Excuses
Ah Christmas 'break'. The time I usually pack up my stuff, crate up my cat, and catch up on all the learning I should've done during the semester. This Christmas break was a little different- I spent the first two weeks of it in class chilling my heels in Tokyo, then it was off to Luling before I even recovered from my jetlag. Instead of spending my time boning up on being a better artist bookwise, I packed my large format printer, my plate Bristol, my Copics, and my watercolors, and swore to get some work done while away.
It's difficult juggling holiday obligations (housecleaning someone else's home, Christmas shopping, attending church constantly) and professional obligations, especially when your loved ones argue that you 'set your own hours'. This leads to many a late night huddled over a sketchbook while everyone else snoozes.
I'm not the only one who manages this magic act every major holiday, nearly every other cartoonist/illustrator is secretly a juggler as well. I wish I could admit some secret trick to managing, but my only advice would be to say 'no' occasionally, and that's impossible for me. I say yes because I love shopping, I say yes because I desperately want to get out of the house, I say yes because I visit my family rarely and I'm secretly a homebody. I say yes because I can only draw so much before I am tired of drawing and want to do something else.
Still, the responsible adult in me wins out every time, and I manage to sneak in some real work in during the evenings, while my family zones out in front of the TV. This morning I did the majority of my watercolor work while my mother was at for-realsies work, and I finished it up this evening. I'm having an embarassingly hard time coming up with blog entries, but I've been taking process pictures as I work, so I'll share that as soon as I can. In the meantime, my apologies and lack of art will have to suffice.
It's difficult juggling holiday obligations (housecleaning someone else's home, Christmas shopping, attending church constantly) and professional obligations, especially when your loved ones argue that you 'set your own hours'. This leads to many a late night huddled over a sketchbook while everyone else snoozes.
I'm not the only one who manages this magic act every major holiday, nearly every other cartoonist/illustrator is secretly a juggler as well. I wish I could admit some secret trick to managing, but my only advice would be to say 'no' occasionally, and that's impossible for me. I say yes because I love shopping, I say yes because I desperately want to get out of the house, I say yes because I visit my family rarely and I'm secretly a homebody. I say yes because I can only draw so much before I am tired of drawing and want to do something else.
Still, the responsible adult in me wins out every time, and I manage to sneak in some real work in during the evenings, while my family zones out in front of the TV. This morning I did the majority of my watercolor work while my mother was at for-realsies work, and I finished it up this evening. I'm having an embarassingly hard time coming up with blog entries, but I've been taking process pictures as I work, so I'll share that as soon as I can. In the meantime, my apologies and lack of art will have to suffice.
Comments
Post a Comment