So how do we measure our days?
At the risk of sounding like a knock off song from the musical 'Rent', what do we use to give value to our lives? (And no, I don't think it's as easy as love - although I may touch on that later.) Is it simply the money for each hour, or part thereof, or do we consider the quality of each interaction? For me the time spent in the contemplation of a work in progress, or in process, gives a lift to moments of monotony or tribulation. This is probably a slightly egocentric trait - even masturbatory, yet it helps me to give a value to the situation in which I find myself.
By value I mean that I am able to contextulaise a situation - to see the moment as part of a longer sequence in which the joy, satisfaction and challenge of painting or sketching is traded for the necessity of money. Of course this can also be compared with other elements - such as the trade off between the work and the desire for a holiday; the extra hours now, to reserve the time later on to be with someone special. In these situations the value of the the days, or acivity is defined by their relation to moments of percieved freedom - of art, or space and time and of feeling. It is in the hope of these moments that we are prepared to shoulder the burden of work; even for those who enjoy their working lives, the time there is peppered with considerations of rewards or treats that they offer themselves as renumeration for their long hours.
Then there is the consideration of legacy, of whether or not something has value for the ages. Whether what we do has any lasting impact on the world around us. For some that impact is upon the lives of the people they come into contact with, for others there is the nagging though of what will I leave for others to find, and the taunting of the 'great masters' from bygone days who smirk, knowing that you've already noted how mint they are - or were, and there's nowt you can do about it. Inevitably this all brings up the question of whether we have had a 'good-life' - have we made our mark? (Although I realise the two are not the same - after all I'm pretty sure you can say that Pol Pot made his mark, and probably - by most criteria didn't live a 'good life').
I'm not really sure about how I react to this idea - I'm pretty sure I've impacted on people in my life, maybe even made things better for some? I've also probably affect people negatively in one way or another; so I guess for me its not really about 'other people' - sorry, but I'm not that nice. I really do think that for me, it's gonna be about having something I can look back on and feel... satisfaction. Satisfaction of quality will be first in importance - was it good enough? Then of course I'd love satisfaction of repuation - what will people think of my stuff. Needy? Well of course I'm an artist and writing a blog to no-one in particular, hoping someone will read it, I think that goes without saying.
So how do measure our days? Probably best to use a tape-measure.