Obstacles: creative conquering, not creative excuses

Today I commented on Anna's post on obstacles to art-making, on a day packed with personal speed-bumps. Somehow they made me even more determined to work through them by writing: to my publisher, to several arts people, travel agents, my partner, to bloggers I've never met before.


Night-time photos from a Star Ferry cruise we took this week, saying goodbye to Hong Kong

I can't tell you how many times I've heard "I don't have time" from people - this is why they can't make art outside of Sundays.


You've got to conjure up the time, it doesn't suddenly appear.

[here are some good tips for making the most of small blocks of studio time]

Work fewer hours at your day job,

stay up later, wake up earlier,



don't have kids for awhile, if ever;

choose an admiring partner - or none at all - don't accept anything less.


R, looking like he's walked straight out of a film noir set

work a flexible job; make yourself irresistible to potential employers for freelance/flex-time work.



All of these are choices many contemporary artists make to keep going full-tilt towards their work.



Space?

It's unfortunate that for much of the past half-century, professional artists have been expected to rent studios separate from their living spaces, in some of the most expensive cities in the world. (this I am hopeful is changing in the 21st century).





Small spaces tend to generate small work, yes, but when starting out, paying for those spaces can become a distraction from the making of it.

Make it wherever you can: in the living room or underneath a tree, in a museum or in a classroom.

While I'm in the process of moving our lives to Sydney, I'm temporarily using the concrete slab in front of our flat for exposing my blueprint photos. Next spring, I'll be making art in various spots in SE Asia. None of these spots are "studios" per se, but they're ideal for a nomadic artist, and combine living/working spaces.


You need understanding roommates when making a mess in the bathroom - even if it's "art"



it helps if your roommate's a male


Artists who are dedicated don't just say "I can't", they say "How can I do this somehow - or at least something like it?"


silk dress printed with rooftop water tower - view from the Long Bien bridge, Hanoi

Postscript:


Damien Hirst was the art director behind this video. You can see his influences in splashing paint & cow's blood. Sienna Miller's an overblown histrionic, but watching her crawl through high street stores filled with artfully-lit handbags reminds me of my first year here in HK, walking through slick & superfluous IFC to the ferry piers on the way home.

The Hours - See The Light