Finding Focus

25 August, 2025

The Secret Life of Rain, analog collage with stitching, 5 x 5 in

“The ability to focus is a defining characteristic of successful individuals.”    – Brian Tracy

Finding Focus Amid Chaos

I've had a hard time settling on a topic for this blog post. My brain seems to jump around like it's full of grasshoppers, or those annoying little gnats that fly into your face and then dart away. My thoughts are pulled this way and that by the general chaos in the world around me, and by all the little distractions that have been popping up in my own life. I feel like I'm developing ADD in my old age.

Determined to focus on my art practice as a way to stabilize myself amid the horrors of what's happening in the daily news, I have done quite a few exhibits lately, and there are more coming up. That means keeping up with framing, filling out forms and signing contracts, making new work, and remembering what needs to go where, and when.

But then there are always additional distractions, large and small. Car problems, appliance repairs, financial stuff, something in the kitchen leaking into the basement, etc. You, know: life.

"Focus is the art of knowing what to ignore."  ~ James Clear

Butterfly Effect 5, analog collage with stitching, 5 x 5 in

The Five-by-Five Problem

This is not like the 3-Body Problem, which is lucky, because I'm not a physicist. (Ha! Yes, I know that nobody will get this dumb joke, but sometimes I just have to amuse myself.) I have participated in the annual "Think Square" exhibition every year since it began, and this year, Think Square 8, is no exception.

Where the problem comes in is that I don't make work this small at any other time. It's a mental adjustment, because I'm much more of a maximilist than a minimalist. I always want to put so much stuff into my pieces, and, well - there just isn't room for it. So, without any ideas, theme, or plan, I decided to just focus on making 5-by-5's until I could produce something decent at that size.

The first piece I made was the collage Butterfly Effect 5, above. I wanted to use this old map as the background because I loved the soft colors, and it would give me a chance to do some stitching, which I find calming. Circles seem to have a calming and centering effect as well. Also, the butterfly effect is about chaos theory, so it seemed fitting. (You can read more about that here.)

Grasshopper Brain

Being Human 2, analog collage with stitching, 5 x 5 in

Still without a clear direction, the

grasshoppers in my brain hopped to the

next thing I saw, an anatomical drawing of

the human head from an old book. I was also really taken with the faded color and design of these old book covers I had, so I decided to combine them. The result is Being Human 2, right, which was featured in my last post.

I was pretty happy with the way this turned out, so I decided to use the rest of the book cover for the next collage. What emerged was The Tree of Knowledge (of Good and Evil), below.

The Tree of Knowledge (of Good and Evil), analog collage with stitching, 5 x 5 in

Going back to the Bible story, I'd always wondered what was so wrong with humans knowing what's good or evil, you know? I guess I was thinking about how people perceived the difference between them, especially now that so many people don't seem to be able to tell.

Keeping the Focus Going

Now that I was feeling reasonably comfortable with the five-by-five format, I decided to keep going, leaving decisions about what to exhibit until after I finished - whatever that meant. I did a few monotype collages as well, which I'll show you in the Think Square 8 post, coming up soon. I was on a 5-by-5 roll by then, so I did a few more.

One of these is The Secret Life of Rain, at the top of this post. This was made of scraps from my 'ephemera scraps' drawer. Again, I added stitching and more of those comforting circles.

My 'Ephemera Scraps' drawer

“Focusing on one thing without interruption is how you get meaningful work done.” — Nate Green

Wisdom About Focusing

I wish I had more wisdom or advice for you regarding how to find focus in these chaotic times. I know I'm not the only artist, or person, who's struggling with this problem right now. Back in the day, I wrote a post on my old blog about the hazards of multi-tasking, and how bad it is for your brain. While the circumstances are different from what's going on now, it seems the 'unfocused' effect is the same, so I'll borrow a few words here:

So I have resolved to try to live in a different way, to be nicer to my brain and my frayed nerves. This seems like a better way to approach life, especially since I suffer from chronic depression and an anxiety disorder. I will use the same strategies that I used with my special education students when I was teaching - task analysis; break tasks down into smaller parts. Make a to-do list and do the most important things first. Do them one at a time. Set time limits for how long I'll work on a particular activity. Take breaks. Maybe if we all just treated ourselves like special education students, our lives would feel more manageable, and we would find more peace.

Butterfly Effect 6, analog collage, 5 x 5 in

Wishing you all peace, love, and art!