Finding Art Again

This was originally written in October of 2009 but never posted which fits in with the general concept perfectly.

I’ve always been very good at starting projects – finishing them – not so much.  I’m not sure why exactly.  Somehow it seems that when I take up something new, my brain turns on, the gears roll and I get myself immersed in whatever I’m working on.  Mid way to “completion” it is like someone turns a switch and my brain announces that it is all done and it is time to find something new.  Joy becomes work.

Still, I have finished some things.  In 1977 I finished a fundraiser which was called the “Bike Hike”.  You would get people to sponsor you and they would pay you so many cents per mile you biked (or hiked).  Not only did I complete this task (on a flat tire) but I won for raising the most money.  To this day I think I got so many donations because nobody expected the fat kid to finish.  Of course the big secret that they didn’t know was that there was a huge object of motivation dangling there for me.  I knew the prize for this was a battery powered calculator – something I really wanted to win at the time.

A couple of years ago I completed a year as figurehead of a fundraising organization.  It was a big challenge for me.  Still I stuck to it and somehow managed to make it to the end.  I’m better off for making myself finish what I started and I learned some of the most important lessons of my life by not quitting.

Even so the starts outweigh the finishes in my life.

The World Progress 5/2010

But what about things you can’t really finish.  The pursuit of making art or as I like to call it, “Finding Art”.  How do you exactly finish it?  Is it learning a technique?  Is it completing a piece? Is it selling a piece?  Maybe it is creating a portfolio?  Maybe it is publishing your work to a magazine or a book?

Perhaps Art and creativity have been a constant in my life because the whole concept of “finishing” as it pertains to art is flexible.  If you think about it you can build one finish line upon the other.  At one point – just creating one drawing was a goal in itself. Then another took its place.   Each time I work on something there are a multitude of goals to set and finish. Each is obtainable and is a mini-win.  Each step is something new to start.

Big projects with finish lines so far away scare me.  Lots of little tasks one after the other are not.  I’ve been working on that feeling of being overwhelmed by breaking down projects, art or otherwise, into manageable steps.  This works for me. 

Life has been full as it always is between autumn, the holidays and the annual charity ball each February.  I’ve kept myself on task by working on small art card sized projects but I have to admit – I’m starting to think a little bigger and I’m looking forward to starting something new when my obligations have been met.

The Sketch Project Image 1