Sunday, June 15, 2008

TOD - what bad habits do you have while doing art?

I just finished up my paper fabric and fabric postcards that I am going to send to Kelli. I had one done but I had started 3. I hate to leave things undone. It does not mean that I don't sometimes abandon a project until a later date, I just don't like doing something half-way that needs to be completely done.

I am one of those people that cleans as she works. Most of the time anyway. I always clean-up as I cook. It is something they drilled into me at cooking school. I was sitting there at my sewing machine when I looked down at my pj pants. They were full of scattered pieces of thread. Yup, I looked down at the carpeting around my chair and there was a ton of little threads of various lengths and colors all around me. Of course, I picked most of them up. I figure that the vacuum will pick up the rest later. That is a bad habit of mine where I just snip off the ends of the thread and just swipe it onto the carpet.

I also leave out everything I need for a project until I am done. I warn my family not to touch it, step on it, or move it in any way. There is sometimes a particular order to my madness. I try to keep my stuff out of their field of vision but that is not always possible. I get pissy when someone moves my stuff even if only to admire it. Did you think it still might be wet? Ugghh!

Another bad habit I have while painting is that I have a tendency to use my fingers more than my brush. I sometimes leave the paint open until I am done with it. I might walk away to do some laundry, make some tea, or make the kids something to eat. Yes, I forget to cap the paint. I will come back later and the top of the paint will be nice and crusty. I am also guilty of not cleaning my brushes until I am done with a project. That is why I hardly ever buy expensive brushes. I will usually clean glue off of a brush right away but not gesso or acrylics. Gesso does nasty things to the brush bristles.

Sometimes, I will squirt out too much acrylic paint. I hate to waste it, so I will put the excess on a piece of scrap or something for a later project. Yeah, I have yet to use any of those. I have better luck when I paint on dyed muslin. I just have to remember where I put the muslin before the paint completely dries out.

When I am working on a paper project, I will absently set aside the smallest piece of scrap especially when it is something that I have created myself (background paper). I will pick up the entire heap of scraps and put it in my paper scrap bin. Well, when I am in cleaning mode, I will go through the bin and wonder why I kept such small pieces of scrap that is taking up space but will not be used unless I consciously do so.

How about you? I would love to hear what your bad habits are while doing art. Comment so I can have a good laugh, too.

Be well.

4 comments:

Peggy said...

Excuse me, but cleaning as you go is a BAD habit? I wish I had that bad habit! I leave everything lying around until I'm done or I can't find stuff anymore...piles and piles of half-finished projects! Aaargh!
Peg

Anonymous said...

It’s funny you bring up bad habits, because for two days this weekend I went downstairs to work in my journal and came up with black ink all over the back of my arm. I have a terrible habit of using paints, glue, ink pads, etc and leaving off the lids. You’d think someone would zoom in on an uncovered ink pad right away but, my table is so cluttered I don’t. So the second time it happen I went down and put the cover back on it because I knew that I’d forget by the next time I went down there and come up with the same ink on my arm again. I also keep telling myself that I need to wear one shirt only for any playing that I do. I’m in the bad habit of playing right after work and end up with paint or glue all over my clothes!

Stacy

Anonymous said...

Probably keeping too much rubbish for collages, is my bad habit. I've decided to do a "lucky dip" pulling out random pieces & start with them - whatever they are!

Mavis

Anonymous said...

Speaking of leaving off lids... It took me forever to learn (and occasionally I unlearn)to put the lids back on all those Pearl-Ex, H20, glitter, etc., containers. I get up from the floor by the coffee table where I like to work and with ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY, I always manage to knock one of these open containers off the table. I have a drop cloth under things, but I still manage to find these precious powders everywhere!