Change Gears

 

I have had a quiet week because both children were at camp. With hours of precious solitude on my hands, I tried my hand at something new. For about a month, I've been thinking about making dreamy pieces using wire. Armed with wire cutters, pliers, and many spools of 20 gauge wire, I've been bending and snipping all week. When I work with something so detailed, I've got to have a diversion for my eyes. I need to look up and refocus every few minutes in order to let them rest.

 

My diversion this week was watching Art 21 episodes. Listening to artists talk about their lives, their work, and their ideas was incredibly inspirational. I realized that I need to slow down a bit and enjoy the process of making art, to ask more questions, to create more worlds with what I do. I don't need to trade in the car, just change gears.

In his now famous commencement speech to Stanford University, Steve Jobs talks about the importance of doing what you love. Setting all the carpe diem aside, I heard a specific message when I read this speech. The importance of change.

If what you are doing each day is not in line with what you love to do, make a change. Jobs doesn't say to throw it all out the door. He simply says, "change something." I think of driving a car. If you have run off the road, it is best to make a slight adjustment to your steering. Over-correcting can cause you to lose control of your car. (Unfortunately, I know this from experience.)

 

I'm not ready to make my wire sculptures public, but I am happy with what is happening. I will still get up day after day and empty the dishwasher and go to work and sweep up dog hair. But I will also change gears, turn around, and correct my steering every once in a while.