BEHIND THE BLOG

As writer, teacher, jewelry-maker and everyday woman, I'm fascinated by the ways that clarity and clutter shape creative lives. To me, the question of how much stuff we have is far less important than how much time, freedom and focus we can bring to our creative efforts. Sure, sometimes clutter manifests tangibly, as supplies, possessions, or mementos. But just as often it appears in less physical (but no less powerful) forms: as distractions, drains, obligations, expectations, judgments, and fears that leave us no time or energy to make art or even dream dreams. My first "DeClutter Your Creativity" classes were inspired by my own personal struggle to find the balance of abundance and emptiness needed to fuel my work...and to find it again, and again, and again as my life and work evolve. This blog is another way to dialogue on the subject: written with curiosity, compassion and (sometimes) comedy from the often befuddling place where creativity and clutter meet.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

BETWEEN PAST AND FUTURE, I: How much room does the present have?

Here's an interesting way to explore the whys and wherefores of a room or creative space that feels uncomfortably cluttered.

You'll need nothing more than two different-colored post-it pads of the super-sticky variety....a half-hour or so of uninterrupted time....

Choose one of your two post-it colors to represent things you are saving because they had meaning in the past (yesterday, or any day before that). These might be mementos, collectibles, finished artworks, or supplies for projects you are no longer working on.

The other color then represents things you are keeping in case you might need or want them in the future (tomorrow, or any day after that).

Move around the room or studio as quickly as possible, tagging each item you pass with either one or both colors.

Stop yourself when you notice that you are assigning judgments, feeling shame, trying to make decisions, or starting to move items around. None of those reactions are necessary right now; tell yourself you can always think about/do them later if you wish to. Just place as many post-its as you possibly can, as quickly as you possibly can.

When you've tagged most of the items in the room, step back and look around you, trying to keep an open heart and an open mind.

Does one color predominate over the other? That is, do you seem more prone to keeping mementos from the past, or hedges against the future?

How much room does the present seem to have?

Leave the notes in place and take a brief break. Give yourself some time to 'live with' whatever you've discovered.

No comments:

Post a Comment