ABC's of Creativity Crushers
A is for Anger.
Depending on the person, Anger can ruin the creative spirit like graffiti on a Michelangelo. Anger, and other moods like worry, irritability, jealousy and depression, can impose a destructive mood. Once under the spell of a destructive mood, it can be difficult shed.
If you find yourself cloaked by Anger, or any other mood that is not working for you, try to depict it in an abstraction.
Find any substrate immediately available and expendable. An old wood board, a magazine page, a newspaper, or anything from your garbage can will do. Next, use pens, paint, white out or any other marking device and let your mood pour out. Try patterns, scratch marks, shapes, or scribbles. Paste scraps from a magazine, newspaper, cloth, garbage, or product labels. Write sonnets, verse or curse. Whatever the mood and whatever the reason, depict it. Let it move through you and out.
Once the abstraction is complete, you’re ready to let go of the mood and move on to the creative work that is waiting for you.
B is for Budget.
This year more than ever, budget is an issue. Our 401ks are draining. Many of us have suffered job losses. Now, more than ever, we need our creativity to salve what ails society. Ironically, no longer can we run to our favorite art store to pick up the latest in supplies and materials. Don’t fret; there are many options for obtaining creative supplies without busting the budget:
1. Think Green. Recycling, up-cycling, and repurposing abounds at your local thrift stores. All of those canvases of terrible art in the back can be gessoed and re-painted. The jewelry counter provides sculptural mixed media inclusions. Other green options include architectural salvage yards, the office paper recycling bin, garage sales, and the free and barter sections of Craigslist and Freecycle.com. Don’t overlook your own garbage can.
2. Gifts. Have a list of ideas ready when asked about what you’d like for birthdays or holidays. Maybe you wouldn’t buy that $27.00 paint tube of Cadmium Red for yourself, but it’d make a great gift for someone else to give to you.
3. Dead Soldiers. A flavorful artist I met told me he likes to re-work Dead Soldiers from time to time. When I inquired about the meaning of a Dead Soldier, the artist pointed to stacks of paintings in the corner, “Those,” he said, “are dead soldiers. They are warriors that didn’t work out or didn’t get finished.” If you have Dead Soldiers in your closet, get them out and dust them off. Rethink the composition. In the alternative, cut it up and assemble a new composition from the color blocks.
4. Internet Coupons. I used this tip last week. I needed/wanted an acrylic medium that never, ever, ever goes on sale. I remembered I had seen an ad in the Sunday paper from one of those big box art supply stores that offered 40% off one non-sale item. Of course, I didn’t save the paper and I wanted to pick the medium up on my way home from work. So, I looked up the store on the internet and presto, I found the coupon I had remembered. I printed it and 15 minutes later I bought a $20 jar of medium for $12. I wanted to buy some gesso while I was there but then decided to wait until the next coupon. Sure enough, the same ad ran again this Sunday. I didn’t bother to save the newspaper. After all, I can print the coupon when I’m ready to go.
The world is a medley of materials and supplies waiting for you to rethink, repurpose, and re-use.
C is for Criticism.
There is no avoiding criticism. If we’re not getting it from an external source, we give it to ourselves. Even the most well-intentioned suggestion can hit us in the gut like a knock-out punch by Hollyfield. So what to do? Here are a few suggestions:
1. Respond to the suggestion, not the tone of the criticism. First, stop and listen. Was there a suggestion in that criticism? “You might try blue instead of grey.” “You might write this instead of that.” Focus on the suggestion. Perhaps it wasn’t delivered in the most sensitive way. If you focus on the way it was delivered, you might miss what is an otherwise very good suggestion.
2. Check your motivations. Are you creating artworks in an attempt to gain someone’s approval or to receive praise? Take a moment to assess your motivation for creating the work. Weeding out useful suggestions vs. destructive criticism is an easier task if you are in touch with what you are trying to achieve. If a criticism is out of touch with your intent, you’re free to toss it out.
3. Have a response ready. Here are a few that I’ve come up with (you can modify each to include as much sarcasm or sincerity as appropriate for each situation):
“I’ll consider that.”
“Thanks for the input. I’m really going in the direction of XXX right now, but I’ll consider your idea for a future piece.”
“It’s wonderful that you’re so free with sharing your ideas.”
“What a great idea. Are you going to try it?”
“Hmmmm. . . . you are clever.”
4. Smile and Ignore it. Yes, it can be just that simple. Art is subjective. You know why you do it. You know what you’re trying to achieve. You have direction and purpose. It is unreasonable to expect that everyone will love everything you do.
D is for Depression.
Most people experience a form of Depression at some point in their life. For most of us, it is situational and will pass naturally. The medical field has come a long way in understanding and treating Depression. The Mayo Clinic writes on their website that the following symptoms may be signs of depression:
- Loss of interest in normal daily activities
- Feeling sad or down
- Feeling hopeless
- Crying spells for no apparent reason
- Problems sleeping
- Trouble focusing or concentrating
- Difficulty making decisions
- Unintentional weight gain or loss
- Irritability
- Restlessness
- Being easily annoyed
- Feeling fatigued or weak
- Feeling worthless
- Loss of interest in sex
- Thoughts of suicide or suicidal behavior
- Unexplained physical problems, such as back pain or headaches
If you experience symptoms of depression for more than two weeks, talk to your doctor. Depression can be treated and you can be restored to your creative self.
E is for Expectations.
Artists’ Expectations come in many forms: my painting will immediately sell; someone will look at my work and fall in love; newspapers will clamor; fabulous reviews will be written. Expectations can be disappointing because they rely upon things over which we have no control Expectations get in the way of digging deeper into our creativity. In order to overcome an expectation, reframe it as a goal.
Here’s an example: Perhaps you expect that your novel will be picked up and published by Random House (a company over whom you have no control). Reframe this expectation into a goal: You will first submit your novel to Random House. If you don’t hear back from that publisher within a specified time period, you will submit your novel to another publisher, and then another. The focus is now where it belongs: on your own actions, not on the actions of others.
F is for Fear.
First, if you’re fearless, I want to congratulate you. You are one in a million and a fortunate soul indeed.
If you’re like the rest of us, fear is an obstacle that creeps into the dark recesses of your imagination robbing your bravery like a mugger in a mall parking lot. Let’s face it, if we write our stories, paint our paintings, sculpt our sculptures with complete and total abandon, people might think we’re crazy. Or worse: untalented. They might laugh, talk about us behind our backs, or think our work is silly, stupid or dumb.
Here are a few suggestions for moving forward in the face of fear:
1. Diminish your feelings of fear by educating yourself. A good resource is a book titled “Art and Fear.” Another resource is reaching out to fellow artists in Art Groups or on the internet. Many artists have experienced, and overcome, the same fear you are experiencing.
2. Take baby steps. Don’t overwhelm yourself with the big picture. Do what is possible for today. Rome wasn’t built in one day and you won’t overcome every feeling of fear in one day. Art making is a journey, not a destination.
3. Feel the fear and do it any way. The idea is allow yourself to feel the uncomfortable feeling, not avoid it. (Like Nike, Just Do It.)
G is for Grief.
I did not find out my father died in the early morning of July 5th until sunset. I remember that day very clearly. I was in college and finally had a break between quarters. I had always been creative in high school, but life got crazy and my creative practice got away from me. As the break began, I treated myself to a brand new sketch pad, which was quite a luxury at the time. I spent July 5th on a blanket, in a courtyard of freshly cut grass, drawing under the sun. I had no particular aim other than to re-acquaint myself with pencil and paper. I remember being glad to be drawing on that lazy and pleasant day before the news broke. I found that sketchpad several years later. Only the first few pages bore any creative fruit; the rest was empty.
Had I known then what I know now I might have spent some time doing collages of my father’s life and our relationship. Or, I might have painted abstractions of the feelings I was having: spikes of sadness and anger and back again in what seemed like hot flashes. Maybe I would have written a rant. Maybe a haiku.
Each person must deal with their own grief in their own way and in their own time. Luckily, creativity can be a healing part of the process.
H is for Hangover.
For some, the weekend is our only opportunity to move our projects forward. We start the weekend with good intentions, planning to put genuine time and effort into our creative works on Saturday and Sunday. This is certainly the case for me. My best creative sprints are run on the weekends.
Which brings me to today’s creativity crusher. A hangover. It’s Friday night, you just got paid, and, well, you know the rest. Now, before you click away, don’t worry, I’m not sending to you a recovery program. We’ve all imbibed just a smidge too much. Me too.
I’m only suggesting two things:
1. There is more than one type of hangover. There’s the obvious one from too much alcohol. There’s also the sluggish feeling from over eating, over extending your finances, over committing your time, staying up too late, as well as emotional hangovers.
2. To beat a hangover, you have to head it off at the pass. To do that, you must commit to taking care of yourself. Limit the things (and people) that make you feel yucky later. You may have to experiment a little to get the right dose, but if you’re not waking up feeling revved and ready to create, give yourself the gift of saying no (or, no more for now.)
I is for The Inner Voice can be critical, self demeaning and stop you cold in your tracks. “Who do you think you are?” it asks. “That sucks,” it chides. If you happen to have an unhelpful Inner Voice, you should consider talking back. Yep, this is your opportunity to be rude and sarcastic without offending anyone – except your inner voice, of course.
J is for Joint Pain or other pain can stop an artist cold. If you have ongoing pain issues, follow the recommendations of your doctors and consider a pain specialist. An occupational therapist can prescribe a regime specific to your artistic endeavors that may include exercise, diet, and modifying your workspace and art tools.
If your pain is temporary, do other art tasks while you wait for your pain to subside. Perhaps you shouldn’t life a 50 lb slab of clay right now, but you could sketch out some ideas in your art journal while you recuperate.
K is for Kids. Many artists are parents. If you are a parent, you know that parenting is full-time work (although joyful work) that requires your constant attention. Some parents steal creative time while young children are napping or while older children are out with friends. Some parents bring their creative projects with them while they watch children’s lessons. Others are able to incorporate their children into their creative time by making a game of it or giving children their own creative project. Older children can be given tasks to complete, like organizing your supplies or handling small piecework.
L is for Laziness.
This is self explanatory, but basically, the work of creating doesn’t get done from a horizontal position. While it is important to rest and restore, most of us know when we’re crossing the line into Lazy.
M is for Materials, or lack thereof. It seems simple, but if you don’t have the materials you’d like, you must use what’s around you. Go to the thrift store, cut up an old shirt, pick through the garbage if you must. Even in a down economy, we are consumer based. Somewhere near you someone is throwing away something you can use.
N is for No. No time, no money, no energy, no ideas. The list goes on and on. When you get this blocked, stop and look over this list. Tackle one “no” at a time, trying something new each time.
O is for Over-thinking. Marathoners weren’t born with the ability to run long distances. First they crawled, then a step, then a walk, and so on. Next time you’re overwhelmed, stop, break it down into a small step you can take today. Leave tomorrow for tomorrow.
P is for Procrastination. Even the most unique idea is useless in the hands of a procrastinator. The Procrastinator asks, “Why do today what can be put off until tomorrow?” The Creative answers, “Because tomorrow never comes. We are stuck in today.”
Q is for Quitting. Quitting is for quitters.
R is for Reliving the Past. Once you solved the problem that has been holding you back, let it go.
S is for Spouse. Even the best spouse needs some attention. Don’t forget to put down your brushes long enough to say hello. Spend some time. Your relationship will be better. Your studio time will be better.
T is for Time. One of the common creative killers I hear about is lack of time. We try to do it all. We work, we have families, we have lives. There will never be enough time to do it all. Review your ideas, and isolate the best one. And then remember, time will not be given to you – you must take it.
U is for Undermining yourself. There are many ways of undermining your goals. Setting goals that are impossible to achieve, expecting too much at once and self sabotage all come to mind.
V is for Venue, or lack thereof. If you don’t have the studio you want, work in the studio you have. If you don’t have a studio, work at the kitchen table, or the park picnic table, or the library. It’s not where you are, it’s what you do.
W is for Work. Many artists keep a day job to pay the bills. If your schedule is like mine, it goes something like this: wake up, get dressed, go to work, work all day, commute home, eat dinner, work out (if I get to it.) spend time with family, and work on one of my creative projects (if I get to it.). My daytime work life takes up the lion’s share of my schedule.
If possible, rearrange your work schedule for more creative time. In my case, I volunteered to work four nine-hour days (still full time) so that I can have one free creative day a week. You might try condensing your lunch hour or going in earlier to carve out designated creative time.
X is for X-box and other video games are time drainers. Although entertaining, this is time that can be used to pursue your creative endeavors. In the time it takes to play one x-box game, you could: outline a chapter of your book, write a journal entry, sketch out an idea for a painting or read a motivational quote.
Y is for You Tube and other online media can gobble up and entire evening before you even look at a clock. When you go online, set a time limit. Visit your favorite sites for inspiration and research for a few minutes, and turn it off when the buzzer rings. If you must visit You Tube, watch a tutorial and learn a skill you can incorporate into your creative pursuits!
Z is for Your workspace looks like a Zoo. Take the time to take care of your tools and your studio time will be more productive.
