Converting space in your home for business use is the easy part, once you have your rooms assigned and setup the real challenge begins. Blending time to paint and work in the office into the regular routine of running a household with other family members is tough. From the beginning I established a routine, and worked designated hours during the day, five days a week. I believe this is essential in order to be taken seriously by family members, neighbors and friends. The telephone went on the answering machine during painting sessions, unless a family member was available to screen calls. A strict “no interruptions†while painting rule existed, and still does today.
For years I painted in a large open space, but it was not private and others had to pass through to reach bedrooms or to enter or exit the building. To avoid innocent intrusions we worked out a signal using a small cloth we called the “flag.â€Â When the flag was up I was not to be interrupted, the flag down and conversations were fine. This seems like small trivia, but it is not. Uninterrupted time to paint is the most coveted commodity in an artists world. I know artists who close the door and lock themselves in their studios without a telephone with a sign posted outside warning “Do Not Disturbâ€. Whatever the means, if it works, do it.
I also had difficulty with friends and neighbors whose perception was that if I was home, I must not be working. Today, after 40 plus years, this is not an issue. But, it is a universal problem with artists whose careers are not yet well established. This is an issue where discipline is needed, strong self-directed discipline. Discipline to resist answering the doorbell, or telephone, or to say “no†to social invitations offered during working hours. If you give in to these distractions, you might as well practice art as a hobby.
In the beginning, when raising small children, my painting time was broken into small segments; daytime nap time and late in the evening after they went to bed. When the baby started school I rejoiced in four or more continuous hours of painting without impediment. With sports, and school activities I really never had more than six hours of quiet each day to paint, but that was enough. One of the blessings of working from the home is the flexibility and availability to raise a family. While other mothers baked, decorated, shopped, and volunteered, I was sequestered in my studio absorbed in the never, never land of creating art. And, it worked just fine.
Another rule that was adopted very early was; no one can comment on a work in progress unless asked for an opinion. As soon as the painting was signed, all unsolicited comments were fair game. The reason for this was, as a budding artist I was much too influenced by what others thought, even though they did not have an iota of art training. After hearing a few comments I would often change something only to realize I had been on the right track in the first place. I advise all beginning artists to not solicit nor heed comments about works in progress unless they are from a trained professional.
All in all, working in the business of art from my home is a wonderful experience. I often feel sorry for those who commute, especially in bad weather or serious traffic. My time is my own and if I don’t accomplish anything I have no one to blame but myself.
Gail Niebrugge, artist
