The artistic process is maddeningly capricious. One of the best ways I have found to deal with this frustration is to just show up for work every single day. I force myself to draw when I feel like it and when I don’t, when it’s working and when I know it’s probably the worst thing I’ve ever made. When I only worked once or twice a week my process was fragmented and I wasted most of my art time warming up, trying to generate ideas, and getting focused. Working every day keeps the engine running and now ideas come faster than I can use them and I find myself wanting to create in every spare moment. When I am able to find a half hour here or there it’s now enough time to make something since I’m already mentally prepped to start. I’ve started to think of this as maintaining creative momentum. Being married to a musician who practices on a daily basis and who can see a noticeable decline in her proficiency after even a week of not playing has helped me see the importance of spending time each day working on my art. One of the most important character traits of an artist is faithful presence, and creative momentum is only one facet of that trait. I will discuss other aspects of faithful presence in the weeks to come.
What are your thoughts? What are ways you have found to deal with the frustrations of being a creator?
Art as Illumination 