How was it that I could produce literally ten times more in my thirties than my forties? Granted I lived in an apartment and only had three"kids," but time was busy caring for elderly and ill parents daily then, too. I still managed to make some really large pieces that I could exhibit in many good shows. I know the RA knocked me off the block for a bit, but I am better now, gratefully, so I have to start getting back at it again with a regular schedule. As an art teacher I spend my days encouraging kids to make art part of their daily life -- to create meaningful work, to put in the effort. Yet I am not making the time to do so myself. To go deep, as Eric Maisel would say. To show up. To do the work. Art coaching is all about restructuring priorities to ensure a person has the time and space to create. I need a little of that restructuring.
This phenomenon of time speeding up as we age is commonly described and studied. In this article by Claudia Hammond, the suggestion is made to forgo relaxing and mindless activities like watching television in favor of more unique, non-routine activities to make time feel slower. She states that it isn't actually the minute to minute aspect of time that seems to change as we age, but our perception of longer times, say a month or year. This thought and theory is echoed on the "iDoneThis" blog that is dedicated to higher productivity. Finally, Richard A. Friedman wrote this article for the New York Times which also focused on the importance of learning and doing in order to maximize our perception of time.
I do need to think about the greatest time sucking element of the current era: the Internet. When I am online, I am constantly learning new things. It takes a minimal physical investment on my part to read, click, and navigate virtual terrain -- and the rewards are often great. I stay connected with friends and family. I learn new art techniques. I learn more about caring for my birds. I learn more about how to manage all the tasks in my life -- organization becomes a topic and task in itself. All of these good things, however, feed into making me more of a consumer than a producer. This is not me. Or, at least, not who I used to be.
Engaging in artwork on a deep level provides the learning, the engagement, and the novelty that the brain requires. And it is truly productive. I can espouse the benefits of art making all I want to others, but if I am not truly creating and making, I start to question my identity as an artist, which is downright depressing. There are a million things that need doing in my home, and should I complete a thousand of them, there will suddenly appear to be two thousand more. It is the nature of living. In the modern age where we have unlimited learning at our fingertips through the Internet, when there is always more to learn and do online, it is important to unplug and walk away sometimes in order to really make things. And do things. And learn in other, more tactile ways.
Reflections from a rare place today -- a weekend completely off from teaching. Hoping to "go deep" and see what happens. Hope is the operative word -- take it from Martin Luther said: "Everything that is done in the world, is done by hope."
What will you make today?