Wednesday, March 07, 2007

I am slow

yep, I am, just plain slow. I have always been aware that I take longer than most people to do a page or work through a project around the house. I take time to really think and play around and enjoy what I am working on in the moment. And besides that I am just a pretty easy-going girl, I don't like rushing and hustle bustle, I love just living life. really living right here and now. But now that there are deadlines to meet for the magazine and people counting on me to sometimes get things done quickly I am becoming more aware of just how slow I really am ( especially during cold & flu season with 3 little girls who need some extra huggin'). I don't think it is necessarily a bad thing, it is never that I am putting anything off or just farting around. The truth is I truly LOVE the process! I love to take the time to pour my heart into my layouts and allow them to almost take a life of their own, moving things around and trying different things, one thing leads to another until everything just seems to come together, like finishing a puzzle. And when I have the time to reach that "done place" I love it and I am proud of the heart that went into my art. I have been contemplating the benefits of auto pilot these days though, y'know the ability to just work fast and do a pretty good job of putting things where they look fine even if it is not a proud work of art in the end, just because it has to be done. I guess there is a time and a place where I will have to just do it, but I don't think I ever want to take the heart out of what I do. Enjoying the whole process is what makes me passionate about my art, without my heart in it, it is not mine...just stuff on some paper that looks pretty. I sure wish I could learn to pour out that passion a little faster sometimes though lol! just been thinking.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love this post! (Shhhh....I'm SLOW too! LOL) BTW, I just snagged the March CK, and C.D., you are one AMAZING girl. Just wanted you to know that you still blow me away, even though I don't get to be a total goober by drooling all over your pages all the time in the galleries. :) Hugs to you, and your sweet girls~ Kim

Anonymous said...

I just had to comment, because I am sooo slow too and I just can't make myself scrap any faster. It's hard to see others who can pull off masterpieces so quickly, but like you I just want to enjoy the process. Your words definitely resonated with me!

Danielle said...

YOUPPIE...I'm glad I'm not the only one!!!

I love *enjoying the process and taking it all in* too! I don't like to rush at all :)

Amy said...

I totally agree! I don't see the point of doing it if you don't love it, and if you don't have a work of art that you're proud of in the end. Just say NO! to compromise! CD, you have such heart and style, and it's evident in your artwork - don't ever rush it!

Kelly Fowler said...

i love hearing this...my claim to fame is being a late bloomer, esp when i see how fast some people are at scrapping! i just think "my time will come; i'll finish at my own pace!"

Anonymous said...

SO VERY GLAD to hear that I'm not the only one! I can be VERY slow, but like you, I LOVE the process!

Jody said...

Oh, C.D., I know exactly what you are talking about. It was one of my 'concerns' with actually entering the SOY contest at all! I was scared I would get myself into something I couldn't do in the 'end'. =)
I'm glad you won! I'm so consumed with "life" at times...four kids and a busy husband and just like you said...cold and flu season...and well, I guess God knew I wasn't "up to the task". I'm having fun still playing and just making pages that are meaningful to me. No pressure scrapping...just the way I love it! Good luck speeding your heart. {wink!}

Anonymous said...

I love reading this! I used to be really annoyed with how I can spend hours and days on layouts that are still much simpler than pages that other scrapbookers do in half an hour... And it seems that speed-scrapping is a trend too, most of the major magazines feature quick-fixes for fast pages, cut your paper like this and glue this strip there and that strip there - bam! you're done! I pretty much skip those pages - they're just not for me.

BUT it makes me all the more happy to see you write about the love of the process, like you do here! That's exactly the way I feel - and I'm happy I'm not the only slow-scrapper who just loves to be slow! ;o)

Now, what I wanted to say was this - dang girl, you make SUCH inspiring pages! I sat with the CK issue where they present you as the Scrapbooker of the year winner, and tried to decide which of your layouts I like best - but I couldn't do it! There's so much detail and things to discover in each of your pages... Don't ever try to get "faster" and leave out your richness in detail, it's truely amazing!

I'll save this URL and come back to follow your blog, I think you're a fantastically inspiring person and I want to read more of your thoughts (and see more of your stuff, of course!)! (I'd share my blog with you too, only it's in Swedish and wouldn't do you much good, I'm afraid... ;) )