Artists Passion

NaNoWriMo crashed and burned for me this year. While I typed out a few of my best writing scenes, they were few and far between. It’s too bad I don’t have a version of this graphic on fire or in ashes; that’s how bad it got this year.

Sometimes creativity is like slogging through quicksand. We can’t get out of the hole we’re in, and when we try, we just keep sinking deeper.

Sometimes anything looks better than the project we’re currently working on. Why not do the dishes? Clean out the kitty litter box? Or, even better, take a nap?

I’ve had paintings languish on an easel at my mother’s house until she’s threatened to reuse the canvas for one of her paintings. If creating is so much fun, why can it be so hard?

There’s tons of psychological mumbo-jumbo to explain why we procrastinate, but the truth is, everyone does it now and again. And, the why isn’t as important as the how. How we can climb out of the quicksand hole we’re in. Here are five hows to get you through.

1. Start a routine.
Routine is the natural enemy of procrastination. Set up a routine schedule and stick to it, even if you have to strap yourself to your chair and stare at a blank canvas/ sheet of paper. Theoretically, you’ll get so bored eventually you’ll start working. This is best implemented in a location without a lot of distractions. For example, strapped into your chair you’d have no problem trolling the internet for hours, if your laptop was in front of you.

2. Make a to-do list.
This one usually saves me. I love checking items off of a list; it makes me feel industrious. Of course, you have to write the list in order to check things off, which can lead to procrastination about the list itself.

3. Work in smaller time increments.
If you have problems getting started for an hour of work, take the time down to 30 minutes. If you’re still procrastinating at 30, move the time down to 15. Even five minutes of work is better than no minutes of work. Set a timer and keep going if inspiration hits and you can’t tear yourself away from your chair.

4. Check your muse.
Do your best ideas come to you on the can? Do they come after watching your favorite horror movie or reading your favorite book? As a writer, it can be strange thinking that part of my job was reading books, magazines, and newspapers. But, it’s true. Allow yourself to do the most important part of your job, sowing inspiration.

5. Take a break.
Procrastination might be a sign you’re burning yourself out, which is the kiss of death to whatever you’re working on. Depending on what you’re doing, take a day or two off. It might give you the rest you need to start up again, this time gung-ho and ready for action.

For me, NaNoWriMo failed this year because I had too much going on in my schedule. I was happy when I could type out an entire scene; all of my writing began to suffer because of the pressure I was under from all sides. Now that school’s winding down, I’m back at the game, better than ever.

I wonder if JM would consider me a writer’s block whiner… Or, I guess, an artist’s block whiner.

My mother has always been an artists. She’s also always been a very practical woman. She paints from photos, and her art usually consists of flowers, beach scenes, and forest creatures. There is only one time I can think of where she let her creativity have full reign. And, the result scared her. Scared her to the point that she destroyed the painting.

It started out as a tree with souls. It was really cool. Then, a kid emerged playing on a swing. Then, a figure emerged behind the kid. From there, the painting took on ominous undertones. My mother couldn’t deal with the images sprouting from her subconscious, so she killed them.

Some artists embrace their darker sides. There are horror movies, horror paintings, heavy metal and other kinds of music dealing with the scary recesses of the brain that hold the creepy crawlies of our minds. Justin Stanley creates sculptures and prints of fantastical torture, for example.

I’m all for creative license, but I can understand why darker art intimidates some of the ordinary folks out there. Some subject matter is hard to get through, and a good piece of art does have an impact on its audience. Everything we see, hear, taste, touch, or smell changes a piece of us before its through.

However, I believe every piece of art out there deserves to be put out in the public sphere, so everyone out there can make up their own minds. Even if a piece makes me uncomfortable. Then, I read The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum.

It’s based on a true story; the novel is about a 12-year-old boy whose neighbor chains a teenage girl in a bomb shelter in her basement and lets the neighbor children torture her for fun. To them, it’s a game.

The novel is a study on how ordinary people can get caught up in evil; it was very hard for me to read. I had to stop and start to get through it, and I was emotionally tired afterwards.

Does the subject matter of a group of people getting together to torture a young girl bother me? Of course. Do I believe it is immoral for a woman to allow kids to torture one another? Of course. Do I think Ketchum should be banned or censored because of the content? Not at all.

Things like this happen all of the time, and Ketchum wrote in a special section of the novel that he wrote The Girl Next Door because some people scare him, and the story of a real=life woman who also let neighborhood children torture a girl in her care was haunting him. I also think it’s important for people to let themselves feel uncomfortable every once in a while. We live in a society where we insulate ourselves from bad feelings. In safe settings, like while viewing a work of art or reading a book, bad feelings can help us grow.

They also help us see where we stand in society, and they can help us move forward in intentional living. Seeing there’s something wrong can help us find remedies. Are you worried about the environment? Take some time out of every day to actively take care of nature. Worried about all of the food recalls out there? Read up about your rights as a consume and what the government’s really allowed to do for you. And, when life gets you down, go out and create, even if it’s just for therapy. Even if the outcome disturbs you and will never see the light of day.

But, even if even you can’t stomach your work, someone may still get something positive out of it.

Just something to think about.

As I promised before, I’m going to include tips on living with passion in all aspects of life but with an emphasis on art.

Spontaneity is important not only to an artist’s life, but also the the lives of everyone on this planet. While routine and order can be calming and set us on the path to achievement, it is also important to follow the winds every once in a while. They will take us where fate decrees.

If we don’t act spontaneously every once in a while, we miss out on hidden opportunities. The muse might strike at the beach while we’re holed up in our homes in front of our computers or in a quiet coffee shop while we’re watching TV. When days begin to blend in together, it’s time to put away our ordinary things and do something a little bit crazy.

Spontaneity is also a path towards creativity. In a previous post, Anjuelle wrote:

The mind likes order, as it should. Spontaneous occurrences disrupt the routine flow of things. But creativity is about messiness, abrupt changes in the moment.

If spontaneity is so important, how can we begin to embrace it in our lives? By taking small steps.

For some, deciding at some random moment to go skydiving is a regular part of daily life, but for the rest of us, such extreme measures aren’t realistic. Embracing spontaneity can be as simple as singing along with the radio, kicking off our shoes in the park and dancing, or lying in a grassy patch of sunlight. A next step might be taking an afternoon to go to the beach or teaching a child how to whistle. With each new step, the extraordinary becomes ordinary, and we open ourselves up to new possibilities.

Watching children feed ducks might lead to a new short story or a weekend silent retreat could become a tranquil oil painting. The way we view the world changes with each new experience; it’s up to us to cultivate these experiences to make an interesting whole.

by: Liane Schmidt

by: Liane Schmidt

(The following is a poem I wrote about two months ago.)

Tonight…

Stand by me tonight

I am your fireside, purple
Golden

I am your midnight, blackened
Cold

Whisper to me
I don’t care.

Look my way
It doesn’t matter.

Take me in your arms
I can’t feel
Anything
Anymore.

by: Liane Schmidt

Looking for ways to expand your creativity? Looking for inspiration? Here are a few ideas:

1. Take a road trip. Beautiful scenery, sunsets, and time to reflect on your life and thoughts can relax and nourish the soul, allowing creative energy to flow easier.

2. For Writers/Poets: Writing exercises. Expand your writing ability by challenging yourself with writing exercises. For example, find a picture that interests you. Then write a short story about the picture, with a beginning, middle and end. This exercise teaches you that you can find things around you to help inspire your writing.

Or if you are a poet, write some poems with set parameters. For example, write a poem with the following structure:

First line: 2, 1, 2
Second line: 1, 3, 1
Etc.

The numbers indicate the number of syllables allowed for each word. An example of a poem that follows the above structure:

Tonight come, tonight
Touch waters, still.

You will be surprised what you can come up with!

3. Learn from others. Being exposed to other forms of art can definitely spark and refresh your creativity energy! Visit museums, watch indie live music performances, observe painters in action, and read and read and read!

by: Liane Schmidt

Working toward your craft whether it be writing, painting, music, etc the journey can sometimes feel too arduous. Your masterpiece might suddenly appear to be the worst thing you have ever seen if you are having an off day. In the next, it can be everything you imagined it to be.

Remind yourself that these moments will come, and—they will go.

It can get become easy to compare your work to other people’s incredible, amazing work. Stop doing this! Nobody will ever produce the same work you produce - EVER - bottom line. It’s just not possible. If you love your work, that’s all that matters. That’s all that matters.

And, for those of you who don’t know, J.K. Rowling, author of Harry Potter, used to be on welfare. She had two children and wrote Harry Potter while riding the bus. Her friends kept telling her to get a “real” job. She refused to listen to them. She told them she knew her writing would feed her family. She just knew it would.

A billion dollars later…

Don’t give up on your craft.

by: Liane Schmidt

Across your golden fields, I am kneeling
Across your tired brow, I sit, drink in the view
The beads of summertime combine.

The sky mists orange, and gray
And gray.

Come fishing in the morning
The pond is free, it twinkles and shimmers
In the light.
You can dip your toes in.

Another day for the carnival
Another year beside you.

By: Liane Schmidt

I have found a wonderful new site that I would like to share with you all!

It is called Associated Content.

Like dropping dew, off the sunset rays that blend and curve, tonight between she and him

Him, who touches her heart without another following, through the winter nights, her coat white, warm, enveloping

It is he who loves her, inside, without, and for-ever, her heart hopes, bleeds, sings, for-that-dream, that hope inside

And so, she turns toward and down quiet walkways

Melodies play two-by-two with guitars and flutes, and rain drops cry beneath canvas awnings.

She loves him.

~lms*

By: Liane Schmidt 

To be good at anything in life, one must do certain things.  A basketball player, must practice, throw free throw shots, run drills, listen to his coach, and play by the rules.  A businessman must follow office protocol, work his way up the ladder, and put in many long hours.  An artist must create everyday, must not limit her mind, and must believe in herself. 

To write and write well, there are two things that have been continually found to be helpful indispensable practices for writers.  

1. Write, write, and write!  Write everyday!  Keep a journal.  Write stream of conscious thoughts.  Do not hold back, let all your thoughts go and put them down on paper.  This will get you used to your unique “voice� and allow your words to flow naturally and easily. 

2. Read, read, and read!  It is important that if you want to improve your writing skills you must read voraciously!  You must read well written works.  You can even read poorly written works to learn from their mistakes.  But, reading, and reading often is a tool that helps sharpen your skills immeasurably.   

It is also important to take the time to give and get support from others.  Writing can be a challenging, emotionally charged endeavor, it is okay to recharge, and it is okay to lean on others for support or find ways within yourself to keep yourself moving toward your dreams.