Art & Work.

a church in Cambridge
Thanks for voting, friends! I'll post answers later & divulge all the juicy tidbits from the trip (like: we saw a bear! and elk! which was all Dan really wanted the whole trip :)

Yesterday was a big day in these parts. Dan started school, and so therefore I declared it my first day of work (and by work, I mean ART and all that it entails. yesterday it entailed getting back on track with my Etsy shop and making new work). I read a little bit of Steven Pressfield's War of Art the day before in preparation (a book I would *highly* recommend to any artist out there trying to make their craft their "real" job...or as Pressfield says: going pro).

Interestingly, in the days leading up to my first day of work I had all kinds of feelings of dread and negativity, fears that I would fail somehow, or be too lonely working from home, or bored, or not productive enough, etc. This book deals with all of those things (and our biggest enemy in the creative process: Resistance) and gives helpful tips on how to kick Resistance to the curb. One huge thing is treating your craft like an actual JOB, as you would any other job. Getting up early, getting ready, showing up and sticking it out all day. Sleeping late and working in jammies doesn't do anyone any favors (okay, maybe once in awhile it's kinda fun). But I found this one piece of advice to be incredibly helpful. I got up early, showered, dressed, had breakfast & coffee, then got to work. Worked through the morning, took an hour lunch break like I used to at my old Day Job, then got back to work again until about 5:30. And it really seemed to work! By treating my art like a job, I took it (and myself) more seriously and was therefore more productive.

Another interesting point Pressfield makes in his book: "The more Resistance you experience, the more important your unmanifested art/project/enterprise is to you - and the more gratification you will feel when you finally do it." Which explains the adverse reaction & apathy I was experiencing earlier this week -- I have been dreaming of doing this for years!

Anyway, day one was a success. We'll see how it goes from here. I'll keep ya posted!