tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205891765030546361.post2809722554358250594..comments2023-10-15T10:51:39.246-04:00Comments on Art, Words, Life: Are We Done Yet? (An Informal Poll)Jennifer Thermeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17970621166460145330noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205891765030546361.post-64325039076759103072008-01-17T08:44:00.000-05:002008-01-17T08:44:00.000-05:00Hi Liz and Little Willow- thanks for adding your t...Hi Liz and Little Willow- thanks for adding your thoughts!Jennifer Thermeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17970621166460145330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205891765030546361.post-3104475663112048742008-01-16T23:18:00.000-05:002008-01-16T23:18:00.000-05:00Hi there! I clicked over from Sara's blog.This sou...Hi there! I clicked over from Sara's blog.<BR/><BR/>This sounds very odd - rather, looks very odd, when just reading instead of hearing me say it out loud - but I just know when it's done. I know my endings in advance and work towards them. I'm my own worst critic, but I just know.Little Willowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17058463472836988047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205891765030546361.post-25950679455655882982008-01-16T22:38:00.000-05:002008-01-16T22:38:00.000-05:00Answer #1: Never. Still want to tweak things that ...Answer #1: Never. Still want to tweak things that are in print.<BR/><BR/>But Answer #2: when I go back to the most recent version BEFORE the one I'm working on. Usually then I've wrung all the goodness out of it and I need to inject some back in...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205891765030546361.post-63160670358017480192008-01-16T16:52:00.000-05:002008-01-16T16:52:00.000-05:00Oh-- and Gail, link and blog away! The more the me...Oh-- and Gail, link and blog away! The more the merrier.Jennifer Thermeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17970621166460145330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205891765030546361.post-23629824750086052742008-01-16T15:11:00.000-05:002008-01-16T15:11:00.000-05:00Wow-- I was out most of the day- what a treat to ...Wow-- I was out most of the day- what a treat to come home to everyone's comments. I'm reading each one and saying- yes- that's great! And, yes- that's great, too!<BR/><BR/>I'll post all the comments on Friday. (If there are more after that I'll do another one.)<BR/><BR/>Thanks, everyone! This is so interesting. :-)<BR/><BR/>(And Frank- thank you! I like your paintings, too- especially the mood that your colors evoke.)Jennifer Thermeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17970621166460145330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205891765030546361.post-38288352129611067992008-01-16T11:57:00.000-05:002008-01-16T11:57:00.000-05:00Writers struggle with this, too. I find that I wan...Writers struggle with this, too. I find that I want both clarity and mystery in my poems, and if I overwork them, I get neither. For novels, it's tougher, because there are so many places you could polish and polish, but I think I'm still looking for the same two things: the story line runs clearly through the book, but it has a layer of mysterious otherness---beauty, if you want to call it that. <BR/><BR/>I also think of it like music---a clear theme with enough overtones to make it full and rich. <BR/><BR/>And yes, a deadline helps. So does an editor/agent combing over it until you're both sick to death of it. <BR/><BR/>And one more thing---a feeling of detachment, as if I didn't really write the work at all. My words look slightly alien, independent, as if I've let them go and they've become something true and alive.Sarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12225998457253574928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205891765030546361.post-55280744415488149082008-01-16T11:49:00.000-05:002008-01-16T11:49:00.000-05:00Hi Jennifer, I followed this over from Eric's blog...Hi Jennifer, I followed this over from Eric's blog. I am a painter not an illustrator, but we all have the same issues sometimes.<BR/>I always say it takes two people to make a painting. One to paint it and the other to tell them to stop.<BR/>I'll often set a piece aside when I think I am about 90% done. When I look at it with a fresh eye, more often than not, what I thought I could keep going on is not necessary.<BR/>I tend to want to keep going and make it perfect, but I am learning that there is no perfect and what is left out can be just as important in art.<BR/>I know with illustration you are expected to reach your signature "Look" so it can be different. I can stop at any time or look I want.<BR/>Great question, so I thought I would ad my two cents for what it's worth. <BR/>I see that a lot of people set a work aside for a while to look at it fresh. <BR/>I like your work by the way.Frank Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02011564146411771531noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205891765030546361.post-60948042301137263522008-01-16T10:35:00.000-05:002008-01-16T10:35:00.000-05:00Ahh, the eternal dilemma :) I can easily over worr...Ahh, the eternal dilemma :) I can easily over worry a painting.. but I find the gut feeling of knowing when it's NOT done is always clearer than knowing when it IS. I guess I just keep going until the "not done" feeling goes away :) <BR/>Very hard to put your finger on it. <BR/>Deadlines are helpful because then it HAS to be done! :)Rima Staineshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10044701472535300254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205891765030546361.post-34010037738902943012008-01-16T10:15:00.000-05:002008-01-16T10:15:00.000-05:00Great topic! I think I need to link and blog about...Great topic! I think I need to link and blog about it too.<BR/><BR/>I don't always know when a piece is really done either. Sometimes I over work things. I really think there are times when we don't want to stop working on a piece because we've become attached to it. (I know on a recent piece I went back and re-did her eyes even though I thought they were finished long before.)<BR/><BR/>I also think we need to get used to the work being done. If I can set it aside and come back to it later and it still feels done, then it's done! <BR/><BR/>And then there are deadlines. :) They can make you decide a piece is finished real quick!<BR/><BR/>"...are they ever really finished..."<BR/>I think in most cases we can always look back on a piece and find something we're not happy with or we would handle differently. But I think that's a good thing! It's what helps you grow as an artist.<BR/><BR/>gailgailhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15291909095989120673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205891765030546361.post-34825417906783054032008-01-16T08:24:00.000-05:002008-01-16T08:24:00.000-05:00Thanks Jennifer! I posted a link from my blog. I c...Thanks Jennifer! I posted a link from my blog. I can't wait to hear the results.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15375615378259386972noreply@blogger.com