Confessions of a Facebook Addict

This is a first and ambivalent post in a blog which may not have a future. I've just finished reading a review by Maria Popova of Austin Kleon's book, "Show Your Work". His previous, "How to Steal Like an Artist" remains on my recommended-but-not-yet-read-list. I came across Maria Popova's article in a facebook feed and it sat in an open tab on my desktop for several days.

This morning I woke with what felt like way too many "tabs" open in my brain. So much so that those precious last twenty minutes of potential relaxation before the alarm rang were occupied with reluctant mental gymnastics while I lay in the half light with my eyes closed, listening to my dogs snoring in their beds. I remembered how my almost-daily blog posts used to serve as a personal ideal work supervisor and focal point for my textile art. I mentally rehearsed the myriad of tasks on my "to do" list. I admitted that I'm no closer to fulfilling the requirement for 10 journal entries for my digital art subject at school. Then I got up and started the day, as I usually do with coffee and cereal and waking the resident teenager. But after the now-traditional browsing of my facebook feed and overnight emails, I read that article and found a collection of relevant and intriguing thoughts.

So here I am, as the teenager finishes getting herself ready for school, typing away at a blog post for the first time since she came to live here and remembering another point--I like arranging words on a page.

As for the open "brain-tabs", at this stage I think they may just need to be deposited on this page as dot points so I can come back to them later:

• journal entries for digital art
• improving photoshop skills
• improving illustrator skills
• improving photography skills
• developing my "doll project" for Studio Art
• documenting the "doll project" for Studio Art--extending it with digital techniques
• exploring possibilities for printmaking
• improving and gaining confidence with drawing skills
• developing a better work routine
• exploring future possibilities for my art practice
• making decisions about my Z Twist Art micro-business: direction, promotion, viability . . . 
• sorting the studio--including allocating workspace to different types of activities or simply clearing space enough to be able to work productively
• promoting my work while all this is going on
• reviving my Z Twist Art blog . . .or not?
• learning about world history in general and art history in particular
• re-learning and updating my medical knowledge
• getting back into a routine of walking regularly
•  . . . and I'm sure there are more

For now, they can just sit on this page which may or may not be published, but at least I've made some sort of a start here.