Dear Artist: 3 notes for Refocusing Your Art Practice in 2021 + GUIDESHEETS
2021 is will not be total "TABULA RASA" (a clean slate) - since 2020 has left remnants and changes that will be changing humanity as we know it.
With the new year comes a chance to press the "reset" button mentally and to review the year that has passed.
2020 has been a mix of extreme ups and downs, and I would like to believe collectively for the whole world. What mattered truly was to survive the darkest days that we didn't know was coming for us.
Also, I'm writing this as I am experiencing period migraine and anxiety-induced headaches caused by quarantine stress because of the COVID situation. I’ve also processed death of a loved one, a low, and getting one of my dream clients/features this week, a high —- which happened both on the same day, a week ago.
Right now, there is nowhere to go but in the reality of forced house arrest for safety and also online.
I THINK RIGHT NOW, WHEN WE GO INTO THE INTERWEB AND CONSUME A VARIETY OF STIMULI --- IT CAN BE A MIX OF REPLENISHING INSPIRATION AND DRAINING EVENTS - WHAT SOOTHES US AFTER WE FACE THOSE?
I want to think of a HOME - always looking into a physical space (environment), community (people), and mental space (mindset) that you and I can call my safety and sanctuary to save us from (daily and time-to-time) insanity.
With a lot that is happening right now, let's strive to protect our own spaces and time dedicated to things that replenish us.
I've been speaking with friends and colleagues who are into creation --- as a trade, hobby, and exploration, there has been a common undertone of fear.
It might be that a lot of us are tired - experiencing large amounts of information and stimuli that distract us from what we're doing at this moment in real life—and having less physical interactions? It just got crazier.
As I look back to the past year, I wrote some mental notes that were helpful to me (and hopefully, will serve as a reminder to you too) on how to refocus this year:
- To decide to keep non-negotiable things to do for yourself (as a human) before anything else
It's easy to forget to not think about yourself when you need the full 24 hours to work "to feel accomplished."
This year, I am proud to say I have unlearned habits from previous 2019 and back, especially setting the bar high for myself on SHOWING UP to my BASIC NEEDS.
For the past year, I experimented with activities. I rated what works for me - and what I figured is that meditation for at least 15 minutes after waking up, cleaning my room and fixing my bed, and writing three pages of non-stop consciousness worked for me.
I specifically love the three pages of consciousness (on my dollar store notebook) since I would like to visualize that the "gunk" inside the "pores" of my brain becomes drained, and I automatically feel better - records my dreams if I remember them too. That's where I get the most bizarre ideas, lol.
THOSE are my non-negotiables - even if I am not feeling well and feel burnout, those three things make me think automatically better
here is my ugly but year-long relationship with this process done on dollar store notebooks
I figured the more impermanent the idea of cheap notebooks is, the better for me to go crazy on the pages.
My stack of dollar store notebooks (for daily to-dos), index cards for workout notes + quarterly rough plan, and my plain notebook for quick design ideas.
These are the physical landing pages of my ideas.
Rough and ugly.
GO FIGURE:
Q: What are the non-negotiables that automatically make you feel better?
It doesn't need to be grand. It can be as simple as making a specific coffee at one particular hour of the day.
The important thing is being intentional in terms of routine/spending your time.
- To have an "antidote" list if you're feeling weird.
Speaking of "feeling better," sometimes, if I do feel a certain way, I process my emotions through activities that complement/soothe anxious thoughts regarding the "weird feeling."
I just noticed I always fell into similar places where I could never track how much I did. I heard from my favorite podcast - CREATIVE PEP TALK from Andy J Pizza is that we need to ready our medicine - kind of like a stand-by antidote - I like to call it FIRST AID KIT ❣️🦋❣️
Here is my list:
As you can see, I have an idea or two how to process what I’m feeling. This way, I do train my focus and avoid being “stuck” in a thought or feeling.
GO FIGURE:
Q: are your antidotes for weirdness? What’s your first aid kit?
List your ANTIDOTE on this printable activity sheet for every familiar feeling you have. Hopefully, this will give you the chance to "process" your feelings more by "doing" rather than avoiding to process the emotions.
+++ maybe include your non-negotiables from Note 1 too ;)
- To remind yourself, it's okay to be content with what you have right now and enjoy it - we don't always need to "improve."
I knew what SEED which was the culprit of my art block last 2017? 2018?.
Damn, I should have figured it out sooner, but here we are writing this in 2021.
It was an unrealistic idea of IMPROVEMENT. I was more scatterbrained back then, and I would try to find a new medium after getting bored WITHOUT practicing what I was a master (or I thought I was) at, which was portraits --- I remember that time, I was delving into Collage. Still, I did not practice drawing portraits that brought me joy and initially what I was working on during the previous years.
WHAT HAPPENED? I got into this spiraling thought that newness was always a good thing. I realized that one should be clear on what season you are --- MASTERING or EXPLORING - you can have both to straddle and hopefully transfer your confidence to what you are exploring.
I always thought that more intricate and more skillful/more skills you knew make you a better/influential artist, which I thought also equaled to more happiness.
NOPE.
You can look into VAN GOGH as an example - his work was not celebrated in his lifetime and only became "sought" by the "people" from 1900 onwards.
And his most famous painting until today is not the most PHOTO REALISTIC (which can be considered one of the hardest to execute) but the ones made later in his lifetime. He only sold one painting during his lifetime, "The Red Vineyard" for the price of 400 francs - only seven months before his death.
GO FIGURE:
Where are you right now in your process?
Determine and list the attributes - shapes, colors, lines, subjects/topics, mediums you have dominion over, and authentic to you.
What are your collection of favorite photos, images, books, art, and more?
What FEELING are they delivering, and HOW did they provide it that the message went thru you?
List those attributes. Those things are probably something you want to try to intertwine with your current work. Again, NO RUSH.
What are you rushing for?
Please enjoy your art; if that is your personal safe space.
Save the rest of your refining thoughts for final drafts.
Make art; the world is burning anyway.
Keep creating; stay safe.
Not saying things will get better soon, but they will at one point.
Download the free template worksheets here:
Hi there. My name is Clarisse.
✨This is my online space all about creative practice ✍️ process 💌 & my life.
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