As of late, my creativity has been somewhere near rock bottom.
Every now and then I pass by my "artspace," look at it, maybe even circle it a couple of times, sit down and look at things... and no feeling at all comes to me.
So I walk away.
Last thing I completed was the stone pictured here, which was a birthday gift for our friend Wil, who's celebrating this coming weekend. At least I got that done, and it's on its way to him, it Atlanta.
Gift for a friend. Turned out FAIRLY well, but is an example of a stone that turned out to not be QUITE as smooth as I had hoped... hence a few small "blobby" spots.
Artists and Impostor Syndrome
One of the things I was thinking about today is how I periodically struggle with Impostor Syndrome when it comes to my creative endeavors.
It happened again the other day when I was looking at one of the NFT sites, and I realized that I don't do anything that even remotely resembles that sort of work.
The feeling only lasted a fairly short while, but it's a very real thing, and I have met a number of artists who have had similar experiences.
I keep waiting for someone to realize that what I do is "very pretty, but it's not really ART, is it?"
It's usually not too difficult for me to move past it... I think because I see what I do partially as a meditation and mental wellness activity. In addition, I was in the art business for many years, and saw so many diverse forms of expression along the way.
Looking at the NFT site was actually helpful because it seemed like a song of one note in many ways... 456,112 different takes on morphing twisted and bleeding (often human) forms in psychedelic colors. Seriously? There's more to art than expressing pain and torment!
The "tormented artist" is such a cliché!
"Selective" Creativity?
Interestingly enough, I have been doing a lot of creative writing lately... and that particular aspect of creativity has been flowing quite freely. Makes me wonder whether creativity can be a "selective" thing... and even whether writing and painting require the use of different parts of the brain?
Not gonna lose sleep over it, however! I just have a strong natural curiosity about the ways the creative process works.
Regardless, I hope the creative spark comes back again in the not too distant future, as we are now starting to get more applications to outdoor arts and crafts events for this summer and fall. Meaning that the "Covid embargo" on such things — which totally killed sales in 2020 — appears to be slowly lifting.
And that's a good thing!
In the meantime, I suppose I can write about art, if I can't actually make it! IF it's even art, that is... (yes, I'm being facetious!)
Thanks for reading, and till the next!
Because I am trying to make some semblance of income — a part time living, even — I now add this footer to all my posts, in the hope that someone, somewhere, might decide to take a further look at my work, and perhaps consider supporting independent art.
Thank you, in advance, for your consideration and support!
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2021.04.07 AS-TXT-053/019
It is an interesting read on impostor syndrome and selective creative. When you discuss it with personal experience, it became relatable to us readers.
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I love your stones and still cherish mine that I was lucky enough to win on an auction on that other blockchain way back when. :) But I know what you mean. For most of my life, I didn't paint, because I couldn't paint realistically, and so I thought, well, if I can't Renaissance Master or Bob Ross it or something, then I suck. It was only when I let go of that idea and started doing it for spiritual/emotional reasons and just for fun, that I started to enjoy painting. I paint abstractly and symbolically, and I really like some of my paintings now. :)