…. and a very interesting (if tiring) process ir is turning out to be. The result of my mammoth current effort to organise the storage of my art work will be more than mere tidiness. The intended result is, indeed, a situation in which I can find what I need to find. The fact that, in this process, I am having to actually look at every pice of my work that is still in storage is meaning, however, that I find myself making critical judgements about them. Some of these I have not actually cast an eye on for years, and as a consequence they appear in a new light. There are some rediscoveries of things the value of which I had not appreciated. On the other hand (and I’m afraid, more frequently) I soon reach the conclusion that I am never likely to exhibit them again, and they don’t necessarily do me credit. Not a few pieces, therefore, are ending up in the cellar awaiting the salvage of their frames ready for future use with another piece of work.
The process is stimulating also in another direction. I have come to see, for example, that my Set Apart series really does deserve more exposure, and perhaps I ought to invest more effort into making that happen. On the other hand, the commitment I made over the years to work based upon rocks and climbing is probably of lesser interest to other people than I had thought, and in some respects is probably rather self-indulgent.
I’m far from the end of this sorting process as yet*. Even so, the dismay with which I contemplated it is easing, and I am realising that it is something I ought to have done some time ago. As a matter of fact, this kind of “weeding” is probably something which should be a regular feature of one’s work as an artist.
Anyway: tomorrow sees my regular climbing date with a friend, and I’m looking forward to that greatly. No doubt I will come back to the struggle with the ordering process on Wednesday with new energy and commitment.
*Indeed, in my worst moments I wonder whether there will ever be an end to it!