Sunday, September 12, 2010

Birds on a Branch


Birds on a Branch
Originally uploaded by Mariann Johansen Ellis

So..... here I was...am.... thinking, oh yes, this time when going to Spain, I am going to blog, everyday, as a diary...HA... don't ask me what happens when I am here, in Spain, but life takes on another dimension...there is always so much to do, and of course, no routine at all to my day, which is more than anything what makes for the difficulty in finding time for the things I normally do. I am a real creature of routine, and of habit, as an artist, I find it almost impossible to be an off the cuff person..... spontaniety is all reserved for my creative process, so in life, as a person, I am actually quite "boring" as in, every day the same....LOVELY, get up, have breakfast, go to studio, work all day, eat dinner, go to bed..... repeat ad nauseam, makes me a happy person!!
As soon as there are too many distractions, self discipline also goes out the window, and any artist knows, that self discipline is a huge part of the bits that lead to the creative process.... I think that is why i love printmaking, in the process there is time for me to think, along the steps of preparing a plate for working on, I visualize what is going to happen on this plate, so by the time I down "tools", to pick up my linocutters or an etching stylus, my image is just sitting there in my head, all ready to be "born"...... I would love though, to be the kind of person who uses a sketch book... but my sketches tend to be done on any scrap paper to hand, and many of them in writing..... we all have our way of doing things..... don't we?

3 comments:

  1. You do what you can. The main thing is to enjoy what you do.

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  2. We certainly do! Mine tends along the drifting about for days, letting the idea "stew" (or not!), until I either get down to work, or just forget it in favour of another project (!!). I am good when I'm in a routine, but routine is difficult because of all the outside demands on my time. I do my best...
    Your system obviously works well for you - the results are the proof of that!

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  3. It's great with blogs, a bit of blog love goes a long way...... thanks for your comments... and I am enjoying myself, even started cutting a new lino plate!! Recipe goes like this:
    Park husband on chair
    get glass of wine for both
    put on some good music
    cut lino
    = a happy girl!

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