Day One: Organization Pt. 1

"When I work, I work very fast, but preparing to work can take any length of time."

--Cy Twombly

I know what you’re thinking: “Organization? I thought this blog was about making art? WTF?!” Well, it is. More importantly, though, it is about making GREAT art, and lots of it! And there is probably no single more important factor to achieving the lots-of-it part than being organized. Because as much as we creative types would like to breezily joy ride through life, letting our creativity carry us along, life conspires to stick all manner of things between our spokes to trip us up and send us careening down a hill. That’s right. We still have to pay the bills, feed the dog, file our taxes, change the oil in our car, bail our crazy cousin out of jail, and take care of our basic hygiene. Some of us even have the audacity to add a spouse and children’s needs to that never-ending list of distractions to our art-making. No matter how you spin it, if you want to make your art, you’ve got to find a way to shoehorn it into a schedule likely already packed with stuff that needs doing.

Many of the best artists are those who have learned to b

alance their lives. And balance requires some form of organization. Now, I’m not talking about arranging your underwear by type and color here. It could be that instead of drawers or filing cabinets, you have specific piles for specific things. As long as you know where everything is! But how do we get organized? More importantly, how do we get our time organized. If you’re anything like me, you have so many things floating around in your brain at one time that it can be difficult to focus on any one thing for more than 15 minutes, and before you know it, you’ve gone the entire day without getting anything done!

One possible solution to this problem can be found in the book “Getting Things Done” by David Allen. In it, the author outlines a 5 step process for organizing and completing your to-dos. The book is easy and fun to read and is chock full of interesting factoids about staying on top of your workload. Therefore, I’d recommend it to any workin

g professional, ESPECIALLY in a creative field.

No one has more thoughts floating around his or her brain that need corralling than an artist. Therefore, I’d like to discuss the first step in David Allen’s process for getting things done: CAPTURE.

We’d all love to have a supercomputer brain that can

handle and process anything we need it to at any time, but the fact is that even the smartest of us can only do so much at once. Thus getting all of the our ideas, commitments, and to-dos OUT OF OUR BRAINS AND ONTO PAPER is essential. That's what the “Capture” step is all about: “capturing” your thoughts in concrete form so that you don’t have to think about anything that is not relevant to what you’re actually doing here and no

w.

All that is required is a notebook of some sort. Index cards, a memo pad, a PDA, or even your sketchbook would work as well. The main thing is that, whatever you’re capture device is, it’s ALWAYS with you. That way, you can get in the habit of jotting down ideas and to-dos immediately when they come to you.

Being a more tactile person, I generally prefer the pen

and paper method over digital. I found that trying to input notes in my I-pod just didn’t feel natural enough to encourage frequent use. For some people, the electronic method will work, but for most pen and paper is your best bet.

Look for further exploration of this topic in the future, and I continue to struggle with my own organization inadequacy.

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Rough Sketches (Drawing/Painting ideas):

Figure 1 (Lost Soul)

Gears (composition sketch)
Trapped BellFigure 2 (Screaming Man)

Figure 3 (Pierrot Marionette)

Expect a more detailed account of the concepts I'm exploring in the days ahead.

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Today's Artist:

Robin Williams

Wow. Just...wow. Check out her incredible solo exhibition currently being held at the PPOW Gallery in NYC, and being featured at Juxtapoz Magazine.com here.

Introduction

My name is JJ Roberson, and I am no one special. At least not in the commercial, socio-economic, bourgeois, or avante garde sense. You have never heard of me (Unless you're one of the people I have the pleasure of calling friend--in which case you are likely reading this out of obligation or indulgence). You have likely never seen my drawings, read my stories, or listened to my songs. You have never been moved, impressed, or inspired by my work, nor have you ever looked at it and thought to yourself, "Ugh! This guy is horrible! I could do so much better!"

Why? Well, because I haven't put any of it out there to be seen. Yep, that's right...I'm a closet creator. And this opening blog post is to be a confessional of sorts. I confess to having MURDERED countless innocent pieces of unfinished work and dumping their crumpled bodies in mass wastebasket graves. I confess to having condemned a number of potentially worthwhile projects to incarceration in desk drawers and closet storage bins. I confess to having abandoned paintings like frightened children in the storage room of my art school, where I knew full well they would find there way to a dumpster at the end of the semester.

And I have justified all of these crimes by telling myself (and others, you know who you are) that it didn't matter while I was in school. That I was going to focus on becoming the best I could be at what I do. "This is a time for learning, not sharing," I would say. And to some extent, all of that was probably true, but this reasoning was just a facade, crafted to deceive even my own conscious mind from realizing the ugly truth: that I was scared out of my mind. Still am. Horrified...probably always will be on some level. Horrified that I am not really the man that I dream of being in my moments of self-aggrandizement. That none of my work is really that good, and therefore neither am I. That those stories you hear about starving artists are true, and I'll spend my life struggling to keep my head above the poverty line. And the worst fear of all is that I'll never contribute anything of value. That thought can be like a knife poking at the base of my skull. After all, pictures don't plow fields. Stories don't develop new forms of reusable fuel. Music doesn't invent new technologies. But despite my fear (or perhaps in spite of) I know that art has value. Great value. The only question is how to find it in one’s own work.

"Fear is the mind killer." This is something my dad used to say, half-jokingly, when I was a kid racing motocross bikes, usually in relation to a new obstacle I was having trouble overcoming. It was a quote from the movie version of Dune, which my dad adored. Since then, I've come to realize that the quote was ultimately incorrect. Just some catch phrase that the writer (or writers; I don't know if it was in the original book or not) thought sounded cool. Rather, a better quote would probably be: "Fear can be your best friend, or your worst enemy." Everyone is afraid. The most successful, fulfilled people on earth harbor fear. The difference is how each of us diverts our fear. I believe exceptional people use their fears to drive them. They are afraid to stop. Afraid not to make every moment count. Afraid they'll reach the end and realize that they could have done so much more. Now there’s a terrifying thought.

I want to control my fear--to harness it. To atone for my wastebasket holocaust and captive ideas that never got to see the light of day. I am going to write this blog each and every day, in order that I may be made accountable. And I hope that those of you reading will help me. I hope that something in my words has inspired or entertained you enough to keep you coming back for more. In so doing, you and I can be more than friends. Kindred spirits. Allies in the war against those who might use art as nothing more than a disposable dandy--the equivalent of visual and intellectual cotton candy.

And fear not! For I do not plan on subjecting you to too many self-involved narcissistic ramblings, though some of that will likely make its way in. There is a purpose here! I am embarking on a journey to explore just what it takes to become a successful artist, both commercially and critically, in the postmodern age, and I'd like to bring you along for the ride. Don't worry. I'll do all the work. All you have to do is sit back and enjoy the scenery.

Here's the plan. Each day, I will:

A) Explore one topic relevant to my current art-making endeavors, be it a technique, an inspiration, a theme, or a criticism (I'll try to steer clear of cynicism however--there are enough negative emotions floating around out there)

B) Share some concrete evidence of the previous day's work, be it a sketch, a script, and outline, a finished piece, or simply an idea I've come up with.

and C) Share one recommendation for an artist, writer, musical group, etc. that I enjoy and has inspired me to do better work. I might even give a brief explanation or critique of their work.

So there it is! I hope you have enjoyed my prose, and I look forward to meeting with you, street-level, to march on the gates of the artistic ineptitude. Bayonets at the ready...aim...fire!