Recently, I really like the word "mode". This week happens to be my engineering consulting week. I went back to the company and worked on an project with a lot of heavy mathematics. It was a quite an effort to shift from my art mode to the scientific mode. But after I am in the mode, I gained momentum and progress. Nowadays I start to realize that I am in trouble, because I am in too many different modes: teaching mode, small painting mode, engineering mode, gallery show mode, tax preparation mode, Internet trouble shooting mode, Of course the most importantly, the family mode. I am not alone. I think everybody now have to be multitasking. The problem is that changing mode requires time and energy. If mode changing happens too often, the system will be paralyzed. The exhaustion will be maximized and the efficiency will go to zero. I can see it is happening to me. I am thinking about the way to solve the problem, but I don't have a good solution. I am hanging there, doing as much as I can.
Whatever you do, Qiang, never stop painting. I love your posts as well. Life is busy, you are doing great!
ReplyDeleteYour work always shows a calm, efficient and beautiful viewpoint, regardless of your mode- thank you!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting to me this idea of different modes and the problem of changing from one mode to another. I catch the idea but didn't know exactly what the word mode is in my language, Finnish. As I expected, the dictionary gave several alternatives. One alternative is the direct loan from English: "moodi".
ReplyDeleteYour work is beautiful and inspirational to me. Just take life one day at a time. To quote a son lyric by Tom Petty: "I'm so tired of being tired, sure as night will follow day. Most things I worry about, never happen anyway". It's is surely a busy world. Take time to love, laugh,pray and paint! Peace to you!
ReplyDeleteI, too have been switching from mode to mode. Unfortunately, my painting mode has been squeezed out. I think all the artist will understand how that feels..I'm eager to get back to my painting mode.
ReplyDeleteI admire very much your art,I think you are a very talented painter, please don't stop painting. Why can΄t you switch the button to the permanent painting mode? You can make a living of that, can't you?
ReplyDeleteI keep going by planning my vacations to be in 2 modes only: family mode and painting mode.
ReplyDeleteAll other stuff is inappropriate during my holidays :)
Wonderful painting... I too can relate to "changing modes"... I'm planning to sign up for your workshop this fall at Wethersfield Art Academy... it sounds fantastic! Hope to see you then.
ReplyDeleteEverything you have said here is so true! It's just comforting to know I'm not the only one going through these modes. The comments above have encouraged me much, especially the one by Rose! Thanks for sharing, I really appreciate your sharing these lovely paintings with us all!
ReplyDeleteChanging modes actually forces our brain to change sides, that can be frustrating and uncomfortable and because it is actually a physical neural pathway across the corpus callosum (the pathway to get from one side to the other).
ReplyDeleteToo much multi- tasking wears out our brain chemicals and things don't fire as well, and causes stress, so we go into paralysis and nothing is done really well. I am an artist, a full time radiation therapist, on an outrigger canoe racing team and am doing construction and trying to be good to my family. We only get busier as life goes on, but at least there is a scientific reason for what you are going through!
Well said, and keepnup your fabulous work!
Gr8 thought, and i guess every artist is really tired of all these responsibilities and formalities... but some where it is required as him to survive being a part of this functioning system of society. i always try to escape as much as possible. But once we paint something then every pain gets dissolved...
ReplyDelete