Conundrum

West Rutland Marble Bench
currently located at the Vermont Arts Council Sculpture Garden

O. K. So I know I’m not alone here when I struggle to find the time to get into the studio. The question for me is why? Aside from the fact that I’m single, therefore all the myriad of household chores falls on me, there are many more subtle reasons that are far more interesting to contemplate. One would be the ADHD factor. As I bounce from one project to another, I wonder why one of those projects isn’t a hop into the studio. Two weekends ago, I participated in the Vermont Open Studio Tour. I gathered all my work I have in my house and brought it to my studio to display. I realized that I had seven different media represented that spanned ten years. Are we back to the ADHD factor, not being able to stick to one thing? I looked around and felt that I really shouldn’t be on this tour. I have done so little current work. I only have one piece in progress and that’s been in progress for the last three years!

Marble Great Blue Heron in process May '09

Well yeah, I did pick stone as a medium, very slow going. Anyway, the initial reason I signed up for the Open Studio was to give me some incentive to get into my studio. However, I took on a community project that took way more time than I thought it would. I’m sure some of you know how that goes. But I knew I had this Open Studio coming up so why did I even contemplate getting into something else. Maybe it’s the focus thing. Keep your eye on the ball! But there is something deeper. I think I have a deep handed down belief that art isn’t a valued enough vocation to spend much time on. If you don’t have a viable business and aren’t making lots of money, why do it. I know, I know, for arts sake. But it all seems so overwhelming to me to create a big business around art. The commitment can be a huge factor. I once did have a ceramics business with many galleries carrying my work. It was exhausting doing everything by myself. I loved making the work, but the wholesale shows, keeping track of orders, packing and shipping were really time consuming. Sure I could pay someone to help, but I was only making about $30,000. a year and that was working practically 24/7. And now there’s the whole technology thing to grapple with. Every time I think about a website or blog, all I can think of is that it’s just one more thing to keep track of and manage, one more thing to take up my time. So maybe the answer is to just dabble in art when I feel like it and if I finish something put it in a show somewhere. Just that!

-Anne Dean