On Dec. 4, 1918, artist Maxfield Parrish wrote to his friend Martin Birnbaum: “all tied up with some work for the Red Cross, so I’m working day and night on some very bad things for their Christmas shindig. But – early this spring I am going to do some things for myself, have refused all orders until next fall …”
The letter, part of a Smithsonian collection on display at the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, Conn., through May 6, sums up perfectly the dilemma of all artists, including writers.
When, oh when, will we get to create for the joy of it? When will we have the free time and space to follow the Muse instead of the marketplace?
Parrish, clearing his calendar for two seasons, has the right idea. His Grecian images against that trademark Persian blue – a “Maxfield Parrish sky” inspired by the hills near his home in Plainfield, N.H. – adorned the covers of magazines like Collier’s and Ladies’ Home Journal, as well as advertisements of everything from Cashmere Bouquet soap to Jell-O. He was making money, which meant he could take time off to make his “real art” without feeling too much of a pinch.
For the rest of us, whether we have day jobs unrelated to our work or we toil away in universities, museums, galleries or libraries, making creative time is always a challenge. Whether we are distracted by work tasks or family obligations, creative time can feel like stolen time, robbing our employer or our loved ones of our attention. But it is as necessary as water or air.
This semester I’m teaching at two institutions, a full course load of four classes and three preps. As midterms approach and the essays and tests begin to stack up, the end of the semester seems far away indeed. Add to that the herculean task of a looming late-spring move, and I’ve only been able to carve out a half-hour here or there to work on my own writing.
But spring break is coming, the semester will end, and even with one five-week class, summer beckons with the promise of writing time. So I will try to get through the obligations and look forward to the free time ahead, when, like Parrish, “I am going to do some things for myself.”
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