Welcome to Kathleen’s Art Blog!

Monday, March 25, 2013

GET INTO YOUR STUDIO AND WORK

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit."              Aristotle

Whether you're a professional artist, semi-professional artist, or hobbyist you probably have resistance to making art from time to time (or all the time). I recently attended the Synergy 3 polymer conference and Seth Saverick  and Melanie Muir both gave separate presentations that spoke to this very topic.

Seth suggested "Creativity-Sucking Vampires" who tell you why you shouldn't be in the studio working. One vampire says, "Your work is derivative." or "So-and-so is so much better than you." Another says, "Who do you think you're kidding?" or "Your work sucks". Then there's always the vampire of perfectionism who says, "I'll make it tomorrow when I can make it perfect."

When I was young, I realized that I needed to make some decisions about going into my studio, especially when I had two young children.  So, I worked when they slept - in the evening or during naps. I decided to treat it like a job and do a couple of hours every day. That became a habit so that by the time they were in elementary school, I had them working for me (they were really good).

Now, I can't imagine NOT going into my studio to work. This gives me a "home base", a structure on which to base my work.

One of the few things Picasso said was, "Inspiration will come, but it must find you working."

So, get into that studio and work. Don't listen to any excuses.

7 comments:

Jane Perala said...

Well said!

Dakotah said...

Exactly what I needed to hear

Sabrielle said...

I so needed to read that. You have no idea.

Eva Maria Keiser said...

Super post...just contemplating the very subject.
-Eva Maria

Pat Hart said...

Thank you, Kathleen. As others have said, I needed this gentle kick in the pants to end chronic procrastination. Pat Hart

Unknown said...

What if your day job is the creativity sucking vampire? Any advice on making your art your living? I discovered your work at a fair last summer and of all the beautiful things I saw your work is what spoke to me the most!

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