throwing out the baby with the bathwater

A few days ago I heard a radio interview with a guy who has simplified his life to the point that he only has 40 things ... and I immediately sat up and took notice. There's some sort of crossed wire in my brain that causes me to want to throw out everything I own when I'm feeling any kind of stress, and I've been feeling all sorts of it lately. Fortunately the big neighbourhood spring cleaning pick-up happens in less than two weeks. I just wish I could find a way to make money at it, like the 40 things guy who, in finest American style, now has his own cable TV show. (And no, I don't do garage sales.)

I've been dabbling, experimenting, trying to find a niche like there's no tomorrow. Seems I'm always dabbling, experimenting, trying to find a niche. I threw out the most appalling attempt at collage (again) today. I love mixed media -- I just can't make any meaningful sense of it in my own practice. The smart thing would be to figure out a way to make money purging stuff and instead buy a lot of mixed media pieces with the money I make! But that still doesn't solve my creative direction problem.

I'm beginning to realize that my current 'creative investigation' (read: obsessive web surfing) can be divided into two fairly distinct fields: art and design. It never even occurred to me that design was on my mind until I discovered myself compulsively checking out design blogs. And then I made the connection between all the really successful Etsy artists and what's popular in the design world. And I started looking more closely at the Gudrun Sjoden and IKEA catalogues lying around and then there was this interior design article in a local newsmagazine that said "It's all about birds this year..." and like an Easter chick I suddenly emerged from my shell to discover the world of design and its trends. Where's it been hiding all my life and what can I do with it? I've had a fairly narrow focus on fine art these past few years but, let's face it, the number of people who make a living in the design world make those of us attempting to make a living producing Real Art look like we might have a screw or two loose.

I'm not ready to throw in the towel quite yet. Doing what you love is important, in spite of what your parents might say, but when the government is still managing to ding me on the small amount of money I made selling my work last year (hiring an accountant turned out to be a waste of time and even more money) I'm throwing things out like there's no tomorrow! (And there won't be any beautiful new inkjet printer walking in the front door to replace those purged items anytime soon.) Just when my fretting reached a crescendo, though, I decided to take a break and head to Chapter's with my husband and son. I tried to stay away from the art section but couldn't resist, and this book practically jumped off the shelf into my hand:

I think this is the art therapy I've been looking for. The first chapter has been so good that I've been savouring it slowly, afraid I won't internalize every single last important message.

Meanwhile, I have also come across a couple of good, completely unrelated blog posts that still somehow address the same topic, either directly or obliquely. Check out Christine Kane's wise words and then pop over to Ian Lidster's blog. I'm feeling better already. Now, I wonder if I can get that armoire back that I gave away...