Time to Create

Written by Diane Myers

Time to Shear the sheep at Bridget Brown's Farm

The theme of this post began as one of spring, that ephemeral season of surprises and better weather when thoughts turned to springtime, then just time. The word "time" filters itself into our everyday language almost excessively.  There is "time to go", "dinnertime", "timeless treasures", not enough "time", "time" goes by, good "times", what "time" is it?

I think that artists have a a unique relationship with time and exceptional abilities to manage it. Each artist has their own time constraints, time requirements to complete work and a somewhat

heightened awareness of their responsible use of time.

Here are some examples of how members of the Over the Mountain Studio Tour might regard time with relationship to their work:

Happy sheep

• time for basket reeds to soak before they can be woven

• time for wood to "season" before it can be turned to make a bowl

• time needed to warp (thread) a loom before cloth can be woven

• time for paint to dry

• precise timing in the processing of tintypes

• seasonal time to sheer sheep for their fleece

• anxiety-ridden time the potter experiences before opening the kiln after a firing

• time to order and receive needed supplies  

• time to work, also called studio time

The artists do, indeed, manage to find the time to create beauty, all in time for that second weekend in November every year ---Over the Mountain Studio Tour, considered by some to be another holiday, a very special time on our calendars.