Things I've learned #2

For Smokers.

If you're a smoker (such as I) you'll find cigarettes are gloriously satisfying during art. There's no point in trying to save them, no matter how broke you are. Smoking a fag while doing art is like a tiny pseudo 'break' where you don't actually stop.

And when you do stop doing art for a few minutes to have a cigarette, you can use that time to silently inspect your work. Decide if what you've done so far is satisfactory and decide what's going to happen next. Or if the whole idea sucked balls int he first place and you need to start over anew.

There's been many a time when I stop for a cigarette to stare at my work after I've reached my goal and my husband looks up from what he's doing.

"What ya up to?" he asks.

"Oh, you know, just doing my thing. Staring at my piece while smokin' a cig." I reply a lot.

"Word, word." He almost always says back to me before becoming intent on his own piece or taking a cig break himself.


Yes, I'm an addict.

No, don't smoke. It's a bad habit. And man is it costly now-a-days.