For this project I will be mimicking Nathaniel Drew's YouTube video "Tried Picasso's (incredible) Daily Routine: What I Learned".
Drew created a video with a similar format in 2019 called "I Tried Da Vinci's (Insane) Daily Routine: Here's What Happened"
I recently read Daily Rituals: How Artists Work. This is a book "on the routines and working habits of 161 inspired minds, from Beethoven to Donald Barthelme, Kafka to Georgia O’Keeffe" by Alfred A. Knopf, 2013.
I was inspired by the book before I searched for and found Drew's video. I had been particularly fascinated by this infographic: https://podio.com/site/creative-routines. I was interested primarily in the YouTube trend of "Daily Routines" and wanted to see how I could connect that to art history and give it a more academic spin. I also noticed that Drew and Currey both chose to focus more on famous male artists. I decided to follow the daily routine of a female artist, Maira Kalman, who was featured in Currey's book.
I was also inspired by a Slate article where Kalman speaks more in detail about her routine.
Self-portrait with Pete by Maira Kalman
This is what I read from in Currey's Book: Maria Kalman (b. 1949)
The New York illustrator, artist, and designer wakes up early, about 6am, makes the bed, and reads the obituaries. Then she goes for a walk with a friend, returns home to eat breakfast, and - if she is on a deadline - heads to her studio in the same building as her apartment. "I have no phone, or email, no food or anything to distract [in the studio]," she said in a recent email. "I have music and work. There is a green chaise there if a nap is needed. And in the later afternoon it often is needed." If she is bored being alone in the studio, Kalman will head to a cafe to listen to the buzz of conversation, take the subway to a museum, or go for a walk through Central Park, "I procrastinate just the right amount," she said. "There are things which help me get in the mood to work. Cleaning for one. Ironing is great. Taking a walk is always inspiring. Because my work is often based on what I see, I am happy to keep collecting and changing images until the last moment." Sometimes Kalman doesn't go into the studio for days at a time. On working days, she is done by 6pm. She never works at night. "It will appear like a calm existence," Kalman said. "The turmoil is invisible."
Here is the routine I decided to follow:
6am - wake up and make the bed
This will not be easy for me as I am not usually an early riser.
6:15am - read obituaries
During her Slate interview she explains that "Of course, everybody must read the obits. It sets you into a mode of, what am I really going to be doing with my life today? The stories in obits are very much about lives, not about death. So you’re looking at these heroic or interesting or absurd lives and saying, 'Well, how would they write about my life if it was condensed into 10 paragraphs?'"
6:30am - go for a walk
This will need to be solo as no one I know is awake for such an early morning walk.
Breakfast
Unlike other artists in the book there is no specific breakfast mentioned.
Studio
I don't have a studio but I will follow the idea of no distractions - no food no electronics.
Coffee Break and a walk
Studio
Naps
Studio
STOP at 6pm ()
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