Sunday, October 13, 2013

To blog or not to blog...Is that really a question?

Blogging is such a bizarre thing.  And it weighs on one, whether one is posting or not.  It speaks of one's work output, or lack thereof.  Of how one spends one's time.  And then there is Facebook and Twitter and all those other ways to pass the time or to get lost in time or maybe just to lose time.  (It seems I have a facebook account but I don't post anything there...either!)  My goal this year was to enter two shows.  I've entered three juried shows and  got into all three (not boasting, I'm pretty amazed! and while I haven't sold anything, truth to tell, I'm pretty relieved about that actually) and I've been in two other shows besides.  And there are two more coming up.  But then that brings up the whole question of showing and selling and pricing and all that maddening stuff.  I find it all pretty overwhelming.  And then there is the pressure of needing more work for future shows.  And I feel as if I've lost some of the fun along the way. So I'm working on the idea of working and keeping it fun.  Not pressured.  I feel that if showing is all about selling then maybe I need to rethink the whole thing.  Retirement should be about fun, I'm pretty sure! Maybe all I need to do is show up.
So I'm going for the cups of tea (and coffee, of course) and the good reads.  I've really enjoyed my garden this year and I'm taking a photography class and a drawing class.
I've finished a couple of the modules in the Kemshall's Quilting and Patchwork class and I'm itching to start the next module.  I've discovered that I love dyeing fabric and I'm still having fun with watercolours.  And there are those two precious little grandsons not to mention their mums and dads.  And my guy.  Life is good.
I'm back.....

4 comments:

  1. And how lovely it is to see you back!

    I'd love to see the pieces you had accepted for the juried exhibitions. They were a great achievement - pressure or not.

    Still, I do so know what you mean about things being fun in retirement - that is what all this textile stuff is about for me. After all, we gave up the life of stress, silly to replace it with other, different pressure - unless that pressure is what makes you tick.

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    1. Thanks so much for visiting!! I know I've been absent for a while. I'll post some pics of the accepted pieces soon.
      I must say, I am enjoying all my classes and I don't find them a pressure at all. And I'm loving the Kemshall classes especially. I suspect it's probably a self-imposed thing, the pressure to 'be creative'. But I'm trying to work on the 'just showing up' part...I think that's the ticket! Thanks again for stopping by. I really appreciate your comments.

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  2. Nice to see you back! Love the bunnies ...

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  3. What a lovely post, Marny. I have missed your online voice, and it is good to see you here again. I think the "just showing up" concept is a profound one, and that it's important to practise simply being, rather than always doing.
    At the same time, here you are enrolled in three classes, all involving very different challenges. Magical things will come from these. The ideas must be popping up like those charming bunnies.

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