Illustration by Greg Vineyard
Paper is a Technology, Too
When I was a kid, I remember friends and I talking about how old we’d be when the calendar turned to the year 2000 and beyond.
Of course, anything that many decades in the future was impossible to truly comprehend. Knowing what I know now, I would have planned some things better. Our lives are certainly different, especially regarding technology. However, even though many tools have changed, something that hasn’t is the creative process itself.
Each January, I perform some simple tasks that really help my creative year. While I am seen by some as old-fashioned (Exhibit A: I still use my Rolodex. If my phone dies, guess what? I STILL have your address in my spinny, flippy, wheel o’ cards.). Using a calendar helps me keep everything on-track. Some use on-line versions, but I buy a physical one every year.
Over the New Year’s holiday, in addition to writing-in birthdays and such, I also jot down appointments, commitments, show dates, events, and more. The weekly view style also provides room for notes, ideas, and very important doodles. And it’s a set of views of a life. I can plan by the day, the week, or bigger.
So I guess I’m kickin’ it Old School, so let me now bring up… Yellow Pads! They have the right number of lines to write out January – December on every other line down the left side. I then write topics across the top, and map out some of my regular monthly activities.
Many might exclaim: “Gosh, Greg, why don’t you try this thing called an Excel spreadsheet?” I use those, too. But I hate flipping open my laptop at Dobra Tea, as it feels like I should keep the screen-glow down a bit in some of my favorite haunts. Every year, I use this method to map-out how my Rapid River Magazine columns might flow for the next 12 months. I think about topics, the seasons, whether I see a theme flowing, and potential accompanying visuals. It’s about feel, and flow and order.
OK, continuing on with PAPER (and why not?)… I also take a large 24″ x 18″ piece of drawing paper, fold it several times to create twelve equal-sized spaces that I also label January – December. I primarily use this to track art and gallery commitments throughout the year. Many projects require months of advance planning – a big visual reminds me to jump on certain things early.
Again, people might gently, proddingly inquire: “Why don’t you put that on the computer?” I can do that, too. But I won’t look at it on the computer as often as I will look at it on my studio wall. It’s a visual thing. The beauty of having mid-century tools AND 2016 tools is that we can use both. The trick is finding which ones work for a given situation so that we will actually use them.
I sometimes propose simpler planning methods because sometimes people wait to start something until they get everything “ready.” “I’ll start making art once I build a studio.” “I’ll write out my plans once I get all the right software.” I submit here that starting with what one has leads to more activity, more ideas, and hence builds business. And then when one buys that new Macintosh, it’s simply a new tool in the process, rather than only just a beginning. Yellow Pads before iPads. And it all works out.
Ideas are always flowing through us, and need to be nurtured. When we jump on the planning, we’re nurturing the ideas so that we can get on with the making. January is a great time to plan, whether on paper, or using modern technologies. And, if one is transitioning from one method to the other, after scanning-in all those notes, don’t forget to recycle.
Wishing everyone the best, all year.