I find actually walking out to my studio helps, the physical transition. I write at my kitchen table and can spend the entire day there, so entering the studio means working on visual work. Other than that I don't transition well in the visual work. It's a challenge for me. Trying your method this coming week.
I have a similar need to get my mind into a project and yank it away from all the interruptions. I call these sketches palette cleansers. (I just realized there’s a pun in there) Like the whiff of coffee beans between tastings, the sketchbook page brings me back to myself and ready for making art.
You're definitely not alone in this, Christopher! I have a dailyish sketch practice that is my way to do some "transition drawing" when I need to in a dedicated sketchbook, before diving into the "work work". I think you're spot on about it being not so much a physical warming up of the drawing muscles, but a shift in attention. For me, sometimes that shift can happen through meditation or a brisk walk in nature. It's like preparing your mental space to be as open and aware as possible, before inviting the muse to step through the door.
I don’t yet, but I should because it creates problems in my work—ALWAYS the first part of work I do in a sitting needs to be reworked later because my mind and body were still unfocused when I started. (This is also why having a time and place to work is so important—it’s difficult to stay in a focused zone when your time and space is fragmented into a billion responsibilities and interruptions.)
I definitely need this, yes, without feeling bad about it, that it's "wasted". In fact, an essential part of the process! Thank you!
I find actually walking out to my studio helps, the physical transition. I write at my kitchen table and can spend the entire day there, so entering the studio means working on visual work. Other than that I don't transition well in the visual work. It's a challenge for me. Trying your method this coming week.
I have a similar need to get my mind into a project and yank it away from all the interruptions. I call these sketches palette cleansers. (I just realized there’s a pun in there) Like the whiff of coffee beans between tastings, the sketchbook page brings me back to myself and ready for making art.
You're definitely not alone in this, Christopher! I have a dailyish sketch practice that is my way to do some "transition drawing" when I need to in a dedicated sketchbook, before diving into the "work work". I think you're spot on about it being not so much a physical warming up of the drawing muscles, but a shift in attention. For me, sometimes that shift can happen through meditation or a brisk walk in nature. It's like preparing your mental space to be as open and aware as possible, before inviting the muse to step through the door.
I don’t yet, but I should because it creates problems in my work—ALWAYS the first part of work I do in a sitting needs to be reworked later because my mind and body were still unfocused when I started. (This is also why having a time and place to work is so important—it’s difficult to stay in a focused zone when your time and space is fragmented into a billion responsibilities and interruptions.)