Kids, Artists, and Herding Cats

This week, I had the privilege of visiting my cousin and observing her teach her 3rd grade class. It's been a long time since I've been around a group of kids, and even longer still since I had a taste of teaching eight year olds. While it was tons of fun to relive 3rd grade and see how everything seems so magical and wondrous through their eyes, the visit left me thinking that things don't change too much as adults.

Similarities between managing a bunch of artists and managing a bunch of eight years olds:

1) You have to keep an eye on them. Or else they wander off and do their own thing. Seriously, it's like herding cats. It was always an effort getting more than three artists together for a meeting in one place at the same time.

2) They need a lot of attention. One kid came up to me and proceeded to show me the contents of his backpack, including a disposable plastic poncho and a pen that folds up and lights up. One of the artists once accused me of not paying enough attention to her in terms of producer/artist ratio of time. Wha???

3) They need a lot of validation. The kids continuously came up to my cousin's desk to show her their work in progress and ask repeated questions. And she patiently smiled at each of them and offered up encouraging words of praise. I have to say the same kind of grin shows up on my coworkers' faces when you tell them they're kicking ass and way ahead of the other guy.

4) They try to get away with stuff. Two of the kids tried to hide their math tests and not turn them in. Much like artists who try to lay low and hope that people won't notice that certain things weren't done.

Differences between managing a bunch of artists and managing a bunch of eight years olds:

1) Hopefully, you get paid more to manage the non eight year olds

2) Most of the time, you can outsmart the eight year olds.

3) You're still physically bigger than the eight year olds. I guess if all else fails, you can pick them up and hurl them? Er, transport them elsewhere like the principal's office?

I may need a return visit for research purposes soon!

Juxtiposition

I'm too tired to blog much lately. Working an average of 10am - 10pm. No point in me going in any earlier because I'll still end up staying that late. For the most part, working with artists is great. I love the creative energy, the dresscode (there is none), the silliness, the toys, the immaturity...

But sometimes, trying to manage them is a whole other story. I like to think of my job as babysitting most of the time. Professional nag, den mother, big sister, token girl, person to vent and complain to, shoulder to cry on, and most of all timekeeper extraordinaire. Some days, I have to pretty much pry the work out of their hands to deliver to clients on time. Otherwise they'll continue to perfect it until no ordinary human eye can detect the differences between version 278 and version 277.

I was venting to Wavy today in regards to how the past two nights, we've pushed deliveries to the wire. Advanced Express delivery guy will be standing by waiting to get our tape and drive it over to the airport, so that it can get to NY by noon the next day. We (meaning me) are usually running around trying to collect all the deliverables that the artists just finished thirty seconds before the delivery guy arrives. Even though I tell them I need everything an hour before.

Wavy said something like "yeah, computer artists (the ones I work with) must be the worst. They have no sense of structure and schedule like an artist yet they have the anal-retentivness and perfectionism of a computer nerd." That pretty much sums up my people.