Staying Creative

       I like to think of creativity as energy, a force that ebbs and flows.  My realization of this dynamic was slow in coming. As I started painting with regularity, I took notice that a period of intense output would be followed by a lax period, a slump. These stagnant spells, would often be accompanied by fatigue, depression, a sense of worthlessness, and lack of drive. I would be convinced I would never produce anything worthwhile again. I obviously had forgotten how to paint, didn’t want to paint. I wasn’t in the mood. I might as well box up my paints and call it quits. Then…the cloud would lift, and all was well. I felt like painting again! Recognizing this repeating pattern after long last was liberating for me. The pressure to overcome the slump is not as intense now, for I know it will pass. The push/pull of creative energy is common within all of us who create. The vacillation continues to this day in my life, but it no longer concerns me as much, for I’ve learned coping strategies. In the next blogs, I will be sharing these strategies which are not original with me, but are the result of my reading, attending workshops, and talking to other artists, and simply paying attention to what’s going on within myself. 

      The truth of the matter is that creative work doesn’t get easier, but rather harder. How do we  maintain the creative flow? My first coping strategy was one I read about in Austin Kleon’s Steal Like an Artist Audio Trilogy.

Strategy #1 Pretend each day is Groundhog Day

         In the 1993 movie Groundhog Day, weatherman Phil Conners, played by Bill Murray, is given the assignment of traveling to Punxsutawney, PA to write about Phil the Groundhog and the annual shadow sighting. It’s an assignment Phil Conners does not relish. The following day, Phil Conners awakes to discover that he has wandered into a time loop. He keeps waking to the same day! The entire movie is spent with Phil’s slow realization in regard to the gift each day brings. The creative life, if maintained, is like that time loop. We keep starting over, never “arriving.” Each day we are to start over as if we are the star of our own Groundhog Day. Regardless of yesterday’s successes or failures, I’ve learned the value of this established routine, my personal Groundhog Day, which prevents my wasting time. Each day I spend time doing something art-related: painting, gessoing canvas, sketching, planning, or the cleaning studio. I approach it like I approached my teaching career. My mood had little bearing on my showing up at work. I knew I had to go. Maintaining creative energy is similar. My routine is my manager. Occasionally, something prevents my routine. There are rare interruptions, and I try not to be rattled by them. I try to think of the interruption as a treat.

Be consistent with your routine. Make lists to keep yourself on task. Know what you will work on each day.

Lori Anderson said it best-“Make the most beautiful thing you can each day. That’s it.”

That’s our goal.