"Deep State" or "Studio Brain"

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hi Folks,

Susannah Ravenswing wrote yesterday clearly expressing a concept I
have had a hard time explaining to people. People (including my wife)
sometimes wonder why I don’t go out in the studio to work for 15
minutes, or squeeze an hour in here or there. I’ve explained it takes
a while to get into “the groove”, for lack of a better term. But it’s
exactly the state of mind Susannah described where productivity and
creativity flow, as opposed to having to be extracted. If you missed
her post, or skimmed over it, you may want to go back and read it in
greater detail… I think it’s super.

I think that’s one of the problems for people taking college jewelry
classes. Much of the time in the classroom environment is spent
getting tools out, putting them away, setting up, cleaning up, etc.
Once I had my own dedicated studio space I was able to sit down and
get right to work. I could even leave projects on the bench without
concern that they would be molested or stolen in my absence.

As a side note, I should mention that Blaine Lewis’ New Approach
School in Virginia Beach does have a complete bench setup for each
workstation. It’s not a comment on jewelry classes in general, but
more about productivity and getting to the state of mind where it all
"clicks."

All the best,

Dave

Dave Sebaste
Sebaste Studio
Charlotte, NC (USA)

2

Oh yes. I very much relate to this, only I call it right brain/left
brain. My day job is very much left brain activity - I’m a
technical writer working with very technical concepts - and because
I’m in the software development field, the hours are insane. So
twelve hours a day I’m in serious left brain mode, and when I get
home and look at my jewelry work, which is what I would really
rather be doing, I can’t get started. When the weekend rolls
around, it takes me until about ten o’clock on Sunday to finally get
into the groove. I end up spending about two really productive
hours a week on jewelry (which explains why I’ve completed exactly
one bracelet in the last 15 months).

I am deeply envious of those of you with studios of your own and the
time to dedicate to doing this.

On the other hand, I’m grateful to be able to pay the rent in the
San Francisco Bay Area.

Grateful, envious, and frustrated,
Linda