewer goofs.
I am not going for perfection. And I can emphatically say, “Forget about it.” Yet, I can do something about striving for excellence. A broom and dust pan are as essential to my Art as are my Art materials. And coffee.
Cheers.
Like what you read? Disagree? Then, hit me up with a comment or a suggestion.
Art Practitioner 