How do you creative types make time for your art?
Day gigs, family and friends, social commitments, housework, errands and chores. Oh yeah, and sleeping 6-8 hours a night (God-willing.) How do we find the time and energy to make art? The kind of art that feeds our souls, appeases our sense of well-being and makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside?
I must confess, I’m a procrastinator from way back. And I tend to be a bit lazy. I’d much rather spend my Saturday lounging around, reading a good book or watching a movie than being productive. Although when I am productive, the feeling of accomplishment is darn-near euphoric. And if I ever want to make this art-filled life that I dream of happen, I certainly need to break myself out of the apathetic routine I’ve gotten myself into after all these years.
Take today for example. All I really wanted to do was go to my little studio and create. I have a couple ideas for some paintings, as well as sketchbook pages. I’d also love to get going on my inspiration boards. What is holding me back? Well, my creative space doesn’t have much, erm, space right now. Clutter is everywhere, and there’s nowhere to work. So, okay. I just need to clean up this space first, then I can unleash my creativity to my heart’s content, right? Well, no… Because before I can clean off and organize my art table and desk, I must first finish the project I started last weekend of organizing magazines, mail and bits of life’s miscellanea that is presently in various piles on my dining table. AFTER I do that, THEN I can move forward with cleaning out the studio space so that I have a place to put everything in order to begin the organizing. And now we’re talking two huge projects to tackle BEFORE I can get to what I really what to be doing, which is making stuff at my art table. This could take hours. Days even. My normal modus operandi is to just say “aw, screw it” and plop myself down in front of the telly, or pick up a good book. A vicious circle of non-productivity to be sure. No bueno.
Just curious what you all would do…Tackle the mountain of to-do’s first? Push the offending desk mess onto the floor, clear a space and start creating? Get engrossed in a “Little House on the Prairie” marathon and knock back some bonbons on the sofa? Something in between?
Or, sit down at your computer and blog about it? (Guilty.)
I suppose I should stop looking at my art time as a reward for getting all of my chores done, and instead, put it at the top of my priorities. Housework will always be there, but the muse, she is often elusive. That is what my inner-artist tells me, anyway. My inner-Martha Stewart? Notsomuch. Perhaps the two need to have some sort of karmic Jello wrestling-match to hash it all out.
I have to admit, my money’s on the artsy girl.
kimocreative 