It all counts

I ran across some old calligraphy homework rolled up and stuffed in the back of my closet while cleaning out my studio.

I was torn about throwing it out, but it certainly didn't do me any good just forgotten in a dark corner. So, I unrolled it and set it out, thinking I would do something with it.

It sat out in my studio for about two months when today I decided to make accordion folded pieces out of them as a text block for some handmade books.

As I was folding away, I began to question the relevance of doing this. Was this just a waste of time?

Then I remembered a bit of advice from Joan Anderson, one of my painting teachers at Naropa University. "It all counts." When you are working in your studio whether working on a finished painting (sculpture, glass, photo, etc) or you are pasting a piece of inspirational ephemera into your sketchbook, or folding bits of paper that may one day be the inspiration for some other work, "It all counts." Good to know.