Projects

So, I have a lot of things that I need to do and want to do. I want to work on some art projects, but I need to clean out the garage. I need to clean out the guest room too, but that is another day. Because I have lots of things I need and want to do, I have started to look at everything as a project. Some projects are dependent on the completion of another project. I need to clean out the garage so I can do some of the larger scale art projects that I want to do. I don't want to clean out the garage, but until I do clean it out and get the workshop in a usable condition, I can not do the work I want to do. So now I have started to break down everything I have to do into projects. Don't worry, I'm not getting too crazy with it. But, in an effort to make time for the projects that I want to do I have to complete the projects that I need to do. It is a never ending cycle.

I really want to talk about how I am working on art projects. I have a document that I have created I keep adding to and tweeking as I think about what I want to do. I am doing like any good project manager would do. The document includes the following things that will help me, I hope, complete the projects.
1. Title: or at least a working title that is descriptive of the project, it can be changed later.
2. Description: A detailed description of the project. It should include the medium to be used, how it is used, how the work will be presented, etc.
3. Purpose: What do you want out of this in the end. A gallery show? A book, a magazine article, some thing to sell, you get it.
4. Motivation: This is the hard one for lots of us and easy for some. Why are we doing this project and creating this artwork. Is there some social issue you want to bring attention to? Do you just want to make money and sell the work? (perhaps this motivation is why some artist starve, for food and attention). Is it a personal issue.
5. Status: This is the kicker for me. I need dead lines to get things done. If I do not have a real deadline, I will not get the project done. Mostly because I want it to be perfect, and well it will never be perfect and I guess that is what makes it art. This is the section that gets updated. Am I finished? Am I in the final stages of completion? Am I in the editing phase of image selection? I need to define where I am so I stay on track and follow through on the next phase of the project. Think of a GPS, you hit the home button, but first the GPS unit has to figure out where you are.

This is just my little method to keep on track and actually finish an art project. It could be expanded and include more detail, but I like to have a little room for the project to evolve. When I work on a large project that has multiple pieces, I usually break out the dry erase board and track the progress of each piece. That way I know what needs to get done and what I can work on while something else is drying, setting, cooling, etc. I hope this may help some of you get things done. To bad I only have two followers....

Now if I could just get these house hold projects done, maybe I could start and art project.