It doesn’t make much difference whether it’s writers, visual artists or musicians, but most folks who are willing to take on creative ventures sometimes get stuck. I belong to that group. Pogo, one of my all-time favorite cartoon characters, explained one of the primary reasons for getting stuck saying, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”
There are innumerable articles about why that happens and what to do about it. For me, one of the better explanations is “Steal Like An Artist” author Austin Kleon’s succinct statement that, “Problems of output are usually problems of input.”
Recently I have been feeling stuck, which made it easy to find lots of things other than working in the studio that needed to be done first. Of course, that only made the feeling of being unproductive worse. It’s not hard to see where that leads, so I took advantage of an opportunity to gather more input by flying with my friend Ben Mayes at Williams Soaring. Conditions weren’t very good. We were barely able to stay aloft and didn’t get much further from Williams than the Sutter Buttes. But I did gather visual input.
It wasn’t clear to me what I should do with that input until I sat down to write this piece. In a epiphanous moment I realized that, for me at least, writing about the process was connected to getting past being stuck. I don’t yet have any new and exciting examples to show for making that connection, but I’m confident that before long I will. So why go to all the bother? Willie Nelson’s answer to that question is, “I think that trying to be creative has a lot to do with keeping you alive.”
Meanwhile Back in the Studio
Although productivity has not been at an all-time high, it has been greater than zero. I managed to finish the large-scale canvas based on the small mixed media study that I offered for show and tell in the last newsletter/blog. It’s 36”x36’ and looks like this –
I’ll have it on the wall at ARTHOUSE 1021 R Street for Second Saturday June 8th from 5~8:00 pm. Come take a look.
In the for what it’s worth department, I donated the 12”x12” study to the Crocker ‘Big Names, Small Art’ auction and it sold. I’m donating a large-scale (42”x54”) piece I did last year to the KVIE auction in September.
For more information on the KVIE auction click here – KVIE Art Auction
Ceramicist Stephen De Staebler said, “Artists don’t get down to work until the pain of working is exceeded by the pain of not working.” It’s beginning to hurt. So, I’ve got to go now.