Question: You’re a writer and artist – how is this reflected in your typical day?
Now that I am retired from my international teaching career, my days are more flexible, even, unpredictable. I love it because I embrace randomness and chance in my life.
In my Writing Life:
I am often writing during the nights because I’ve never been one who sleeps much. I sleep in short periods of a couple of hours at a time. Typically, I am up working in my office between 2 and 5 am.
My days begin early because I have 2 dogs to take out – they like to be out by 6 or 7 am. It gets me moving, so that’s a good thing.
I do very little work after 5 pm. Evenings are my down times, when I might watch some TV, or just listen to a book or relax. I like to sit and think – thinking takes a lot of time. You have to intend to think, and then set the time aside so you can actually do it.
In my Artist Life:
I make art only during the daytime. Because I have profound sight loss, I use an Acrobat CCTV – which is an electronic device that greatly enlarges my working area – it is a closed-circuit TV. My eyes are only able to work at this intensity in the mornings or afternoons. After that, they are too tired to work any longer. So, you won’t find me making art in the evening or night.
On the days I am making art, I like to focus only on that. I go to a place of “timelessness†in my studio and I am always unaware of the passing of the day while I am working.