JJ Worden

I had THE best Life Example in my Dad for the Art of Learning New Things as we get older. At 50 he changed careers - and I don't mean moving laterally from one company to another. Nope. He went back to school, driving for hours through Quebec winter nights- from engineer to teacher. Learned to bake bread and make ice cream for my Mom's cafe (STARTING a cafe in their 60s!). Took up the trombone in his late 60s. Carving rocking horses for his granddaughters in his 70s. Short story, long, he was a life long learner and it struck a chord. (I miss him)

After a class, particularly one as intense as Sketchbook Revival (13 days, 2 classes per day, most an hour each... oof!), it takes me awhile to get back into gear. So I play, with my sketchbooks, with techniques I've learned, with new colour palettes but nothing really "important". Important in this case meaning with intent. Maybe even far reaching.

 I'm immersed in classes this month (you can check out WHY in my last post) so I wanted to come up with a quick #fridaymusings post and what's better than a list!

You may ask yourself, "I'm on my art path. I know what I want to make, why should I take classes, at all? And you're right to ask. Maybe they aren't for you. But. Every year for the last few, I've dedicated the first few months of the year to taking (online) classes. The reasons are many and I'll try to list mine below.

I was asked to fill in for a show at The Ice House Gallery in Tatamagouche, NS. The curator has always been super good to me so of course I said, "Yes!" after I did a mental tally and thought, "Yep! I've got enough potential pieces to make this work." Only, they were all on paper and far from being finished. But I had a few weeks and I always work well with a deadline. Bring it on, right?!?

Relax! I'm not talking about no longer making art but rather when do you decide that an artwork is not working, may NEVER work? When you do you pull the plug and say, "Nope. Not gonna happen!"?