I’ve been thinking a whole lot about these questions recently. While moving out of one studio and into another I found myself in an unexpected time being uprooted without a space nor focus and I had the chance to discover what are the essential elements of a space when it comes to my creative process.
My perspective for a long time has been that if a person really wants to make something, or do something then they will and space isn’t really the dealbreaker. Yes without a space of some kind it can be nearly impossible to make art, but I’ve also known that there are many ways to be creative in all kinds of nomadic, transitory, less than ideal circumstances. I’ve sculpted on my tiny kitchen floor in a studio apartment, driven wet clay pieces across town to borrow other people’s kilns and worked in group settings where I had no space of my own, but last summer shed new light on this subject and taught me that it’s not always so black and white an issue.
In July I moved away from a sunny 1000 SF ceramics studio outfitted with 4 kilns, a RAM press, well stocked shelves of materials, and much more. I had planned to move across the country to a place that was smaller and a lot less beautiful, but also a lot more affordable so it would serve just fine.
We arrived at our destination after a 2 week and 3800 mile drive across the U.S. with cleared minds, restored spirits, and a hopeful outlook with which to start our new lives. Unfortunately we quickly realized there were some problems with the home we had planned for. The landlords hadn’t moved out and had changed what was supposed to be our home/studio into a shared arrangement (with them) and were unwilling to honor our previous agreement/lease.
Lucy was a trooper during this time of constant change
We tried to compromise but found ourselves feeling like we were living under scrutiny and when the significant rodent problem revealed itself, we knew we had to find a different place asap. At this point we still had a positive attitude and a sense of humor despite the trying circumstances which included waking up one night when a large mouse or small rat jumped from Rob’s head to mine!
Now in scramble mode we spent 2 weeks scouring the Hudson Valley, western Connecticut and parts of Long Island for a place in our price range. We quickly moved out (again), put everything in storage and couch surfed for 6 weeks until mid Sept when our new place was available.
This 8 weeks without a home (and studio) created a series of circumstances we really couldn’t have imagined happening. It was stressful on many levels, and the financial repercussions were part of it. We weren’t able to produce income during this time and with the expense of moving again, our savings that was supposed to help us get started in our new lives was quickly draining away.
It wasn't a completely terrible time though and while hopping from home to home we had lots of fun times and visits with friends and family but this was freckled with the frustrating experience of not being about to accomplish much.
celebrating my birthday with my oldest and dearest friend and her lovable daughters
Honestly I imagined myself at least being able to do something like write for Steemit about the various travels, changes, and happenings in my life or draw in my sketch book. While I knew this wouldn’t make up for lost income, it would at least keep my creativity flowing which is very important for my well-being.
It didn’t work out that way though. There was something about the uprooting of 31 years in the west, then having to move again and the reality of not being able to land anywhere for such a long time that really unsettled my spirit.
What I didn’t count on was my need for a kind of peace or headspace, what I now call “bandwidth”. I had a lot of fits and starts, a lot of half written ideas and sketches but it was impossible for me to collect myself in the way that I need to develop coherent content. Bandwidth turns out - for me at least - to be the most important factor in whether I can apply myself creatively.
I can write, innovate, think creatively in a car, at my sister’s dining room table, in my friend’s backyard, in a coffeeshop or nearly anywhere, but I must able to carve out some metaphorical room for myself. I must feel something along the lines of support, freedom, and must own my mind fully during whatever time I’m using even if it’s only 15 minutes. This bandwidth enables me to gather and apply myself towards something. If I’m too worried I’m intruding on someone’s space, or I feel observed or I am not at ease for any reason, I just can’t go there regardless of how much I might want to.
A variety of situations can be workable, but the balance unfortunately can be easily upset for me. Thankfully we found a good place to land and I now have a some space which I can call my own and am once again in my creative flow. I’ll show and tell about it in my next post.
I’m very curious to hear about this subject from your perspective. What are your experiences with being able to create on the road? When does it work, when doesn’t it? what are the magical ingredients in your recipe for creative flow?
I fell in love with Vermont!
aka Ruth Frances Greenberg, I am a ceramic artist who makes mosaics, tile and all things clay from my home studio in rural Connecticut. I’m here on Steemit to offer my support and friendship to creatives, individuals and projects that I value and want to see more of in the world. The decentralized economy and blockchain technology are promising and I am very pleased to be a part of this exciting new revolution.
Your support means the world to me and enables me to pursue my life and creativity with more freedom and opportunity, thank you! You can learn more about me and my work at www.ruthfrancesgreenberg.com
Blessed and most successful are those who are able to zone out into creativity to get a project done. Some have the perfect working space and still can't create. I think it simmers down to a Divine Energy that thwarts all distractions, seen and unseen.
Peace.
nicely said @spiritualmatters :-))
Many thanks @natureofbeing....
Peace.
Wow, thats some crazy stuff, I cant imagine waking to a rat. I once did with a centipede and I still remember it :S
I think mental health and peace is more important than space. Your brain needs a lot of energy to be creative. Doing repetitive, manual work is easier when tired.
Also personally I need silence or relative silence for best concentration, otherwise I need music.
I'm sorry you went through that, I'm glad to hear you finally found a place ^^ Best of luck with it and for your future creative work there :D
thanks @kristyglas, you bring up an important element - sound or lack of it! Very important! For creative work I need quiet too, or ambient sound can be fine but relative quiet is best and not to be disturbed. Mental health, peace - yes yes yes, well said.
Thanks for your contribution to the conversation!!
And bugs, rodents....not fun to wake up to!! I actually woke up screaming with bad dreams of rodents on me for several nights after the real thing LOL!!
How important is a work space? What kind of space do we need to create?
I think it's very important, actually i mostly create from my place but i do not feel my creative od when i have people around me, so i really need my own space and also if the table where i work is full of things, it must be empty and cleane, i can not be focused or concentrated if i see random objects close to me, my boyfriend think this is weird i think this is just a part of a creation project ^^ I also love to create with music out loud, music it's ok but people voices not XD
thanks for your comment @noemilunastorta, empty, clean makes a lot of sense to me and not weird at all actually! Out loud music - i know of so many people who create with loud music and I marvel at it! Sometimes I can, but mostly not. And voices, I understand!
wow you have been on a journey, it is a huge thing to move from your home, but then to get to you new home to find it is not as agreed and infested, not nice. But sometimes life takes us on these journeys as there is always a lesson to be learnt.
I hear you about bandwidth, I live in a very small space with my kids and find it really hard to get the time to be creative, I need to make a huge effort to set aside time or it just doesnot happen and as you said you need that time before hand to prepare yourself, to meditate and be in the right frame of mind. When I am able to do that then my creativity flows, otherwise I find it difficult for sure.
I have set up a women's co op in my area to help other single moms create together as on our own it is so difficult, it is so hard to prioritize time when you have little ones. So far we meet weekly and it has mostly been to discuss what we wish to achieve but the aim is to create an income together.
Hi @trucklife-family! Thanks for your comment, what a great idea to set up a women's co op for other single moms, I know this creative "space/bandwidth" conundrum can be especially challenging with little ones around since their needs understandably come first. Good for you for carving out the headspace as you are able! It seems like you do very well with it judging from your content here on steemit - great work!
This is SO en pointe to my own current life, as you know. For me, though, I took some suitcases and realized I'd just need to buy a few things when we found a house and make do with whatever space we could manage.
Having found a house we all love (my travel companions who are lucky enough to stay in our house year round, while I will only be here half the year) and truly loving my little bit of the house, it is definitely smaller than what I have back in my New England house. BUT, my move to digital artwork began on one of my UK trips when I could not find a good spot in London for a studio.
I am a member of the London Library and it is such a great place to 'be' when I'm in the city that I thought, 'what if my studio was my computer' and thus here I am.
With that I have now happily taken up my studio space in a room off my bedroom the room is probably 10 x 8 but I found a sweet little antique desk a comfy chair and a side table. This way I can use my various drawing computers and still have room for a small pop up easel and a small collectoin of some paints and pens.
As far as drawing/writing AS we are travelling I have been trying my darndest but also feeling horrible that I can't get to everyone so quickly as I did before.
I try to steal out sections of days to work on art and try to photo and document some of what I am doing, but I still have not shared the rest of my garden or house yet, just haven't had time.
I realize your studio needs are MUCH greater than mine could ever be, as you can't make your ceramics digital, so I truly feel for you.
I hope you are settling in and I do look forward to chatting and combining our creative thoughts if we ever get settled down and are in the same country! :)
Keep on creating!
Sounds like you're doing so well with your new nomadic life! I'm loving your posts and again am inspired by your productivity. Give yourself a break with what you don't find time for....this place and time is special and important, enjoy it as makes the most sense in the moment!
It is so true. I am trying to make sure I keep at least a 'grip' on a 'sort of ' artists schedule as if I let slip too much, I know how easy it is to just let days turn into months...
I'm excited to get the house set up more so I can focus on part of the day art part of the day play tourist, but now we've so much other things like buying furniture, learning bus schedules signing up for this or that (all that houses entail, as you well know with your Big move)!
It is all exciting as well, non?!
Agreed, very exciting and it's very wise of you to try to maintain some kind of schedule so life doesn't slip away without attention to the important things! Enjoy Donna and happy thanksgiving!
Oh gosh!!! I almost scream out loud when I read this part "a large mouse or small rat jumped from Rob’s head to mine!"
I totally understand finding difficulty in being creative while our mind is not at peace with the surrounding or even if there are some problems that need tending. That peace of mind is important, not only for creativity, but also for our health.
The feeling of the rat-mouse on my skin haunted me for a few nights although it's a funny story now!!
Peace of mind is key isn't it?!! And you're right....also for health.
Oh dear, the adventures you've had! To plan your life, give up your home and studio, and to arrive at a place where you simply weren't really 'welcome' anymore...
I totally recognize the thoughts about 'space'. I need a space but can't really create it at home and can't really afford it elsewhere. Still I know I need it since some creative urges are bubbling but I can't really let them free.
Even with creativity that I don't need a space for, like my photography, sometimes it works in one place and it doesn't in the other. I can't force inspiration, and some spaces I feel more observed as you mention, some cities house people that are aware of a camera easily, and I'm not able to produce.
So yes - I think space is a huge influence on creativity, and we need a space to be our best selves as artists.
Curious to hear about the current space you occupy creatively <3
thanks for your comment @soyrosa! I had no idea you didn't have a creative space! You work miracles without it :-)
So true that inspiration can't be forced and different mediums need different kinds of spaces and headspaces!!
Interestingly the only creative work I succeeded with during this time was photography. I took some of my best photos of the places we visited, I'll post them soon.
Oh wow! sorry to hear about the living arrangements. I trust the place that you eventually found is better in the long run. Hope all is good now :)
Hi Ben!! Thanks, what a freaking roller coaster it was :-). When I was in Pdx in August it was right in the middle of this and it was such a welcome break.
And yes it's true - the current place is indeed much better in the long run. Things are going much better and very well in many ways! Hoping to visit in Feb...maybe a steemit meet-up???
Glad to hear!
Yes! I would love to get together when you visit. :)
I'm so glad you have space now. My own creative and physical balance gets too easily upset, and when I don't have a clear space (my kids are constantly making a mess and sometimes I loose it) it can be difficult to let things flow. Yes, creativity can hit at any moment, and writing is the easiest for me to do anywhere, but if I'm inwardly irritated it can be hard to hear the muses clearly. Space is key. Lovely to read your thoughts on this subject here.
Hello @katrina-ariel, thanks for sharing your experiences, they are quite validating!!
@natureofbeing, Space is really important aspect in this Material World for sure but in my opinion there is no direct relationship between Space and Creativity and that is because, think this way, may be whatever creative aspects particular person holds, that is inspired by that particular situation and space and may be better or worst space would fail to born that creativity. So i believe that no matter what our individual thoughts be, wherever we are and whatever creativity we have, it's not just like that way, for everything there is an reason and creativity is more about inner world.
Wishing you an great day and stay blessed. 🙂
Thanks for your insights @chireerocks! I agree that creativity is certainly mostly about our inner worlds..for sure. But we do seem to need certain circumstances for content to go from our inner world to the outer world in some kind of concrete (or digital) form.
Welcome and thank you so much for the kind and insightful response. Have a great time ahead. 🙂
Reading your post brought back a lot of memories of when I experienced times of unrest and less than perfect circumstances to be creative.
And yes, it is not necessarily the physical space, that is important. Although it does help me tremendously, that I finally have found a place, where can work in peace without worrying about cleaning off my stuff to cook on the kitchen counter or a tiny dining table...
Sometimes it seems difficult to focus, when too much paperwork or stuff around the house want my attention, but once I get into my flow, it can pretty much be anywhere... in the end its more an issue of "convenience" maybe.