I love hearing about you, Barb and Cloe and Jo Ann, turning to art in spite of the demands on your time, and how crucial it is to keep the creative parts of the self engaged.

Catharine, I’m delighted to hear that you went to MassMoca–what a great place sure to stir the creative fires. Thanks for your kind words about my photos. Right now I am so focused on a paper for work that I rarely reach for my camera so as not to disturb the focus–see there I go again, unable to stay balanced. But perhaps just knowing that in a week or so I will be done with the paper is enough. Unlike the old days, there is only this paper and not another one waiting on my desk, and then another after that. Email is bgblogging@gmail.com Would love to hear from you!

What is quality time for creativity like? — What is too much “time” that is not focused.
What is too little time that is over stressed.

I’m more like go for it whenever I can — but I have a lot of interests and sometimes just need to see art that grabs my attention and my sense of being alive and connected.

I look forward to staying connected. Jo Ann

You’ve put into words many feelings that I share–not finding the time for creative writing amidst parenting and teaching–and I love your description of the shiny, new skin…
I’ve been thinking of you for ages–first, when I took Rosalie to see Williams and we visited Mass MOCA, for the first time! Loved it, and couldn’t believe I hadn’t gone earlier after all those years of hearing about your visits there with students. Can’t wait to take the boys this Feb. Meant to send you an email then and couldn’t find your new email address. Then I saw your photo in an exhibit at the town hall. I love your photos–so clear, so focused on something simple that makes us really look and slow down. So thanks for being out there in the art world–we all need the affirmation for paying attention to art, outside and inside.
Would you send me your new email address?? So glad I found you here on your blog! Also love the quote by Maxine Greene–she’s so wonderful!
Catharine

Thanks for this creative blog.

Jo Ann Hammond-Meiers

I love reading your blog.
I’ve been thinking of you often. Over break, I’ve been spending time writing short (nonfiction) stories. It is in the writing that I feel that I am tying tiny strings that I didn’t know were untied.
What are you working on lately?

I so love your response–thank you for deepening and expanding the post. You capture much of how I feel about this space, about the “mid-size sedan worth of privilege” and the countering sense that to live a creative life is something we all could work towards to the benefit of the world.

Bryan (thanks you!) just sent me a link to an article about being an artist during the economic downturn: http://bit.ly/6Jp0el http://bit.ly/7PMXa9. And after the bit about how artists are suffering comes the line to hang onto:

“Remarkably, though, 75 percent of the 5,200 artists surveyed said that it was an inspiring time to be an artist, and 89 percent felt that artists could play a special role in strengthening their communities during turbulent economic times. ”

Yes!

I too am filling notebooks with stories, snatches of poems etc. About a year ago I had a realization that I’m an artist and a writer and that I’m about 13 years old in my development. I feel about 17 now, maybe, so that’s something. It’s still a long way off from feeling like a confident, adult practitioner but my life makes more sense to myself when I own that. The reasons for quitting a demanding, creative and relatively well-paid day job make more sense.

” I am sloughing off my academic self for someone who works in the unpredictable, shifting spaces of local community and personal creativity, and some days I’m just plain old nowhere.”

Quitting the dayjob- ack- it’s a wild, rough ride. Not that it wasn’t on the inside. I’m grateful as hell I could quit and go slowly broke (first the pension fund, then the parental gifts, now the credit line).
There’s a comfortable mid-size sedan worth of privilege that allows me to step outside, increasing debt-load not withstanding. But slowing down and living more like an artist, rooted in a particular patch of earth feels pretty right in many ways. Yes, even with the incessant inner voices casting doubt and mostly external indifference.

It’s why being mentioned in a beautiful post like this is so deeply validating. On the one hand I have many days I feel very vulnerable, isolated and invisible and yet the nonsense of that- I read something from bg or these commenters blogs and get gobsmacked. I’ve had more meaningful collaborations with people in my community in 2 years than I did in the last 10.

Such power and possibility in this unfolding conversation and in these inter-connected experiments.Thanks Barbara for connecting us.

…you’re awfully sweet, Barbara. Am thinking about this.