October 11, 2022

Running out of room

I’m running out of room. Room to store stuff, room to experiment with new materials, room to explore new ideas. I don’t know whether it’s because we’re working from home now? Or having spent many years in a pandemic? But things are feeling… ‘constrained’.

Yet, I say that and think – but we’ve got a 3 br house; one we never thought we could ever afford. We have a separate study/office – one that, when the day’s done, we can close the door and disconnect. We’re not working from a kitchen bench or a desk set up in the lounge room or bedroom like some of my friends.

Maybe it’s not about the physical amount of space, then; maybe it’s about how it’s being used? A fancy new monitor and electronics sit intermingled with my watercolours. I’m finding that I’m using coloured pencils joyously but am less inclined to use wet media like watercolour and ink in the same place as my shiny new 4k monitor or laptop.

Maybe, instead of more room, what I need is a new routine? To rethink the space I inhabit throughout the week and tweak it, cleverly, to unlock my ability to create freely again. I wonder if it’s the same for others, too.

Other observations
December 9, 2025

Which idea next?

If an artist finds themselves with too many ideas, is there a deceptively simple way to decide which idea we should work on next?

December 2, 2025

Making a map of dead ends

If we can more easily see the paths we shouldn’t follow, does that make finding the correct one easier?

November 25, 2025

Paying the bills

No matter which way you dice the onion, there’s no escaping the need for money to live. So how might art factor into that?

November 18, 2025

Just feed me

If more choice for a consumer is better, then why do chef’s banquets and ‘just feed me’ options exist in restaurants?

November 11, 2025

The luxury of having no time

Most of us say we need more time but what if the opposite was true? What if less time helped us move forward?

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