Episode 63: Keeping It Going

www.rebeccacrowell.com www.squeegeepress.com www.facebook.com/messystudiopodcast Notes: PODCAST—Keeping it Going Intro: Several listeners have asked us to talk about how to stay motivated and on track with work in the studio. Maybe it is a reflection of the winter doldrums (which we talked about last week) but blocks and down times can happen any time of year. How do you cope with feelings of boredom and frustration that make it hard to keep working? A big topic with no right or easy answers What’s the main issue? Is it actually a problem or is it your attitude and belief that it is a problem? We think of blocks or times of low motivation as problems when holding up an ideal of always being on track, motivated, productive but is that realistic? Almost nothing in life is constantly rewarding and interesting There really are no standards of how productive you need to be—the idea that we need to paint every day can be an impediment to natural ebbs and flows Give yourself a break--consider that you are creating your own path, making something from nothing, a difficult challenge to always stay on track. Part of the creative process is incubation; sometimes just recognize that being stuck may mean you are on the threshold of something new, it’s not a bad thing, you still need to push through but you are not on a timetable (unless you have deadlines) It still may help to just give yourself time off --you may be able to find clarity then A few days or weeks apart from the studio does not mean you have failed What else causes you to be blocked: Resistance to some new idea that needs to come through Being pushed in a direction that doesn’t feel right by something outside yourself-- major cause of being blocked Recognize if you are feeling pressure from a deadline, something with a gallery, some positive or negative feedback that is getting in the way— Examine that, discuss it with someone Trying to repeat yourself—a big one. A really good painting can shut you down. Extract the ideas that interest you from the piece, it may help to put it away and not focus on its visual aspects –example from my own work Being afraid to totally change the painting—you don’t owe it to anyone to keep anything less than what you want Make a radical move Don’t second guess the urge to make change, sometimes you really have to wreck it first/creative destruction A “pretty good painting” –the temptation to check it off the list for paintings needed for a show or other commitment—but inside it does not satisfy you, may be hard to acknowledge that…. Have several going at once so you can move from one to another. Wrap-up – Ross emphasises the importance of risk taking in overcoming creative blocks Part of creative process, does not have to be a negative thing though it can feel that way –deal with it in a way that supports your own path and not someone else’s ideal of what “artists should do”