I have a fellow crafter who's Etsy shop is booming. She posted a picture of her workshop and said "excuse the mess" as she finished and packed yet another order. And what I said was "Mess? What mess?" I then took a picture of my workshop and chuckled.
Being a paper mache artist with several projects going at any one time- mess? I know mess. But I don't mean to excuse it. It's mine. I own it. I am of the opinion that you can't build anything of any significant value without a goodly amount of mess. Think food, buildings, gardening - they all have a their share of wonderful mess. And then add the artistic mind, or creative mind, if you prefer (my Dad does), then mess is definitely a thing, probably a large thing. A thing that can devour corners and even whole floors of a house.
I love it when the world comes to a stop and it's just me and what ever project is in my hands. This used to happen when I danced as a kid, or played music later on, or found flow at a physically demanding workplace. And when it happens, I am not quite conscious of the mess that is accumulating on the sidelines of my awareness - I am happy. My mind is content on creating.
Oh, I do stop everything occasionally and clean up - everything. Often looking at despair at where the paint brushes have leaned too far over and gotten messed up with paint or gouache. I usually plunk them into water and then get the brush cleaner out in hopes of rescuing them. My conclusion - acrylic paints are nice because they dry quick. But they also suck because they dry quick. I don't empty my garbage can as often as I should; choosing to make a funnel from newspaper adds that are too slick to use for the paper mache to build up the sides. But when I can't wheel around in my swivel chair because of it growing it's own opinion and smacking my knees and getting stuck under the wheels repeatedly, I sort through it, recycling what I can before dumping it -finally. And it's happened more than once that I've not put the glue cap on quite well enough and it makes its own gooey sculpture in the bottom of its cup. Or even better, when I dump the glue bottle upside down into my coffee because I'm not paying attention to which cup was closest.
This isn't the mess of laziness or inattentiveness. (My kitchen falls into this category, often. My bathroom? emmm...) Or the mess of an absent teenager or the depressed mind. Those messes, they deserve their own distinction and care. My teenager and tween, well, I think they are busy creating themselves. It's just aggravating to have so many pieces of "them" are lying around all over making for a cumulation of health hazards. For the depressed mind, it is a sign of something much deeper... and sadder. Hugs going out to all touched by mental illness.
There are definitely bad messes. But let's not go there. You know what I mean.
The mess of the creative and creating mind is quite simply the mess of creation. We live off it. Feed off it. And therefore, we should be proud of it. So, my friend, you should say "Look! Look at my mess! I'm so proud" just like any toddler emptying the recycling bin onto the floor. I'm proud of mine. It means I'm doing something. Which I've lived just long enough and just thoroughly enough to appreciate that I still can "do" something at all. It isn't uncommon for me to be cuddled up on my best friend, the couch, because I simply do not have the energy to move. So if I'm up and about creating a grand mess while creating my latest masterpiece (to me, they all are, each and every one of them), this is good. Life is good. Mess is good.
By the way, you should visit my friend's shop sometime. She has some really cute stuff.
www.etsy.com/shop/CuteCraftsCompany
