Today's Theme: Tension

Overflowing and Overwhelming

Sometimes themes in our lives just appear. We don't have to search for them or pull them from our innermost beings, or borrow them from someone else. They're reoccurring thoughts that just seem to come to us again and again. I've heard some call this process "ruminating" or "pondering". I've also heard others describe the thoughts as "whispers" and or perhaps "signposts". Today I woke up thinking about the word tension. I've never pondered the word before but lying in bed this morning I thought about what it means. Tension in a situation is usually considered bad. Tension in a relationship could be good- if it's an excited or anticipatory tension, or it could be a little scary. As in "the tension between them created anger on his side and bewilderment on hers".

Creating the necessary slack

The tension I deal with primarily in my work is physical. When I bend and wrap wire I try to use the tension of the wire to my advantage. I've learned to manipulate it as well. When I begin a sculpture, the first thing I do is throw the spool on the floor and pull up a length of it, wiping with a rag and straightening it slightly as I pull. Try working with wire straight off the spool and it's all spiral-y and much more difficult. Throwing it on the ground gives me a 1-3 ft. slack that eases the tension of the spiral. If I was to cut the wire and work with it as a piece, instead of from the spool, then I've noticed my work looses much of it's gracefulness and fluidity. It's working with the right amount of tension that allows me to get the smooth lines and curves. So here was a case where tension, handled correctly was a necessary and good thing all together.

Simply organized and ready for inspiration to strike!

The other tension I experience is a tension-anxiety. This seems to be most evident when I feel like I have a deadline approaching and I feel overwhelmed. My house actually makes me feel like this often. My studio room ESPECIALLY. It overflows with things that don't really have a home, that fill up my working space so that I don't feel like I can work in it. I end up on the dining room table instead. The larger space of the living room/dining room combined with the clear flat surface of the table allows me to think and process the "to-do" or steps of the project. But I love my art room and would really like to be able to work in it and not just use it as a big supply closet. So I decided to give the organization a go. I started with the fabric. Please note the chaos of the first photo. That is soooo symbolic of my life. Then there's the nicely organized, you can see all the colors, and fabric patterns. This is what I would like my life to be. Somewhere in between these two however, is the comfortable life. I have tried living with all my ducks in a row, all my folds correct, all the patterns showing and it doesn't work for me. Without the tension created by the chaos I wouldn't ever take the time to change-I'd be immobilized. So after a little ruminating, I have to believe that tension, like boredom, necessity, and fear are all positive emotions. They are the emotions that cause me to take action and change- without them life would be static. And really very very boring. :)

Studio Tour: A Play-Room of My Own

I was reading a book on creativity the other day and it mentioned Virginia Wolfe's A Room of Her Own and it struck me how often that is quoted to justify a studio space. As an artist we do a lot of things for other people. Often when we begin to create it's for others, and when we try to justify a play space we justify it by all kinds of reasons. Mine was-"I just need a place for everything to be together so the paintbrushes quit ending up in the silverware drawer and my watersoluble crayons quit landing in the bathroom". My canvases were hung up down in the laundry room next to the laundry stuff and my acrylics were in the with the dishes(which was the logical place it being next to the silverware drawer and all). My art was hung up in a completely haphazard way wherever I had wall space and my pastels were in my son's art room. The fabric and wire I kept in big plastic storage bins under the dining room table so that they were somewhat accessible and portable. It felt chaotic. I was always rummaging around trying to locate things. So when my son grew old enough for his big boy bed we moved him into a larger room and I have reclaimed my old art room.

The funny part is that now that I'm back I appreciate that I needed the room. Not because I needed a centralized place for everything but because I needed a place for my thoughts to flit and rest. A room I can enter and know it is the place for me to create, to be adventurous, and to play. Yes, it has all the supplies I need. It also has a place for me to work. But the thing I like best is that it inspires me. I've re-hung my old corkboard and filled it with eye candy-the pieces of paper, or fabric, or photos that I collect that inspire me. Over my desk are more of these postcards, and photos. My sketchbooks have found a home on the bookshelf. Pulling them out of the storage boxes and shelving them was a wonderful homing experience. I have a spot for my rock collection as well. The art hung haphazardly throughout the house is now finding a home in this room and I love being surrounded by it all. This I think, is what a "room of her own" was for. It is a place to inspire us to be the best, most creative us. To nurture our fledgling ideas. To display new visual treats and to help us discover new loves.

Could I create without this room? YES! Do I love having it now? YES! It feels wonderful. The part I love best is how the sun streams into it each morning. The part my husband loves best is that my "stuff" has now been contained and is off the countertops, his desk, the drawers, the closets, the living room floor, the kitchen wall.... You get the idea!