Creative organization? Bwahahaha! What‘s that???
Gather ’round, gurls & boyze ’cause I’ve got a story to tell. Or maybe it’s a confession. Yes, let’s call it a confession ’cause that sounds so juicy, right? Yes, well a few weeks ago I got the brilliant idea to offer small, inexpensive prints during Open Studios this year. Nothing fancy, nothing precious. Affordable. Signed. 5×7. Ready to frame.
So if you’re not of a mind—or the means—to part with mega millions for one of my biggies, you can still take home one or two or maybe eight (cause that’s all I got) little bitty bits o’ wonderment by moi.
And still have enough left over to dine in splendor at Mickey D’s at the end of the day.
Signed. Did I mention they’re signed?
But I didn’t want these prints to compete with the ones I already offer online. These had to be different images.
Which brings me to the real topic of this post:
Creative organization
Or more accurately, my well intentioned but complete lack of it.
I have folders labeled Prints. Sub-folders called Edit for Prints. Within those are even more subfolders with cryptic initials. Dates. Sometimes a wayward recipe file or yoga video that has no business being there. Folders named Art, Art Biz, and—for reasons known only to Past Susan—another folder called PRINTS. With nothing in it!
And then there are folders for years. And competitions. And folders that mated during the night creating even more subfolders.
I know–all those folders sound like I’m organized. Creatively so.
Bwahahaha.
Creative, sure. But organized–No. I. Am. NOT.
Think about a squirrel hiding acorns in every hollow log, tree stump, and abandoned bird’s nest she can find. And then wondering where the hell she put them come winter.
Yeah, I’m all about that.
Just like Ms. Squirrel, I spend the better part of a day opening image after image after image looking for fat juicy acorns. Because each folder, each subfolder had files labeled with image numbers generated by Apple. No names like Tree. Field. Or Winter Stash. So I had to click on them one by one. And talk myself through the process.
“Oh! There’s that painting.”
“I forgot about that one.”
“Wait… didn’t I already crop this?”
“Why do I have seven versions of the same file?”
And when I finally stumble across an image that’ll work, do I create one beautiful new folder where all the Open Studios print candidates can live together in peace and harmony? A folder I logically identify as OS-Prints-2026?
I do not.
I grab the nearest scrap of paper and draw what I believe, at the time, is a perfectly sensible treasure map. I’m a visual person and I like squiggles and arrows
Documents → Art Biz → Prints → New Prints → Maybe This One → Final Final v2
Future Susan can figure it out.
(Note to self: Why are you keeping all this shit? Next time you have tiempo libre—look at me casually showing off my Duolingo skills—CLEAN THE FREAKING FILES.)
I should have seen this coming. If you’ve read my earlier post about my sketchbook habit, you’ll know I’ve been practicing the Squirrel Method for years. I’ve simply gone digital.
Somewhere around lunch, it hit me.
I’m a squirrel with an external hard drive. I don’t keep everything because I’m disorganized. I keep everything because every little thing feels like a possibility.
That detail from a painting? Could become a print. That crop? Maybe a greeting card. That reference photo? Could spark an entirely new series.
The squirrel doesn’t know which acorn will become lunch and which one will grow into an oak.
And I don’t know know which forgotten sketch, photo, or painting detail will become the next great idea.
So I keep them all.The problem isn’t collecting possibilities.
The problem is remembering where I buried them.
By the end of the day I’d found enough images for the prints. An edition of 8.
I’d also rediscovered paintings I hadn’t looked at in years. Tiny details I’d completely forgotten that suddenly made me stop and think, Hmmmm…
So if you’re looking for tips on creative organization…
I have exactly one.
Don’t use the Squirrel Method.
The squirrel isn’t the problem.
The problem is she thinks she’ll remember where she buried the acorns
This week’s creative prompt:
Where are you relying on memory instead of a system?
Maybe it’s digital files.
Maybe it’s a closet.
Maybe it’s ideas scribbled on random scraps of paper.
What’s one tiny thing you could organize today that would make Future You ridiculously grateful?
