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Balancing Act: March Review

Sandra Robinson

This year, I'm holding nothing back in a series and exhibition called 'Balancing Act,' a behind the scenes insight into balancing commitments and creativity.

This is how I balanced March.

March and the Knock-on Effect

February was a tough ride but I knew it was coming because in business, life and art, the impact of what you do today is fully realised 2-3 months later - what I call The Knock-on Effect.

For me, I was experiencing the Knock-on Effect of taking off so much time in November and December. During those two months, whilst I was having the time of my life getting married, honeymooning, celebrating and spending copious amounts of time with family and friends, I was not working.

Therefore I knew my income would be lower than usual this quarter after not working during that time and that reduced finances for me tends to lead to worry, overthinking and resistance.

Thankfully March started to see the end of this knock on effect - invoices from January and February started to clear and so did my mind and blocks.

This Knock-on effect isn’t just felt within business though, it’s within art, health, marketing, happiness and everything in between.

The fantastic artwork you produce today is the result of all the mistakes you made a few months ago (or even further back) . So if you’re currently feeling a slump, a lack of sales, skills or creative clarity, think back to what you were concentrating on 2-3 months ago and what actions you were or were not taking.

Then If you want to improve, start aiming for delayed gratification and ask yourself: ‘What can I do today that will impact me in 2-3 months?’

Inside the Studio

Week beginning 4th: Most of this week spent at the sewing machine stitching together an intergenerational project as well as delivering Saint Patrick’s Day workshops for the Beat Carnival. Inched my way forward with solo show.

Week beginning 11th: This week was full on, I tied up the Ceramics class at Ards Art Centre with some amazing results. Last push on Saint Patrick’s Day workshops and the public carnival event to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day was a blast. The final session, party and display for the intergenerational project ‘Linking Generations’ occurred at Abingdon Manor. No progress on solo show or anything on the must do list this week.

Week beginning 18th: This week marked the end of the the first quarter high season. I spent a lot of it finishing Mother’s Day portraits, reclaiming time in the studio. and also began a quarter review to look into what worked, what didn’t and how I intend to show up in the next quarter.

Week beginning 25th: Monday was entirely spent catching up on admin, Tuesday saw the end of the Oils and Acrylic classes at Ards Art Centre which meant lots of cake! The rest of the week was balanced between sculpting, writing and socialising. Attended a conference on arts and education with Trans Europe Halles Arts Education Platform which discussed effective ways of evaluating projects - concerns and crossovers between freelancers and organisations from 11 countries were strikingly similar.

Next Month: Moves into a low season of teaching which means attention moves to making, painting, networking as well as batching marketing for the next quarter.

Balancing Act Quick Links:

If you’re just catching this series now, here’s what’s happened so far:

What about you?

Let me know in the comments below how you found this month, what you’ve created, or what you’re struggling with and particularly what you plan to do today that will have a knock on effect. If you want an added dose of support, sign up to Studio notes to receive free tips, lessons, discounts and insights into the studio.

I hope you have a creative March and stay tuned for the second part of Balancing Act - a thought, tactic or strategy to help you make time for your he[art] coming out on Monday 15 March.


See this gallery in the original post