I’ve been thinking about the differences and similarities in my workflow here in Chicago vs. at home in New Orleans. There is not a linear rhythm of work in either place. In fact, the rhythms here in Chicago feel quite familiar. There are almost no full 8 hour days IN the studio. Rather my days seem to be broken into chunks or blocks. Here, the blocks of time and the activities they hold are all feeding my work, indirectly if not directly. At home, because of the demands of family, home, community, etc. transitioning from one block to the next feels more disruptive. One block may feed my work and the next may be neutral toward it or even destabilize it. In some ways, a full 8 hour day seems like it would feel luxurious. A mythological flurry of focus and productivity. But I’m also aware that the blocks themselves may be useful in the efficiency of attention they demand.
To explain in more detail, I’ll list a series of some time blocks spread over the course of a few days this week:
Studio time (painting): 3 hours
Art History: 4 hours
Goodwill for art materials: 2 hours
Studio time (material arranging): 2 hours
Colloquium: 3 hours
Art History reading: 2 hours
Researching the history of Corsets: 2 hours
Art History: 4 hours
Flaxman Library: 2 hours
Fabric Store: 3 hours
Studio time (admin): 1 hour
Blick: 1 hour
Studio time (painting): 2 hours
Block Museum/Exhibition: 3 hours
So I’m going to use “Studio” as more of a concept here instead of a concrete place or space. Part of the reason my rhythm is still broken into this kind of block pattern is because of where I am trying to go with it. In New Orleans, my actual work was more streamline. Most of the paintings I was making were aesthetically, materially and procedurally very similar. Here, I am broadening both my research and my material processes in order to ultimately deepen and specify the meaning of the work. My research topics are huge right now. The goal is to pull all the strands apart so that I can pick specific ones to grab onto. Patriarchy in the history of the church, white women in racial and social structures in the American South, Feminism, Fashion, Control.
I’m experimenting with many more materials. I’m trying to play as much as possible and let them the materials talk to me. Follow where they lead. Rather than just acrylic paint on a rectangle canvas, I’m cutting canvas out and rearranging it, potentially quilting, sewing, screenprinting, monoprinting, and more.
