Busy going nowhere

or, still getting ready to move...at some point!

I’ve done a lot of my pre-moving clear out and packing. Where am I heading to? No idea. The place in south Devon that I’d been exchanging messages with has suddenly gone from spareroom. I could get annoyed at this; lots of friendly communication, an assurance I’d be alerted when they’re actually ready to do viewings then – nothing. This is the second time it’s happened however, the best move is the one that happens quickly and with minimum fuss. Since leaving the North of England for Devon and subsequent relocations, all my moves have been a phone call, a visit arranged and there and then - sign on the dotted line please.

So, it’s fine. I’ve been enjoying the process of decluttering but I’m about as far on as I can be without knowing a moving date. Which means I’m happily back to focusing on art. Things have unsurprisingly been random in that department because of all the sorting out but now I need to get organised or, act like a professional as per Steven Pressfield, and I'm not about to deny I've been pretty rubbish at that up to now. I'm a prime example of someone who goes all out in my paying work but dithers in the private realm of creativity.

This week’s inspirational artist

Step up Ms Stephanie Kilgast for some assistance. She’s a French artist with a YouTube channel filled with gorgeous, colourful, incredibly detailed sculptures and paintings. If you’re a creative sort (or just someone with too many things on the go), I recommend her How To Get Organized = Boost Your Creativity + Productivity video. The tip about splitting work elements into half days and planning out the next month is better than trying to do many things each day, so I’ve finally used my posh white board (rescued from a road side) to do this.

Must do list #1:

• set up a Pinterest account

• finish my three rhythmic gymnast pieces

• decide on prices for the two acro gymnastics pieces

• take photos of them all

• varnish two small paintings (are they actually finished? I think so)

• finish up a couple of pieces that I decided to tweak

• take a bunch of photos

• list some new pieces on Folksy

Here are the rhythmic pieces. They need some minor colour changes - the gold on the Y-scale is a bit pale and I'm not sure I actually like the berry colour at the back, though I bought it cos it looked so luscious and who can resist metallics? Going to try dabbing on a bit of something to break it up. Also, I did the base edge first...and I hate pink and yellow combinations...so that needs fixing. Decided to keep things as simple as possible by having a colour/design scheme for each area of sculpting. The berry girl is just a one off but I'm thinking pearlescent white, diluted phthalo blue and gold for RG, bronze-y for acro but more colour variation and texture for the rest.

Must do list #2:

There’s more. I have a few hashtags for weekly creative events on Twitter but realised I need to set them up the evening before so there's time to select and prepare images. Seeing the alert come up on the day and realising I have no idea what I’m going to post means I haven’t taken part yet. Amateur!

I want to do a ton of 2D products but struggle with some of the drawings. I used to sketch dozens and dozens of little gymnasts every week but I’ve lost my confidence a bit since I’m out of practise, so dedicated sketching and more detailed drawing sessions will now be part of the schedule. Ah. Now I have to burrow beneath a pile of bubble wrap to the assortment of art pads on the floor.

I also need to be more assured with painting and colour mixing (hence my recent splurge of YouTube channels for lessons), so that’s another part of my ongoing training since I’m still playing around with different styles. And I still want to do abstract art as well. That's a lifetime of learning right there.

Yes, but what about, you know, the business side?

It’s not just arty things that need attention. Another Stephanie video I found really helpful and refreshingly realistic and honest is How to Make MONEY as an ARTIST or Creative - 10 years experience. It gave me several new things to consider and had me thinking as a business person rather than an artist. I now have a notebook dedicated solely to marketing and business actions and ideas, including new types of art and/or products and places where I could sell or show my work.

Fitness

One last thing I really, really need to pay some attention to is fitness. It’s very poor right now and the bad ankle sprain I had a few weeks ago still has aches and twinges so that needs some dedicated rehab time, as do all the knots in my body from so much sitting. Foam roller torture is required! Once upon a time a full basic flexibility session only took about 30 minutes, running was about half an hour and 20 minutes would be just core workouts but right now...I’m just not up to any of it. But I want to do an adult gymnastics class and that means regaining my physical capacities and dealing with a chronically stiff wrist. It’s all fixable; it just needs to be given daily time and that means getting my training head screwed back on.

Right, that’s it for now. I’m going to ogle the glorious sky out the window. One bonus of living in a roof space is seeing some crazy coloured sunsets every night. I may spot the local fox out for a stroll too – the hysterical neighbourhood dogs will be a clue he/she is on the prowl.