It’s been a long time since I’ve written or recorded any new music, and some of my more vocal fans have been pressuring me to remedy that. I’ve decided to attempt to record an album over the summer, and perhaps even try to produce it and market it for real. Additionally, I’m going to make the process of writing, recording, producing and marketing the album very public by documenting every step of the way on my blog.

Time, Energy and Priorities

I’m a husband and a father, and over the past two years I’ve noticed a shift from primarily self-identifying as an artist to self-identifying as a family man and provider. I enjoy spending time with my wife and son, it’s one of the most important aspects of my life and one I’m not willing to sacrifice. I have to  make time for creativity without attenuating the quality time I spend with my family.

If it were only a question of time, that would be an easy fix: I’d just stay up late the way I used to before Parker was born. However, I no longer have the energy and focus I possessed pre-fatherhood. I’m not sure how I’m going to solve this problem, but when I have some ideas, I’ll let you know.

Joe McDonald said this over here:

It’s Not Done Until You’re Proud Of It. The world has a ton of artists, of art, of games, of bands, of professionals. The amount of stuff we produce and participate in is astounding. And, as a result, the world has no need of things which are good enough. And I reproach myself for going to press with something that I told myself was “good enough.” If it isn’t something that you’re unwaveringly proud of, there’s zero need for it.

This really resonated with me. Joe could’ve written only that one sentence at the beginning of the paragraph, and it would’ve gotten my nomination for blog post of the year.

Since I’ve become a father and time and energy is scarce, I’ve been guilty of settling for good enough in order to get any artistic output at all. Two or three years ago, that wouldn’t have been acceptable for me.  Lately, Parker is getting much more independent and Sarah and I both have more time to work on stuff, but I can tell that I’ve dulled my edge a bit. I could write a long list of things I used to be better at than I am now. It’s lack of practice, lack of time, lack of passion.

I’ve noticed a subtle change in myself. I’ve become complacent. I’ve become concerned with making a living rather than creating art. I don’t like this at all. This is not the kind of father I want my son to have. I’m determined to be a wolf and not a sheep. Not only hungry, but vicious.

A few weeks ago I was commissioned to design this logo. I was determined to do the best job I could do, so I put about 25 hours into it. As a result, I ended up making about a third the hourly rate I’d like. That’s okay. I just couldn’t stop until it was something I was proud of. The client loved it. She’s proud of it, too. Hopefully, this will lead to more work, but even if it doesn’t I pushed my skill to its limits and raised the bar for all my future work.

When I read Joe’s post this afternoon, I felt like shooting a pistol into the sky.

Todd Henry, over at Accidental Creative has come up with the 7-word bio as a way for artists to describe themselves. After much twisting of phrase, I’ve come up with the following to describe myself:

Autodidactic polymath, cultural enthusiast, and transdisciplinary artist.

What is your 7-word bio?

I think I’m going to try something different with my resolutions.

A drawing every day for 365 days

It doesn’t have to be a good drawing.

A book a week for 52 weeks

I’m going to cheat by reading all of my skinny books first.

Write and record a song every fortnight for 26 fortnights

This will give me time to actually develop and produce the song as opposed to hitting the record button and posting the first take.

Write a short story every month for 12 months

Hopefully all of the reading I’ll be doing will inspire me to write. 1000 words is enough.

A novel a year, written in November

I’m going to do it this year, dammit!

I guess this isn’t exactly surrealism, but it feels like it is.

Kris Lewis.