This is a blog posting sort of going from the same notes as a my video the other day. One of my pet peeves, as an artist, is when folks say they "do not have time" for their passions, or for the things they value in life. People in life will frequently hide behind their lives, work, children, family responsibilities, etc. to not put the work in it takes to pursue the things they love. If these things are truly important to them they will find time for them. We give time to the things we value. There is always time. For me, much of that work time has included my lunch breaks at work, a couple hours on the weekends, and an hour or so at night after the day to day hustle and bustle has calmed down. It is slow going, but the time is always there if it is something you truly value. This has been how I have approached Coal Republic (my upcoming feature animated film) over the past four years. There are times I have had to take a break because of life, but it has been a drive of mine to finish this film. In those four years I have had two small children, helped organize a statewide teacher strike, and improved my skills as a classroom teacher. Animation has, up until recently, always been a great passion of mine. I have been doing independent animation since the age of 16. It is something I have invested a great deal of time and energy into. I relate much of my present state of health to years of choosing to set working and stressing over projects over taking care of myself (again, we put time where our values are). To me, ones work in life is the most important thing they contribute. Without it, your time is meaningless. Though I have invested so much into this, still now many people have no idea I have shown many films abroad, and am an award winning animator. Animation has been an exciting adventure... but I am bored. I always said that before I walked away from it I would have do a feature to feel like it meant anything, and that is what Coal Republic is. Nearing the end o this project is cathartic, but it is also necessary so that I may close this chapter of my creative life, for now. I am not going to to walk away from animation entirely. I am already looking at doing some short films for some friends YouTube channels and publications, and surely will do more projects for myself later. What I am saying is it will no longer be the focus of so much of my creative energy. I want to make things with my hands again, build artifacts, and be able to step away from a computer. I need that for wellbeing in my life. This time was here and now, it stayed and now, it goes. I am excited to view my work as a pleasure rather than a burden again, and for me that is already starting to be realized. Being a one-man animation production team will kill you. I have learned that. I would be interested in doing another feature in the future, but not on my own. That was stupid, but again, necessary. Thank you so much to my fans and followers who have offered support and been so patient and understanding. You all rock.
0 Comments
This weekend my goal was to stay around the house and get some of that work done. That goal was somewhat accomplished as I was able to get the rest of my gladiola bulbs at the homestead, and get my back room largely cleaned out as well. Cate and I took the kids our some, visiting Gucci Kroger, getting some coffee, and then to Sam's Club for some take-home sushi. Sunday was my day to sleep in and when I got up, she understandably laid down for a nap. I took this opportunity, with the kids watching TV, to start tearing down boxes in the back room and putting them into trash bags. Boxes are the bane of my existence. I burn them, use them as a garden bed liner, and throw them out with the trash and still cant get rid of them as quickly as they come into the house. After breaking down several bags full I decided it would be best to go ahead and take them to my parents house to be disposed of (they live farther out, and it is easier for them to burn them in quantity). I had wanted to work on breaking down my matchlock to do some esthetic changes to it over the next few months, and so I figured since we were already down there I would take that opportunity to do so. Once Cate got up we got the kids ready and took them down. I also decided to use this time to get some footage for some YouTube content for the channel, and with Cates help was able to keep the kids at bay long enough to do so. Overall it was a positive and productive weekend, and I am working to develop a better schedule to keep up with my new posting habits on a regular basis. Thank you for taking the time to read. It is greatly appreciated.
|
Jacob FertigArtist, Educator, Activist, Micronationalist, et al. Archives
November 2019
Categories |