The last little while has cause me to do a lot re-evaluating of my life and where I am going vs where I want to be (Saturn-return sucks heinie, btw).
I will be going back to school part time starting on August 1st. At first when I realized that I would be at school on Lammas, I was a little bummed, but I have come to realize the influence of Lugh on my life, and I am starting to think that it is rather fitting.
When I was young, the phrase that haunted my artistic pursuits was ‘Jack of all trades, but master of none’. This is something that I was always something I was told that I should avoid. I was always encouraged to focus on one thing – one skill, and master it.
Now, anyone who knows me knows how harshly against my nature it is to force myself to focus on one thing to the detriment of my other interests.
The one thing that I loved SO much when I first read about Lugh was that he was a Master of all trades. He is a hero to me for this reason. He shows that it isn’t a waste of time to pursue all your varied interests at the same time.
The near future is very foggy for me right now (for reasons I can’t really discuss), and I don’t know for certain where I will end up in the next couple of years.
When I go back to school, I will be working on a photography certification, and I do have the opportunity to go to Emily Carr to get a BFA with a photography major – which is a four year degree, and not really something that I had considered as possible for me previously.
This would be school for the love of school and of art. I could major in photography and still take classes in painting and sculpting and digital media and fashion/jewellery design and creative writing and whatever else sounds interesting.
In order to get into this art school, though, I would need to put together a portfolio. Now, I used to paint and draw and lots of other things when I was younger, but I haven’t done more than doodle in a good 5 years at least.
Last weekend, WD when out and bought me new pencils, an eraser and a new sketch book. I’ll be starting again, almost from scratch – and my creative juices are going into overdrive. I don’t know where to start. I want to write and draw and paint and sculpt all at once. Knowing that I can do it all and that I CAN master it all if I want to is something that makes the butterfly in me infinitely happy.
In between bouts of cooking, cleaning and sewing, I will be sketching this weekend. Even if all I accomplish is to get the ideas out of my head.
Jack of all trades; master of whatever I want.
–Phae
June 6, 2008 at 4:10 pm
There is nothing wrong with having an open mind and a wide variety of interests. But it is also important to be focused and passionate about something you enjoy (even if it is learning about all kinds of stuff, and travelling and seeing the world). You can focus on being diverse.
Do what you love, even if it is 10 different things!
Eric
June 7, 2008 at 12:32 pm
No. It’s about loving my life, and enjoying what I do. Forced focus does not accomplish this.
Forced focus makes passion wilt. It makes play become work. It creates a breading ground for procrastination.
They say, “It isn’t work when you love it”, what they don’t mention is that it isn’t love when it isolates you from your other loves.
–Phae