On Showing Up to Work
This story appeared in our local paper, The Sheridan Press's arts feature in 2013, not long after I'd written it.
“I learned to produce whether I wanted to or not. It would be easy to say, 'Oh, I have writer’s block, oh, I have to wait for my muse.' I don’t. Chain that muse to your desk and get the job done.” — Barbara Kingsolver
I came across this quote on Pinterest in November 2012. At the time, I'd been letting other obligations and activities (Pinterest, Facebook, etc.) keep me out of my studio. When I'd get a free hour, instead of painting, I'd end up checking email, updating my website, "Facebooking"-anything to keep me from the work of getting out my supplies, just to put them away again when I had to go to work. Waiting for the perfect "full day in the studio" was keeping me from working toward my full potential as an artist.
Sometimes as artists, we let the fear of failure con us into procrastinating, and we find excuses to keep us from stepping into that creative zone. We wait for the right circumstances, e.g.: when there's more time; when we're retired; when the kids are grown; when the studio is built or remodeled, etc.
I thought about the quote and realized, "If painting is my 'job', I must "show up to work!' I never skipped any job I've ever held, never showed up late or shirked a duty; why would I skip out on the work I've dreamed of doing my entire life?!!! " I made a sign for my studio wall that reads (in extra large black Sharpie): "SHOW UP."
Against my initial inclinations, I "showed up" to work that very day. To prepare for a studio tour, I did a few small magpie paintings for fun, painting them all at once. I giggled with delight as they came to life with energetic strokes of bright colors. I could have found ten other "things" to do that morning, but the most fulfilling use of my time (also the most lucrative, as it turned out) was spending time in my studio with a paintbrush in hand. Plus, it put me in a frame of mind to easily attend to the other obligations of my day.
Since November I've made a habit of "showing up" to the studio quite often, and the goal of painting almost 300 "nearly daily" paintings in 2013 helped me not only improve my work ethic in the studio, it's refined my skills as an artist. I don't fuss about what to paint, as rather than "making a masterpiece," I'm painting for pleasure & practice; this takes the stress (literally & figuratively) "out of the picture."
The point: don't wait for the perfect time or idea. If we make it a priority to simply "Show Up," and create, with no expectations of grandeur or failure, blocks or muses, creative epiphanies or tragic expressions, great things begin to happen.
Create something now...for fun. For me, "showing up" has been crucial to fulfilling my life as an artist.
Sonja Caywood ©2013 www.sonjacaywood.com sonja@sonjacaywood.com
“I learned to produce whether I wanted to or not. It would be easy to say, 'Oh, I have writer’s block, oh, I have to wait for my muse.' I don’t. Chain that muse to your desk and get the job done.” — Barbara Kingsolver
I came across this quote on Pinterest in November 2012. At the time, I'd been letting other obligations and activities (Pinterest, Facebook, etc.) keep me out of my studio. When I'd get a free hour, instead of painting, I'd end up checking email, updating my website, "Facebooking"-anything to keep me from the work of getting out my supplies, just to put them away again when I had to go to work. Waiting for the perfect "full day in the studio" was keeping me from working toward my full potential as an artist.
Sometimes as artists, we let the fear of failure con us into procrastinating, and we find excuses to keep us from stepping into that creative zone. We wait for the right circumstances, e.g.: when there's more time; when we're retired; when the kids are grown; when the studio is built or remodeled, etc.
I thought about the quote and realized, "If painting is my 'job', I must "show up to work!' I never skipped any job I've ever held, never showed up late or shirked a duty; why would I skip out on the work I've dreamed of doing my entire life?!!! " I made a sign for my studio wall that reads (in extra large black Sharpie): "SHOW UP."
Against my initial inclinations, I "showed up" to work that very day. To prepare for a studio tour, I did a few small magpie paintings for fun, painting them all at once. I giggled with delight as they came to life with energetic strokes of bright colors. I could have found ten other "things" to do that morning, but the most fulfilling use of my time (also the most lucrative, as it turned out) was spending time in my studio with a paintbrush in hand. Plus, it put me in a frame of mind to easily attend to the other obligations of my day.
Since November I've made a habit of "showing up" to the studio quite often, and the goal of painting almost 300 "nearly daily" paintings in 2013 helped me not only improve my work ethic in the studio, it's refined my skills as an artist. I don't fuss about what to paint, as rather than "making a masterpiece," I'm painting for pleasure & practice; this takes the stress (literally & figuratively) "out of the picture."
The point: don't wait for the perfect time or idea. If we make it a priority to simply "Show Up," and create, with no expectations of grandeur or failure, blocks or muses, creative epiphanies or tragic expressions, great things begin to happen.
Create something now...for fun. For me, "showing up" has been crucial to fulfilling my life as an artist.
Sonja Caywood ©2013 www.sonjacaywood.com sonja@sonjacaywood.com