Patience

I am told it is Spring in this part of the world. I feel (given the snow and cold the last couple of days) that this is really a sad little joke, that’s rapidly wearing very very thin. I haven’t even got my usual bout of ‘spring fever’ yet … and that’s really odd!

I feel like I am at one end …

… and not likely to see the other end anytime soon.

It’s an exercise in patience.

And every once in a while (probably not nearly often enough!) I am given one of these lessons – or several in a row. This is a good thing, I think, because even at the best of times making work can become about the ‘product’ or the ‘end result’ rather than the process of making.

I want to see the results immediately:

It can be difficult to remain mindful of being in the moment with the work and what it is teaching at that point when deadlines are tugging at your sleeve demanding that you “finish” the thing you are making. I often feel the need to move faster …

… and usually at times when the best course of action is the exact opposite.

Or when the to-do list is getting longer and longer, and each thing on it seems to take far longer than you wished to get done – or you need to be in two (or more) places at once … .

This is an ongoing battle for me, and my growing excitement at getting close to realizing a body of work doesn’t help one bit. If anything, it makes it worse!

Still, it is a busy, busy time, and things are in fact moving ahead on a number of fronts – and actually, much faster than it feels to me just now.

Work on the YORK project is moving along really well – files are off to the printers, and if the initial proofs are any indication, the final prints are going to be worth seeing! I’ve also just received an order of acrylic at the studio, and the shelves and brackets we need for the exhibition should be finished in the next two weeks. Mould-making and casting is progressing – slowly, but well – so really, it’s all coming together!

… and maybe Spring will come together soon too …

*the signs referring to equipment on Star Trek vessels are from a secret location in Edmonton. I will only say that I am so happy that thanks to the highly bureaucratic nature of the place  where these signs are posted, no one proofread the text before the order went in …