Follow the Inspiration, Not the Obligation

The recurring thread of guilt and how to banish it from your studio.

As ever, when I use the word studio, know that I mean any room of one’s own.

Large cupboards and tiny side rooms. Garage corners and too dark basements. Custom built or custom patched together. Dining room table or once-was-a-chicken coop.

I have made art in them all.

There is a feeling that takes me over when I am in the inspired state.

It’s an intoxication.

I must do this thing! I must do this thing right now, even though I don’t have all the necessary ingredients. I must do this thing right now, because it feels like it may change everything!

This feeling of urgency takes precedence over all the other things piled up on the calendar. It takes precedence over my driver’s license renewal, the long-suffering commission waiting in the corner, and the plans for making Robert a nice dinner.

Lately, this thing is often centered around hammering bits of metal and watching what happens as they change…