22nd of February

“There's only a certain amount of works you can make, so you have to make only the ones you really want to make. It's all about trying to be as productive as possible.” 

- Cornelia Parker

In a nutshell, use your time well. 

This from one of the most interesting, innovative people on the planet. Ms. Parker would be on my shortlist for people to have at the dinner table, if you could pick any 10 people from history. Not solely because she is an artist of incredible interest and output, but precisely because she can find an interesting angle on things that most of us would miss. She is a great searcher out of stories, and finder of facts, both obscure and obvious. Actually, I don't think there is a line for her between facts and stories... it seems that, to her, everything has a story, no matter how static an item appears to the average observer. The way she re-presents these finds is just stunning. Her stamp is unmistakable. Really kind of incredible.

And, she apparently needs to be mindful about what she spends her time on. 

Amazing. 

It is easy to imagine her just pulling amazing art out of the nooks and crannies, the way I might dust a shelf or vacuum the living room rug. A matter of course, a thing to do on a monday morning... but of course, selection, and reflection, are a huge part of it all. She is choosing what to spend time thinking about, choosing what she will work on, and more importantly, it seems that she makes an effort to not waste her time. There might just be a connection there between the originality and impact of her art and the not wasting her time thing. Huh.

Time is precious, fleeting, blah blah blah. But then, it really is. I can drift. Or, I can move along, bumping into things and reacting with varying levels of intensity. Or, I can choose my course, spend my time well, make the most of what I have been given. Though the choice seems obvious, I need to remind myself, day in and day out, to do this. 

“Use your time well.”

“Use your time well.”

“Use your time well.”

the Keeper (word to think about/keep with me for a bit): 

“Productive” - adj. 1.) producing or able to produce large amounts of goods, crops or other commodities. 2.) achieving or producing a significant amount or result.

I hope to bring all my creativity to bear and use my time well, to produce as significant a result as possible, time and again, in all quarters of my life.