In, Out and Prep

One often overlooked aspect of art, as we plan it, is the preparation. That is, for the commercial artist there must be, in addition to the care and thoughts provided to the creation, care and thought as to how to get the project started and finished. Last we spoke of Susan finally getting space to store the paintings in limbo. Well, that move is coming upon us soon but there is the other matter of preparing the space to continue working amidst this shakeup.

I was musing on this as I prepared a submission of photographs. Between the gathering, editing, agonizing over choice (the worst wretch of them all) and then postprocessing I have spent an amount of time of a magnitude so much greater than the actual creation that I couldn't tell you with a straight face. And all this work goes into a vacuum of influence; there is no way of knowing how it will be received until a) too late or b) happily accepted.

Compared to the Graffiti artist who creates on the fly with no care of space or storage (albeit with a care of guard dogs and barbed wire) one could hardly be blamed for wondering why do it. Well ... we must, it's that simple. It is embarrassing, though, to have spent these last few weeks with no creation to speak of, nor any on the horizon. We are like our own mothers chiding ourselves to finish the last project (mundane included) before we can start another as if it were vegetables before dessert. And that's as close as I can to describe the feeling. Isn't that a light I see at the end of the tunnel .. ?? Incoming ..