Last weekend I utterly enjoyed modeling a swimmer in clay, and carving a linocut and printing it at Kim's art & food event. I feel I should do more creative stuff again - and I don't mean photography or cooking. But there's a problem: I hate to own stuff that doesn't use itself up. So whatever I choose to do, I will need tools, raw materials, and I will produce tangible output. All of that needs space. And I hate it when the house gets clogged. I feel there's too little space already as it is now.
Why does stuff always accumulate? Two days ago we took two large boxes full of household items down to the trash room which we don't use anymore: butter dishes, egg cups, a mirror, an old lamp shade, a bread bin, and some other stuff. And brought a large bag of old socks and undies to the textile recycling container.
When we took out 10 bags of clothes in September on our bikes, I hung all the clothes hangers the other way around, and swore to myself that next September, all clothes on hangers which are still the other way around will be thrown out too. But what about the t-shirts? The sweaters? The shoes? I still have so many good leather shoes which I don't wear anymore at all. Should I give them all away, or will I need to wear anything but vegan sneakers, Teva sandals, or winter boots ever again in my life? Stuff is such a burden.
Maybe I should first get a scanner, digitize all my old photos from before 2003 (and we're talking boxes full of negatives), and throw away most of the prints and negatives, so that I have some free space for new stuff.
Or maybe I should just get the linoleum, the cutters, the rolls, the paint, and the paper and start printing - and see where I end up. Why worry about problems before they become problems?
But then, again, I still have a DLR kit camera to assemble and test - something I haven't done since April when it arrived. First things first?
I am torn.
Last weekend I utterly enjoyed modeling a swimmer in clay, and carving a linocut and printing it at Kim's art & food event. I feel I should do more creative stuff again - and I don't mean photography or cooking. But there's a problem: I hate to own stuff that doesn't use itself up. So whatever I choose to do, I will need tools, raw materials, and I will produce tangible output. All of that needs space. And I hate it when the house gets clogged. I feel there's too little space already as it is now.
Why does stuff always accumulate? Two days ago we took two large boxes full of household items down to the trash room which we don't use anymore: butter dishes, egg cups, a mirror, an old lamp shade, a bread bin, and some other stuff. And brought a large bag of old socks and undies to the textile recycling container.
When we took out 10 bags of clothes in September on our bikes, I hung all the clothes hangers the other way around, and swore to myself that next September, all clothes on hangers which are still the other way around will be thrown out too. But what about the t-shirts? The sweaters? The shoes? I still have so many good leather shoes which I don't wear anymore at all. Should I give them all away, or will I need to wear anything but vegan sneakers, Teva sandals, or winter boots ever again in my life? Stuff is such a burden.
Maybe I should first get a scanner, digitize all my old photos from before 2003 (and we're talking boxes full of negatives), and throw away most of the prints and negatives, so that I have some free space for new stuff.
Or maybe I should just get the linoleum, the cutters, the rolls, the paint, and the paper and start printing - and see where I end up. Why worry about problems before they become problems?
But then, again, I still have a DLR kit camera to assemble and test - something I haven't done since April when it arrived. First things first?
I am torn.
Maybe I should first get a scanner, digitize all my old photos from before 2003 (and we're talking boxes full of negatives), and throw away most of the prints and negatives, so that I have some free space for new stuff.
I have a similar relationship to stuff. I keep as little as possible, everything that comes in must be useful and actually get used. As an artist I had to decide that tools were worth having and worth the space they require to keep. I have a set of rolling drawers to keep everything in with a tray on top to keep my brushes, inks and paints that I'm currently using. A little bit of creative clutter is ok, it reminds us to labor at our art =)
ReplyDeleteget printing! it'll do you some much needed stretch of that creative muscle. my vote for lino cutting, ink and paper.
ReplyDeletetwo brayers( rollers) t, no bigger than 4 inches wide, any wider they warp too easy. there are some great oil based printing inks that are water soluble, clean up with soap and water,come in a tube, evert thing can be kept in an shoe box.