Aaahh the creatives--we all know a few.
Maybe they work as graphic artists or interior decorators, or maybe you know a mom who puts together crafts that rival Picasso.
Or maybe you are one of these easily distracted, constantly doodling idea machines.
I know many in this interesting group, and here is my list of creative characteristics:
This list is in no way official, comprehensive, or complete.
I would also add sensitive, self-confident, night owls, addicted to at least one thing: coffee, tea, cigarettes, chocolate, potato chips...you get it.
Tell me if you fit into this category and if you can think of any other symptoms. :)
xo
Many writers and artists state that the first way to get things done is to have your butt in the chair. I think Steven Pressfield said it in The War of Art, and I took it very seriously.
In other words just be there, ready to work. I agree 100%.
I've had endless discussions with friends about this too--and we have come to the conclusion that you'll fail at everything you do not begin.
Of course.
But my question is: Do I get in the chair and STAY there?
After months of doing just that I find the answer is definitely MAYBE.
Actually it depends on the day.
There are days where I feel if I am interrupted I would cry, or at least be very upset at the disruption of the flow I am riding. Then there are other days where I feel if I don't get up and go somewhere I will get nowhere.
This is said after I did the butt in the chair thing exclusively for months. I fought every urge to go out for coffee, or meet a friend for lunch. I would not be able to jump up now if I were at an office, I would argue with myself. And I wouldn't. But that could be one of the reasons I do not work in an office, and was never meant to.
Don't get me wrong, I still get my hours in, but they might not be 9 to 5--in fact they may end at 2am, and that is fine with me. I do not allow myself to get distracted to the point where my work takes a back seat--I get my coffee, interact a bit, and get back to it. (Sometimes I get distracted by household stuff--pets, kids, bills, cooking, etc. Here is a shopping list page I created for myself to stay efficient, but I thought you might like it too. CLICK HERE to print :)
I think for some, sitting at the computer or canvas and working through a glitch works, for others the solution might be Starbucks or an episode of The Walking Dead.
So to make a long blog post short, just because a famous writer or artist does their thing a certain way certainly does not mean you have to do the same.
Find your approach, and do it like a boss.
xo
Ah! Don't forget the art giveaway--click HERE to enter.
Sometimes art is just hard.
Working as an artist is actual work--but some folks don't get it.
Yes, there will always be a faction of people who think it is nothing but fun. Grrrr. Or unimportant. GRRRR. Or silly. GROWL!
But on the other side of the art coin there are those glorious times where we just lose time, and ourselves, in our art. It is just short of what some may call a religious experience. It is meditation, creativity, and connecting with something--a higher power, an energy flow--I'm not quite sure...but it rocks.
Yes, we all start somewhere, and we are usually not that great. But with practice we can get closer and closer to good.
So practice if you love it, and keep your fingers crossed for those space time continuum moments.
Don't forget to enter the Fabulous February Faber-Castell Giveaway right HERE! Good luck--I love those pens, you will too.
xo
***UPDATE--as an after thought...I actually feel lucky to be doing this every single day, and although the above things happened, I will no longer complain! I do NOT want to look a gift horse in the mouth (we have to look up the meaning of that phrase...) so from now on only motivation.
