how to make time to make art

Recently I attended an author friend's book signing. It was a great event, listening to her talk about what it took to get published, to see her story in print, the excitement of promoting her book. An audience member asked her the question, "How do you make time to write". My friend replied that in order to make time to write, you have to be crappy at something. At first that made no sense, then she elaborated.

You see, in order to find time to be creative, you have to stop doing something else. For example, stop cleaning the bathroom, be a crappy co-worker if you have a job, or not pay attention to your pets. Something has to give. So you choose, what are you going to be crappy at today? For me it is cleaning the house. Let the dog hair pile up, let the toilet go unscrubbed, at least I got a drawing done.

I have wrestled with this for years. How to be super mom, how to be super wife, lover and friend. Now I just acknowledge that the stuff around the edges can wait. I don't really care about the dust on my bookshelves right now. I have come to terms with the challenge of what to spend time on. For now it is art. Later when I need a break from creative pursuits, I will sweat an hour or two away and have the cleanest house around.

For now, I am a great artist, and crappy house keeper.