Art and Creativity: On "Showing Up" for Your Art Every Day!
I have to confess, that I have not been very good about showing up every day this year.
In this case, I'm talking about showing up for my art, every day.
Art — much like writing and other forms of creativity — is ultimately a practice. And in order to practice something you also have to be present and show up to do the work on a regular schedule.
My excuses have typically been that I "haven't felt inspired," or just that "life happens" and I've been really busy.
But we're all really busy, aren't we? And we all lack inspiration from time to time, don't we?
These tend to be pretty superficial reasons that we like to dish out because we don't want to look directly at the deeper reasons that keep us from doing something. And if that "something" really matters to us, it won't matter whether we are busy or don't feel inspired — we will find the time and inspiration to show up!
Are You Actually INTO This?
Truth is, I've been feeling a lot like I did in early 2021 after we'd had almost a year of Covid lockdowns, all the art shows had been canceled, and the initial excitement over "having lots of time to do art because we are stuck at home all the time" had worn off.
Instead, there was a sort of quiet indifference that set in, in which it seemed like it was nice to work on Art but "what was the point" because nobody besides myself would ever see it and I had no chance in hell of selling it.
Maybe that sounds slightly mercenary if you consider that we are "supposed to be doing art for Art's sake" but there's something depressing about walking into your studio and just watching the finished work gradually piling up and it has no place to go. You look at it and you say "yeah, that's really good... but what's the point?"
I realize nobody ever promised me that the art business was going to be easy, and I definitely have a lot of experience in the business of art, having run a couple of art galleries in addition to being an artist.
I've watched numerous artists struggle in extensively. I watched them struggle with the fact that they were producing really good work, but for one reason or another it was just about impossible for them to sell any of it. We'd hang it in our gallery, people would love it, but none ever left the building.
Like it or not, it does help the create person's self-esteem when their art sells!
It helps the self-esteem because instead of just getting a pat in the back and somebody telling them "yeah your work is really good!" there's actually someone reaching into their pocket and "voting with their dollars" because they're willing to give their hard-earned money to own a piece of your creativity!
It's actually not about money, it's an affirmation of sorts!
Anyway, I need to get back into the practice of showing up, otherwise I am never going to get out of my current doldrums.
That's pretty much all there is to it!
Thanks for visiting! Feel free to leave a comment, if you feel so inspired... engagement is part of what makes Hive such a cool venue!
If you enjoy painted rocks, do check out The Hive Rocks Project and help spread the word about Hive, while also being creative!
Because I am trying to make some semblance of income — a part time living, even — I now add this footer to all my posts, in the hope that someone, somewhere, might decide to take a further look at my work, and perhaps consider supporting independent art.
Thank you, in advance, for your consideration and support!
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Thank you for supporting independent art!
2023.07.11 AS-TXT-162/130