I have a problem with categories. Basically, I'm just not very good at them. I find it difficult to choose tags for blog posts. I have too many sets on my Flickr account. I have too many email folders. I struggle with organising my filing cabinet. I desperately need to go through and rationalise all these things but it doesn't come easily to me.
In terms of organisation, this is obviously A Very Bad Thing. I constantly lose things and I sometimes avoid tidying up because I simply can't decide where stuff should go. And then I end up with this sort of thing!
Kirsty Hall: Messy Study, May 2008
[I've tidied my desk since this was taken because the photo appalled me so much. If you have problems keeping your desk clear, check out Inspired Home Office for resources that may give you the push you need. Since tidying up this disaster zone, I've been noticeably more motivated and I'm feeling more on top of things.]
I do have systems but things still stump me. I've got a box that's been sitting in my study unsorted and neglected for 6 months because it's full of the sort of random objects that I find almost impossible to categorise. The pile of papers to be sorted into my filing cabinet is so large that it's developed geographical layers and may actually have started to fossilise down at the bottom.
Since I'm so visual, I sometimes wonder if I should simply file things by colour - but I know that I'd just end up spending ages trying to decide if objects were blue or green instead because having trouble with categories is a global failure in my brain.
TIME TO LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE...
However, while it's a problem in terms of organisation, being bad at categories can be a distinct advantage for an artist because you can see across boundaries to make associative leaps than non-artists often don't. Leaps of logic that make perfect sense in KirstyLand often seem innovative and original to others.
For example, this piece called Lost was made for an exhibition in a church. To make the piece, I carefully broke an unglazed bowl, then mended it with glue, leaving deliberate holes. For the exhibition, the bowl was placed on linen and filled with salt water, which gradually evaporated through the porous clay.
Kirsty Hall: Lost, 2003
Lot's Wife was the inspiration for the piece and I combined her familiar story with the Japanese tradition of mending broken bowl with gold to make them more valuable than when they were whole. I'd read about this several years before and had been utterly captivated by the idea of regarding a mended object as beautiful and powerful instead of flawed and damaged. Somehow in my head, this linked with my sympathy for Lot's Wife, who was forced to leave not only her home but two of her adult children. In that situation, what mother wouldn't turn back to see what had happened? Isn't it interesting that she's usually held up as an example of female disobedience but if you turn it around, her story can just as easily be interpreted as being about the power of maternal love.
Kirsty Hall: Lost, 2003
As artists, we need to turn things around. We have to learn to look at our problems and disadvantages to see if they also contain power and wisdom for us. It's time to recognise that the things that make us bad at fitting into the 'real world' are sometimes the exact same things that keep us making our art.
erin
this post rings so true to my heart and thoughts. One of my works is an abstract figure carved of salt inspired by Lot's wife. The sculpture in the right weather weeps on her own. I think about unnamed Lot's wife being destroyed by grief and empathy for the people she leaves behind.
This bowl and its weeping. That practice of the Japanese mending broken bowls with gold has captured my interest for some time, wish I could see the process though.
One of my artist friends and I talk about how artists see the world in a different way, with our work in particular we love the mundane objects, materials, and textures. Through our processes we can point out these things to others. You may like her work: http://www.windfiredesigns.com/ruthfolio_pages/Plug_In_Asheville_Oct5-07/Plug_In.html
Regarding work space, my studio I am ashamed to say I am avoiding simply because too much is piling up and I can't focus. The most trouble I have at this moment is balancing my use of sketchbooks, material experiments, digital photos and blog entries (and that's just the preliminary steps of projects). I'll definitely check out Inspired Home Office to see if I can pull some good ways of dealing with organization. Good luck with your own space.
erin
this post rings so true to my heart and thoughts. One of my works is an abstract figure carved of salt inspired by Lot's wife. The sculpture in the right weather weeps on her own. I think about unnamed Lot's wife being destroyed by grief and empathy for the people she leaves behind.
This bowl and its weeping. That practice of the Japanese mending broken bowls with gold has captured my interest for some time, wish I could see the process though.
One of my artist friends and I talk about how artists see the world in a different way, with our work in particular we love the mundane objects, materials, and textures. Through our processes we can point out these things to others. You may like her work: http://www.windfiredesigns.com/ruthfolio_pages/Plug_In_Asheville_Oct5-07/Plug_In.html
Regarding work space, my studio I am ashamed to say I am avoiding simply because too much is piling up and I can't focus. The most trouble I have at this moment is balancing my use of sketchbooks, material experiments, digital photos and blog entries (and that's just the preliminary steps of projects). I'll definitely check out Inspired Home Office to see if I can pull some good ways of dealing with organization. Good luck with your own space.
Ann - One Bag Nation
Hi Kristy,
Don't despair! Sometimes I think being super-organized is a result of a life without soul . . . if you remove everything and anything that can get "messy", what's left?
That being said, I completely understand that the state of your office (in the photo) would be distracting. I enjoy Inspired Home Office too, especially because it's about more than just tidying up.
Thanks for visiting my blog and commenting.
Ann
Kirsty Hall
Hi Ann, welcome to the blog. I spent quite a while reading your blog last night, it's great and I've added it to my bookmarks (I haven't quite worked out that RSS thing yet). I especially liked what you wrote about doing five minutes in your basement because you couldn't handle doing 15. I knew exactly what you meant!
Since I wrote this post yesterday, I tackled the box of unclassifiable objects that I mentioned and sorted out half of it. Invariably, it wasn't as bad as I thought.
Since tidying my desk last week, I've also been following a policy of making sure that my desk is clear when I leave my study. It helps so much. Just having one tidy space that stays tidy makes a big difference and it's definitely inspiring me to tackle the other piles and drawers that need sorting. But lately I've been coming to the conclusion that there's never going to be a time in my life when all my cupboards are organised, all my lists are done and everything is completely sorted out. Life just isn't like that!
Kirsty
Post authorHi Ann, welcome to the blog. I spent quite a while reading your blog last night, it's great and I've added it to my bookmarks (I haven't quite worked out that RSS thing yet). I especially liked what you wrote about doing five minutes in your basement because you couldn't handle doing 15. I knew exactly what you meant!
Since I wrote this post yesterday, I tackled the box of unclassifiable objects that I mentioned and sorted out half of it. Invariably, it wasn't as bad as I thought.
Since tidying my desk last week, I've also been following a policy of making sure that my desk is clear when I leave my study. It helps so much. Just having one tidy space that stays tidy makes a big difference and it's definitely inspiring me to tackle the other piles and drawers that need sorting. But lately I've been coming to the conclusion that there's never going to be a time in my life when all my cupboards are organised, all my lists are done and everything is completely sorted out. Life just isn't like that!
James
That first photo of 'Lost' is such an incredibly beautiful image (very Japanese in its subtle tonal modulations of 'white'), & I'm sure the actual experience of the piece itself must have been wonderful - wish I'd seen it!
Great idea too, a truly excellent work of art...thanks for sharing.
James
That first photo of 'Lost' is such an incredibly beautiful image (very Japanese in its subtle tonal modulations of 'white'), & I'm sure the actual experience of the piece itself must have been wonderful - wish I'd seen it!
Great idea too, a truly excellent work of art...thanks for sharing.
missmilki
he he! You should see my bedroom! I live at home so its where all my stuff gets dumped...I haven't tidied it in weeks...or is it months?! The bad thing about it is that until I tidy it I don't have a space to make art nor do I feel particularly inspired...but somehow that hasn't been enough to encourage me to get to work!!!
missmilki
he he! You should see my bedroom! I live at home so its where all my stuff gets dumped...I haven't tidied it in weeks...or is it months?! The bad thing about it is that until I tidy it I don't have a space to make art nor do I feel particularly inspired...but somehow that hasn't been enough to encourage me to get to work!!!
Jennifer Hofmann
Hi Kirsty -
Thanks so much for the mention of my website, Inspired Home Office...
And I also want to congratulate you for making a tenuous peace with your workspace. Tidying for the sake of being tidy is empty and hollow - and it's the reason why we resist it so much.
On the other hand, if your space truly nourishes you, it doesn't really matter what it looks like.
Thanks again for the mention...
Warmly,
Jennifer
Jennifer Hofmann
Hi Kirsty -
Thanks so much for the mention of my website, Inspired Home Office...
And I also want to congratulate you for making a tenuous peace with your workspace. Tidying for the sake of being tidy is empty and hollow - and it's the reason why we resist it so much.
On the other hand, if your space truly nourishes you, it doesn't really matter what it looks like.
Thanks again for the mention...
Warmly,
Jennifer
Kirsty Hall
Hi Erin, thanks for your insightful comment, I enjoyed checking out the link. Maybe you need some time just spent tidying up your studio? I know that often that's the first step for me. It helps to reconnect me with the space. I know what you mean about having too many things pulling at your attention, I feel that way most of the time!
Kirsty
Post authorHi Erin, thanks for your insightful comment, I enjoyed checking out the link. Maybe you need some time just spent tidying up your studio? I know that often that's the first step for me. It helps to reconnect me with the space. I know what you mean about having too many things pulling at your attention, I feel that way most of the time!
Kirsty Hall
Thanks for the kind comments, James. I am so in love with the different shades of white, I find white such a subtle and meaningful colour.
Kirsty
Post authorThanks for the kind comments, James. I am so in love with the different shades of white, I find white such a subtle and meaningful colour.
Kirsty Hall
Hi missmilka, believe me, I know the feeling! My whole life is lived that way. I know that I feel better when things are tidier, yet I still make messes - what's that about?
Kirsty
Post authorHi missmilka, believe me, I know the feeling! My whole life is lived that way. I know that I feel better when things are tidier, yet I still make messes - what's that about?
Kirsty Hall
Hi Jennifer, thanks for visiting my blog. I'm just reading a great book called The Wabi Sabi House by Robyn Griggs Lawrence and it's really inspiring me in my tidying efforts. Have you read it? I think you'd enjoy it.
Kirsty
Post authorHi Jennifer, thanks for visiting my blog. I'm just reading a great book called The Wabi Sabi House by Robyn Griggs Lawrence and it's really inspiring me in my tidying efforts. Have you read it? I think you'd enjoy it.
Ann - One Bag Nation
Hi Kristy,
Don't despair! Sometimes I think being super-organized is a result of a life without soul . . . if you remove everything and anything that can get "messy", what's left?
That being said, I completely understand that the state of your office (in the photo) would be distracting. I enjoy Inspired Home Office too, especially because it's about more than just tidying up.
Thanks for visiting my blog and commenting.
Ann
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