{"id":3383,"date":"2018-06-12T15:04:16","date_gmt":"2018-06-12T07:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/janmullen.com.au\/blog\/?p=3383"},"modified":"2018-09-10T11:44:14","modified_gmt":"2018-09-10T03:44:14","slug":"back-in-the-saddle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/janmullen.com.au\/blog\/?p=3383","title":{"rendered":"back in the saddle?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the past year or so there has been a lot of change in the studio, much of it reflecting life changes in the last few years.
\nMy major foci reflect my life – family, learning and making art – and as you read though this long time coming<\/em> post you will feel as though this is a mission statement.
\nIt is….<\/p>\n

FAMILY FOCUS
\nOur five little ones have certainly changed our lives drastically of the last five years. Spending as much time as possible with them is very important for all. From a minimum of the Sunday Night family dinner to the max – time spent with each family at our ‘little house\u2019\u00a0 – we know we are very lucky to have them all so close in every regard.<\/p>\n

The completion of the \u2018Girls Shed\u2019 has been the game changer at our little house this year. I spent three solo nights down there not so long ago to concentrate on making, thinking, planning and simply being.\u2026the bloke was on a golf trip so my time was my own.
\nThe few days there have sustained me since.<\/p>\n

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My daughter now regularly stitches up a storm down there and the kids are also able to get into creative mode without distractions in this gentle space – which is separate from the house.<\/p>\n

Each family this year is also making big house changes – one selling\/buying, one extending\/ renovating, the other working through a demolition\/rebuild. There is a whole lot of moving and the associated ins and outs of \u2018stuff\u2019. Old things are boomeranging back here constantly – many to make the journey down south.<\/em>
\nWith the two big ones in Kindy and the other three growing fast, being a big part of their life is precious. It is chaotic, it is time consuming and we are very lucky to be in the very messy mix of it.<\/p>\n

Family care takes time.<\/p>\n

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SELF CARE IS NECESSARY
\nThe second focus, one that has to be satisfied to enable me to relax and enjoy the first focus of family, is looking after myself.<\/p>\n

There is health and physical activity aspect and I have been mostly diligent with of late as I approach the next numerical milestone of sixty.
\nThere is also the flexing of my noggin with a very strong need to be continually learning and analyzing.
\nIncreasingly though, it is the strong need to express myself through artwork that is driving me.<\/p>\n

Interesting to me is that I am changing the way I learn, as I delve deeper\/return to<\/em> my artistic desires. Books and research online are the go to, as normal, but I am constantly diving into easy and difficult reads, and\u2026and this is big for me\u2026I am reading slowly<\/em>\u2026rereading constantly<\/em>\u2026making sure that I take everything in and not simply glide over and \u2018get the gist\u2019.<\/p>\n

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I now stop and think, spilling thoughts out on paper, or simply underlining phrases, before rereading and moving on. \u2028Fascinating to me that it has taken me so long to slow down\u2026and I still have to force myself to do it every time I start to read!<\/em>
\nBut it feels solid<\/em>? I find that I am no longer rushing to get to the next gem in the pile.
\nNo longer trying to keep up with my plans… the pile only fills again anyway.<\/p>\n

My research\/my learning, is primarily to inform<\/em> my artwork – it is studying to aid self-expression. I feel the need for fast and constant growth and I want to challenge myself much much more. Taking in information to my new level of satisfaction is making me confident in presenting my artwork. It has to say what I want otherwise it’s existence is merely decorative. Decorative is fine but is not what will sustain me.<\/p>\n

I am becoming more open about my, (self-perceived), failings and I am readying myself for failure by pushing, (albeit gently and with self-care), into zones that I would have not ventured into before.
\nMaking a new series of artworks – from the first, (the always brilliant) conception, through the slog and the worries and failures to the, (hopefully) resolved finished pieces – is fraught.
\nI love the puzzle of it, the constant learning and research needed, the introduction of new skills or upkeep of old, the trialing, the analyzing.
\nAt the same time I also want to jump in quickly, intuitively\/ blind and get started\u2026
\nInstead\u2026I take a breath, walk away, and come back with a new gently-confident demeanor when the time is right. I want to work in a no panic zone.<\/p>\n

Once a series is underway it is comparatively easy\u2026tweaking, re-thinking, incorporating various other thought-lines. Still a lot of work, likely a lot of over\/re-thinking but it can be blissful.
\nIt can also be fraught with failure and despondence.
\nIt can be annoying as the vision grows into a bigger series with side-shoots\u2026. or are they really distractions? Hmmm.<\/p>\n

Hopefully, eventually, in getting to know a new piece, there will be appreciation – from me that is – I cannot anticipate how anything I do will work for others. I care what people think but I cannot let my work be defined, for me, by the thoughts of others.<\/p>\n

I need quiet time, plenty of it, to commune with these processes.
\nTime alone, especially in the studio, simply put, is self preservation.<\/p>\n

Self care takes time.<\/p>\n

GETTING WORK INTO THE WORLD – FINALLY
\nUntil last year, my art practice had been very low on my life\u2019s priorities list. I had made, almost exclusively, quilt-based artworks. They were my ease….the techniques, formats, rules that I corrupted, and especially the materials, were a big part of it. The network of groups that promote quilt-based artwork and the multitude of groups, exhibitions, and opportunities also created an ease.
\nI usually forced myself to make at least ONE artwork each year.
\nONE\u2026..!!!
\nObviously I was not fully committed.<\/p>\n

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With a different self-made<\/em> focus I have now chosen to prioritise exhibiting because my \u2018exhibiting dream\u2019 – that I hid even from myself<\/em> – meant working on themes and in series to push progression. Very importantly it meant showing<\/em> these works together as a series.<\/p>\n

Exhibiting also means to invite criticism\u2026I had to be sure about my work enough to \u2018defend it\u2019 or at least to be proud of it no matter whether there are \u2018likes\u2019 or red dots.
\nAll of a sudden the critiques and applause please me almost equally. I see this as a really big step in confidence and self-knowledge.<\/p>\n

The December Gallery<\/a> is my enabler. I have to work big hours to try to bring the art forth – and I have no complaints about that – except that more days in a week would be good if that can be arranged?<\/p>\n

There is now an enormous amount of self-made pressure to bring forth a cohesive body of work to show at the end of each year but right now TDG<\/a> is the perfect solution for my needs AND each year I get to share the space with another artist.
\nA win for me – I certainly don\u2019t hanker for a solo – I’d prefer to share.<\/p>\n

The December Gallery 2017 is now online.<\/a> A wonderful first share with Annie Shelley!
\nThe December Gallery 2018 will open on December 1, 2018.
\nPlease ask<\/a> to be put on the invitation list\u2026.<\/p>\n

BACK TO THE MAJOR FOCI
\nFamily, learning and making art.
\nWithout concentrating on my life week-to-week as I was, I have been able to step back to view the bigger picture of what form\/what hue<\/em> I would like my future life to be.
\nI choose a ‘full’ life, not a ‘retired’ future, with the current foci (hopefully) underpinning my life for many many more years.<\/p>\n

Meantime I hope to be back in your inbox soonish – I have much I’d like to talk about…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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