deadlines

Good morning!  It is mid-morning here, now, and I'm ready to start my day in the studio.  I've been spending a lot of time planning and drawing this week because I realized, late last week, that a deadline was approaching much faster than I'd anticipated.  As in, weeks sooner.  And that I was somewhat behind in both planning and production, given this new deadline.

This summer I accepted an invitation to show at St. George's School here in Memphis.  I had a plan and was thinking through how I'd be hanging my plates, platters, and bowls on the wall.  I'm still working through that- have had some successes and some abject failures in the hanging department.  The show is in November.  Plenty of time, I thought, to work steadily and give myself some days off to regroup, refocus, re-evaluate.  Friday I shuffled through the papers that came with my contract and realized that photos and artist statements are due this week.  Eek.  Work needs to be finished by mid October.  Eek.  I have several pieces in process, but only a few pieces are actually finished and ready to be shot.  Eek.  I have a plane ticket for Oct 3, and wanted a clear plate before I leave.  Well.  Time to revise the plans.

My solution is eating breathing sleeping drawing bees on pieces that I've thrown and handbuilt.  I've made a good bit of progress (my plans, roughly sketched out, above) but I have miles to go.  Realistically, one can only sit hunched over a plate/platter/bowl you're drawing on for 3 hours a day.  The actual making of the pieces is a breeze, but the surface design/detail work is hard on the body.  Yoga has become my good good friend.  I'm excited about the work that I'm making.  That helps.  The other work (those large cylinder vases) are on the back burner for another week or so because I'm 4/5 finished with those large pieces and they aren't due until November.  Progress and process.  I don't work well when I'm freaked out.  I do work well when I have a plan.  So I have the plan, and it will all be well.

See you soon.