I am having a time of it trying to live my work life and my art life. Lately I have been getting boat loads of ideas flash through my mind for art pieces at the strangest times. At work, at church, driving in the car. Unfortunately they travel through and out the other end faster than Superman's proverbial speeding bullet. I have a small moleskine "idea book" that I try to capture these ideas in. But many times I am not even in a place that I can stop to write them down. They frown on stopping for "creativity breaks" at work...driving and drawing is not so much on the safety side. So how to solve this problem? What do others do? By the time I get home in the evenings I sit down to a blank canvas and a blank mind.
Blank canvases and blank minds. If I were a morning person - I wonder if my mind wouldn't be so blank when I sit in my studio? But I guess at the end of the day it isn't so much about a blank mind as getting the mind to quiet and focus on creativity and let go of the day. Once I get started the whole world falls away. But getting started. Aye there's the rub! Yes I have tricks and rituals and routines that help. I do different things all the time. But still, eventually you face that blank canvas. I mean how many times can you make sure your pencils are all sharp, your drafting table is cleared off and the laundry is done!? Why is something I love to do so much something I also procrastinate at.
I have a theory that I have long held, particularly when I was making a living at costume design. Although that time looked like procrastination, it was actually a time I was processing all the research and synthesizing my ideas and mind meanderings into concrete design decisions. But now that I am no longer doing costume design, I still do these types of activities before I begin to actually create. Is this just habit, or is it still a precursor to getting down to the business of creating. I don't know, but it seems that if I don't corral this activity now, I may never get anything accomplished in the short time spaces I have free to create these days. It was different when I would have 2-3 days at a time to sit at my table and work on renderings for a show. Now that I have to have a market-place job, my art time is compressed into bits and pieces of early mornings (ya right!!) and evenings that are not filled with other responsibilities.
How do you all do it? Those of you who work full time in the marketplace and are still prolific with your creative output?
How do you capture those ideas that flit through your mind while you are busy doing things that are not art? This distresses me most; loosing all those ideas. Maybe most of them would never come to full fruition, but still, loosing the ideas....
It feels like my mind is in two lives at once. Half is present in the day to day doings of job, home, church, friends, etc. while the other half is always thinking about creating. Anyone else like that? Sometimes I completely go there, to that creative place, and the world goes mute, like a slowly fading radio volume. Now this is embarrassing when you finally realize that someone has been talking to you and you have no idea what they just said.
Speaking of work, gotta go do it. Sigh!
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2 comments:
I think this is a challenge for anyone with creative longings - whether a full-time artist or full-time anything else. I was ready to dive into my creative work last week and kept waking up feeling totally blank, and ended up not getting a whole lot done, at least in terms of artistic work. It is hard to let myself flow through those moments without feeling guilty and frustrated, but I also can't force it. So here I am again, looking at the week ahead of me and hoping I won't feel so blank - I want to create!
yeah, this is a common struggle i think. i also keep a journal with me most of the time, but sometimes that's not handy in which case i'll grab whatever is nearby: a scrap of paper, the back of a receipt, my hand (heh), whatever! and then i can transfer it to a safer place (like my journal) later on.
the toughest part for me is going from the idea stage to the creating it. if i wait too long the ideas often lose their juice.
i'm going to link to this page. is this where you'll post art now or should i link to the aem page?
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