Make a Fucking Mess
Art Advice From a Recovering Perfectionist
( Hallie Bateman’s Substack, “HALMAIL” has quickly become one of my favorite accounts on here. I highly recommend checking out her newsletter!)
Comments (Let’s Chat!):
When was the last time you joyfully made a huge fucking mess?
Do any of y’all have designated art spaces for mess making?
I’d kind of kill for that right about now.
I just wanna go hog fuckin’ wild. I think we all deserve something like this right now with… everything. Sigh.
Listening to:
I've worked on so many old houses and demolishing stuff is a great rush. The engineering of how to make things fall apart is pure cathartic release using brain and body to cause a chaotic mess which in itself is a joy to behold, at least for a short time if you are being paid by the hour lol.
E, I love your work!!!
1. When was the last time you joyfully made a huge fucking mess?
Today, several times actually.... : ). The joy of being retired. I get to be bad at a lot of things. Made a bookshelf. Started a 3D art project of mixed media (paper, acrylic, binder, canvas). Patched a crack in the living room drywall, which surprisingly is a lot of "art" movement (and dang, perfectionism, even if messy). Much larger crack in the ceiling, the wall was a dry(ish) run.
2. Do any of y’all have designated art spaces for mess making?
Yes. It's called my house, 1200 square feet of it. No room is safe, not even the garage. Currently housing a car project, woodworking equipment ( a new compound miter saw!), various pieces of found objects, chemicals, paints, yada yada.
Our primary space for art is the basement, next to the gym equipment, as I've been known to do both simultaneously. It's surprising effective.