I’ve been writing on some-kind-a blog for 20 years but this one has been exclusively about my art practice. Here’s a peek behind the curtain.
Blog writing
All good ideas come to me with a hot shower beating down on my head. I’ve had a lot of big projects going the past couple of months. Which means I’ve been sliding into homebase with a blog post every week at the last possible moment. (And yes, with the eclipse and eclipse travel last week, I missed it completely.) It’s no surprise then that I was pondering what to write this week while I was in the shower.
One option was just to skip it again this week because of all of those projects. I had a good bit of mental resistance to skipping but I couldn’t say exactly why. So I also had a bit of a think on that while I was in the shower. But my big idea was that I could write about writing for this blog. I know! You too are probably overwhelmed with my big ideas. Great news! I give this good stuff away for FREE!
I am really proud of the fact that I’ve been writing weekly for this blog for almost three years now. In July 2022 I went on a writing retreat and planned out several months of posts. Before that trip, I was posting about once a month when I had news to share or thought of a thing I wanted to write on. I had posted a whole series in 2021 that I had originally wanted to be a book. But I got impatient with that process and decided posting them to my blog was a more exciting prospect than trying to get a book deal. That series is How to create your art practice. I’m really proud of that series.
During that writing retreat I decided to commit to a once a week posting schedule. I wanted a blog that focused on making or the things I tend to ponder while making. A place where I could talk about this practice that is both weird and a delight. I wanted to be consistently putting this kind of writing into the world.
Since then I’ve tried a bunch of different things. There’s the Art AV Club posts, there’s my interview series, I’ve talked about grief a couple of times here and here, my yearly goals, video flip throughs I’ve recorded, and some thoughts on using Patreon and then an update on that. I’ve tried things that I thought would be fun and maybe a bit easier to do but ended up being quite a bit of work. I’m looking at you interviews! And I’ve done things that I thought were very fun but I knew would have a limited run — Art AV Club.
I am not a fast writer. I think on things and write a bit, edit a bit, and let it all sit a bit. Then I go back and do it all again. Any given blog post I’ve probably worked on for 6-8 hours. Occasionally it’s less than that. Any blog post that I spend three or fewer hours on is a personal victory. So what I’m saying is that these writings I share with you aren’t just pitched out here willy nilly. And skipping a week is a big deal to me. Both in terms of disappointing my readers but also in disappointing myself. It’s another practice I’ve worked hard to build and I’m proud of that.
I’ve said more than once that I do this in part to remember my practice. When art leaves my hands, if there’s no record of it here, I tend to forget it. Having a permanent record makes me feel like it’s more important somehow? That the act of recording it is almost as important as the making of it. I might have to think on this some more. But regardless of that, I don’t want to forget.
I want to share my musings with you folks so maybe my bumps and hurdles will help spark some understanding or breakthrough for you. We just never know what will be useful or instructional for us on our artistic journeys so I try to offer up what I’ve got as some food for thought. It’s also why I post videos of flip throughs and occasional work videos. It’s fun for me to make these things and also, I hope it is something you find either useful or entertaining or both.
Thanks for reading! I love having you at this blog and I appreciate all the questions and interactions I have through this blog. Catch up with me on socials, email me, or go old school and leave a comment on this post to be immortalized for all of time.
If you liked this post and don’t want to miss any news from me, sign up for my PencilBooth newsletter. It will only be 2-4 items about once a month! You’ll definitely get a pic of my dogs because who doesn’t love dogs?! Sign Up here.
I love your mind maps and how they help you organize your thoughts. Mad respect for keeping up with your blog posting. I like the idea of end of studio day journal, what a great reflective way to check in with yourself and your art and see how things are going. I have been using the weekly section in my planner journal to document what creative stuff I do each day. It really does add up and it feels good to see that visual representation of my work. I also include naps, chill time, nope (as in I didn’t do any art today and I am okay with that because I am mentally/physically tapped out)books I start and finish, vlogs and art vids I watch because all of those things are part of my artistic practice. This has been working well for me for the past couple years however I love the idea of having more space to spread my thoughts out on slightly bigger pages,,, something to ponder ( and I love pondering over notebooks, stationary and planners). I love being part of the monthly Workshop you offer and I look forward to it each month. I miss having that sense of community with other creative people online and it has been nice to reconnect with people and meet new friends also. I hope this continues, the thought just occurred to me to share your announcement of it in my stories on IG so I am going to start doing that. I love you friend, so much, I am so happy you are in my orbit.
Awww, thanks Michelle for your kind words and thoughtful processing! I love that we are friends and I love that the Workshop has been doing something for us that we needed! Sometimes I feel like my end-of-the-day journaling about art practice is one journal too many but then I can tell how much it’s given me this year and I don’t want to give it up!