I work seven days a week in my studio from sometime in September right through to May. That is usually enough.
Leaving the studio is a very good idea, because after a long stint I get a bit comfortable; a bit lazy and a bit …well, dull. If you value your career, and your dignity, leave. Just walk out and smell the flowers. I join Maureen in the flowerbeds and veg garden for the whole summer. If I am not in the garden, I am on the end of a hammer fixing or changing [even improving] the house or the studio.
If you doubt that I “really” forget the studio you would be right. There are things that bug me in the studio. Some ideas need to have a little “tune up”, but I don’t quite know what to do or even where to start. Good ideas usually come with a host of details that are foggy at best, and hidden at worst. Almost right is not an option in the arts.
I find that time is very good antidote to working out the details. I use the time away from the studio as “compost” time. Many times, while working on an idea in the studio I come to what I think is the end. Many summers later, I find that the end looks more like the middle…and I love that kind of linkage in the arts. But it takes time.
Today, I was on the back roof of our house taking down some old leaky roofing steel. Clears the head.
I did not think about porcelain for even a moment, but there are days ahead, and I have been thinking about making a special home for cell phones. Wish me luck!
Harlan House RCA
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