Work Practice

Last week I lived at the Temple in Brooklyn.  We were not following a retreat schedule but just the ordinary work schedule.  I set up a little studio in my room and spent the six hours/day that are dedicated to work practice preparing for my two upcoming exhibitions.  Although six hours/day isn't much time, I found it to be very productive.  The deliberate nature of marking the time and setting the intention to work, sometimes in silence, really was effective.  Less tempted to wander into the worldwide, time-wasting web, I actually did a lot of relatively tedious, but necessary, sewing along with simply making some important decisions about what exactly is going where in both gallery spaces.   Plus, there was something pretty wonderful about working intently in my room by myself only to emerge and join people for meals (not to mention not having to prepare most of those meals myself!).  The combination of silence and talk, solitude and togetherness, felt like a beautiful balance.  It felt like, well, the way it is supposed to be.

Or maybe not.

Returning home to the clutter and chaos...

...butut also additional time and materials to get things done...

New soap for the version of the Utopia Tent that will be part of the Fun House of Vulnerability

The soon-to-be-motorized crochet piece...yes, you read that right!  Crochet...now with motors!

This, also, is how it is supposed to be.