All the Excuses: Just let ‘em out and let ‘em go
What day is it? How long has it been? I’ve lost track. I think we’ve all lost track. I found a receipt today from the last time I went grocery shopping. Like real shopping. A get-in-your-car-grab-a-shopping-cart-maskless-glorious shopping trip. The receipt date was March 7th. Has it really been 57 days!? Well, aside from lost time a big thing I’ve lost is a consistent stream of motivation. And I've gained a massive amount of excuses. Anyone else? No? Just me. Okay.
I’ve baked more loaves of bread and pizza dough than I can count. Along with copious amounts of cookies. And, if I’m being honest, I think baking is what I’ve needed to get through this weird and crazy time. Another truth is that quarantine and baking have caused my goals for Cast & Pressed to suffer just a tad. There are a few excuses as to why production for C&P has taken a hit and while they are legitimate, they are still excuses. Let me explain.
Excuse number one: I have no home studio. We live in a two bedroom apartment in Chicago in the most northern part of the city. It’s a generous sized apartment that has a beautiful light-filled sun room. All my videos and photos are taken in that room. What you don’t see in those photos is that that room is shared with an ancient folding treadmill which abruptly stops if you walk too fast (still grateful for an indoor walk no matter how brief), a huge/deep desk currently equipped with two large computer monitors (my husband is working from home these days) and, lastly, a 75 pound pit bull and her XXL bed equipped with two twin-sized blankets. When I work in there I’m working on the hardwood floor. And if I were 10 years younger I think it wouldn’t be as much of a problem, or as painful. But at my tender age of, gulp, 37 soon to be 38, it hurts.
Excuse number two: Limited tools. I have clay, a rolling pin and small carving tools. Writing that right now it seems like enough, maybe even a lot, but for me it’s been a challenge. Right before all this madness I’d go elsewhere to utilize a few larger tools: the potters wheel and a wall mounted extruder. I have no plaster to make my molds, I have no shelves to store my work.
Aside from physical restrictions maybe my biggest excuse or realization is procrastination and doubt. Sadly I can’t blame that on a pandemic. This ailment has followed me for YEARS. The procrastination isn’t as bad as it used to be. I’d say my grade school years saw the worst of it. As for the doubt: is any artist or creative ever really sure what they have made is perfect? And there is that word perfection. I’ll admit it, some may say I’m a perfectionist. Cringing.
Ahhhhhhh.... okay. Glad I got that all out.
They may be excuses any other time but right now, in this crazy time in our lives, give yourself permission to validate them, honor them, acknowledge them and then let it go. And once we let go we can move on, find gratitude and inspiration and hopefully kickstart that motivation we’ve all been missing. Come on, I can’t be the only one.
Encouraging everyone to let it out and let it go by Sunday so Monday we can start fresh and reinvent our temporary new reality and make good things happen!
-Lindsey
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