The Ultimate Key to a Lasting Creative Practice
If there is one phrase you should repeat to yourself every day when you start to feel frustrated and resentful about how little time and energy you have to make art, it’s this…
Creativity is a long con, keep it in perspective.
This is something I constantly have to remind myself of. I want to keep making art for my whole life. That is (hopefully) a very long time. Because of this, I have had to learn to keep things in a very long-term perspective. It’s easy to set big goals for ourselves, it’s more difficult to accept that those goals may take decades to achieve. For example, one day I want to paint full time in a massive, white, sun-filled studio. I want to have amazing, prestigious gallery shows and a steady stream of loyal collectors snatching up my work. I want a huge platform to help busy, tired, inspired moms reconnect with their creativity. This would take a long time for any artist to achieve, but for a mom of four boys who only has about 10 studio hours per week...it will take a LOOOONG time. As I see it, my options are...
A. Quit. It’s too hard. I can’t get what I want right now, and might never get it. It’s too frustrating. Why bother feeling like a failure all the time. Maybe I’ll start making art again when I’m in my 50’s and have a little more time and space to have an actual art career.
B. Dedicate every spare second to my art practice. Give up sleep, exercise, naps, health, and time with family in pursuit of my goals. Stop at nothing to get what I want, and get it now. This will likely result in a huge burnout, in which I quit making art. Or maybe I would just have continual low-grade exhaustion and a strained relationship with my family.
C. Keep a foot in the creative door no matter what. Take breaks when I need it, sure, but continually chip away at the things I want. Enjoy this stage of my life and really be present. Accept that the process is long, but it doesn’t really matter because I love what I’m doing. It makes me a happier, better version of myself right now. If I can someday paint full-time, that will be great! And I will be well prepared for it after years of slowly developing my practice and learning the ways of the art world.
You have a lifetime to create. Keeping this perspective will help you keep your sanity. Stay in the game. Even if you only have one toe in the game, it’s better than nothing. Taking long breaks for years at a time will make it so much harder to come back. Small daily or weekly actions will add up and keep you connected to your practice, which keeps you connected with your beautiful self. Which is always worth it.
Sending Love,
Denise