​May
Artists Next Door Blog
Finding Time
by Connie Herberg
 
As spring has finally sprung, I feel a sense of renewal, a lightness in my step, a giddiness, which also translates as a slight mania.  It feels good to shake off the cabin fever of a long and difficult winter and toss that season’s garb to the back of the closet.  However, there now is a certain urgency to get all of the good weather projects going and sweep out the cobwebs. 
 
Yard maintenance and improvements (never ending), spring house cleaning (maybe I can just hit the high spots), uncover the BBQ grill, declutter the studio (I know, it should have been done in the doldrums of winter) and find time to paint, gather photo references, and still have time for a cool summer beverage (whew) on the deck once-in-awhile.  I’m entering my manic phase.  I’m wondering how to manage it all before I see the snow fly again.
 
The best place for me to start is by organizing the studio (which is the biggest mess) in my home.  While I don’t profess to be a neat-nick, I do like to have things fairly ordered.  This makes the hunt for reading glasses a shorter recon mission.  Organization of my space frees up my mind and leaves room for the important things, like taking a drive to gather painting inspirations. 
 
The “experts”, in clutter and chaos organization, suggest that you set up three bins, boxes or piles, one to keep, one to donate, and one to throw.  Seems simple enough and shouldn’t take long because we’re all decisive people who can be ruthless in the pursuit of tidiness, right?  Well, I think these “experts” would find herding cats an easier project than spending a day with me doing studio organization.  Face it, we artists have a hard time parting with that half started canvas that might be a salvageable piece with a little more work, or filing that pile of invoices and info that has been accumulating in a pile that rivals the leaning Tower of Pisa.  And, there is the distraction factor! 
 
Well, at the very least I will don my gloves and goggles, dig through cabinets and drawers, dust and vacuum, and organize in my own fashion, While in the end nothing actually leaves the studio, I will have three tidy piles that to be sorted and resorted then put back in their usual place.  After all, there’s no point in upending a system that, though flawed, works on some level for me.  I might find a few extra pair of reading glasses and that’s considered a win.
 
I think it’s time for happy hour!