“To remain healthy and vital, artists must stay proactive in their own behalf”
-Julia Cameron, Finding Water
The beginning of things offer instant rewards – the rush of discovery, the thrill of a new adventure, and (if you are lucky) the backing and encouragement of friends and family. What do you do when you find yourself in the middle of things? On a quest that leads through the detours of the mundane? Bogged down by the repetition of making the same object in large quantities or the reality that no new ideas are coming forth from your heart OR your hands?
Julia Cameron of “The Artist Way” fame has provided extraordinary guidance in my journey toward continuing in this work that we do as artists. Imagine art as work! Many people hide that little tidbit away don’t they? And if newbies are not careful, we might ASSUME that if the art is now becoming mundane, we must be doing something wrong or possibly we do not have what it takes. But I would submit that even things that we participate in that we LOVE –yes even artistic endeavors- will reach a plateau.
But… not forever. I came across one suggestion from Julia Cameron’s book “Finding Water” called the LAY TRACK EXERCISE. In a nutshell, I take a piece of paper and I write down small actions I can take on my behalf as an artist to keep making small movements forward. I wrote my five based on my writing endeavors:
- write consistently on my blogs (at least every other day)
- find a community of like minded artists and ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE
- Consider the premise behind my blog-does it have a clear vision?
- READ!
- Organize blog posts into categories (I have written on my blog for over a year and rarely have I listed a tag = YIKES!)
Some have to do with basic “housekeeping” but others are opportunities to delve into new areas where the potential for spark lurk.
What are your 5?
4 comments:
How insightful! Now this evening I will be coming up my 5, and then going from there. Thanks for a great post :)
that is awesome guin!
Here's what I do:
I make a piece of art for me. Usually it is a painting.
I reorganize my fabric supply. I'll end up finding stuff I forgot I had.
I'll also make something and give it away for good karma.
I'll go on vacation to a crazy place to get inspired, like New Orleans. That's obviously where I just went. It was awesome.
Lastly, I keep in mind that if I don't work through it, I really have failed.I refuse to let a defeatest mentality get the better of me.
GO GIRLS!
Sarah, this list is the reason why your work always looks SO FRESH AND EXCITING!
Post a Comment