Wednesday 19 June 2013

Horizontal Surfaces

A book can be all encompassing. I work for months, half a year, a year on a book. Everything else falls by the wayside - the lawn doesn't get mowed, the cobwebs build up, the dust bunnies take over.

And it can feel like I've achieved nothing in a long time. Then all of a sudden I turn a corner and discover a stack of watercolour boards with paintings on them and realise that the ideas I've had in my head actually might work on paper. It feels pretty good.


Of course, everything else looks like this:

And this:


And even in the house every horizontal surface is littered with stuff.


It's all good stuff though, and I'm certain it's better to have a table covered in creative bits and pieces than devoid of anything. That's what I tell myself anyway.


It's been an ongoing problem. Here's a drawing I did several years ago of this horizontal surface syndrome. 








14 comments:

  1. You drawing of the stacked stuff on the table is so wonderful!

    With three children, who all love to draw and make stuff and build lego, (interests they inherited from both parents) we have little piles of projects all over the house. I so relate.

    If you sold this as a print, I would proudly frame it and hang it on my wall, to try and glorify the state of our home, a creative hotbed of stuff.

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    1. Ahh, thank you Claire! Sadly, I don't sell this drawing as a print, but perhaps I should! It might be a hit. Sadly, secondly, I wish my house wasn't always like this, but it is and I don't think I'll ever change. Hopefully we can all learnt to just accept it and get on with things without feeling guilty!

      Freya

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  2. You can put all your creative stuff around me anytime!!

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    1. Ro, I would happily deposit stuff at your house any time you need some clutter. Suspect you'll become the master of no clutter pretty soon...

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  3. Oh yes. I am quite fond of piles of stuff. The horizontal surfaces answer to a to do list. These piles are meant to be dealt with, filed, repaired and ultimately spirited away to all foreign corners of the house. Yet they linger and grow and ultimately become part of the furniture. Who has time to do housework anyway?

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    1. Is this you Nadine? But YOU are a domestic goddess. You are one of those people I look up to and aspire to! But I'll allow you to have a pile or two of stuff...

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  4. I've been fighting this fight for 40 years . It will never be over. It's the paper war that always gets you in the end...

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  5. I love this post! I often despair that every flat surface in my home is covered with "stuff". Some of it is creative, but the most of it is not! I am expecting my third child in 8 weeks, so tell myself I need to get rid of it... otherwise where will I put all of the baby "stuff"? :)

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    1. Very slow replying, but thank you for your comment. And don't despair. We must embrace the horizontal surface syndrome. May your house be filled with stuff while you spend endless hours gazing at your new baby, rather than doing housework...

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  6. Ah! So it has a name! The horizontal surface syndrome, I feel a bit better now knowing what it's called! Lovely post.

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    1. Thanks for your comment! Enjoy your cluttered horizontal surfaces - it's surely a sign of a full and wonderful life!

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  7. This is so cool. I think I have horizontal surface syndrome, I just never knew it had a name

    :-)

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  8. I think we are all grateful for the sacrifices your surfaces have made, being smothered and all. My daughter and I really enjoy your beautiful illustrations. It is TOTALLY worth it. : )

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    1. Yes, my poor horizontal surfaces! I'd never considered that it was actually them who had to put up with me. I hope they don't feel totally put out. It is their job of course, but still...

      Glad to hear you like the outcome! And thank you!

      Freya

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