i signed up for the Orange County Artist Studio Tour in October so of course i’m panicking about what work i’m going to show. i’d really like to try to treat this like an art show and have a bunch of new work done by then. it’s a little less pressure as a studio tour though!
anyway, i’ve been rolling this post around in my head for a long time. either as a private journal entry or blog. i’ve been too tired to journal at night lately so it’s here for now! i’m sure it has been written a hundred times, either in other’s heads or blogs. but i need to get it down/out.
i’m constantly amazed at the work & sacrifices it takes to be a mother. i knew it would be a challenge & i’m up for it. but some days it really makes you crazy trying to keep your own identity while juggling so many things. i know worlds smallest violin right?
i’ve been meaning to look around on the web for tips on how other professional artist moms maintain a healthy balance between family, career, self, etc. i did do an e-course at the new year which helped me focus on this so maybe i just need to review my notes.
a major priority is getting blocks of time alone to work. i can’t pay a babysitter just for this. and i feel guilty asking family to help for this. but getting the time isn’t the only challenge, it’s being able to get inspired to ‘create’ once i get that time! how do you turn it on? i’ve found just working in my sketchbook has helped me empty my brain of the jumbles of scattered ideas that enter throughout the day, weeks, months. i’ve learned a few tricks this year that have helped me to work small / fast / creatively. but is it really enough just to work in a sketchbook? i’m hoping that i’ll have some epiphanies in my sketchbook that i can enlarge later onto canvas as paintings.
i’ve recently met someone who will share her young daughter as a ‘mother’s helper’ to keep the kids entertained / behaved while i do whatever so that may solve my ‘time block’ problem. i got most of my chores done today so when she comes tomorrow, i hope i can play around in my studio. that’s the plan but lately my littlest one is super clingy, we’ll see how it goes.
well, this block of time is up. dad is home with the kids from the pool. *a big shout out to the universe for giving me a great husband / father!*
why can't you get a babysitter for some alone-art-time?
i can & have. but it gets expensive after a while 🙂 that's why i'm excited about this 'mother's helper' today. it's a young girl so it's more like a playdate…no $$.
that's great. it would be nice for you to have a regular time where you know you can get some work done…. but i know how difficult that can be. if i were closer, i would be your helper 🙂