As an artist, I know for a fact that it's sometimes very difficult to balance, your life and your business. It's easy to devote too much time in one area, while neglecting the other. The most difficult for me is being consistent. Either I spend too much time in my studio, or not enough. If you're reading this, I'm sure you know exactly what I mean.
One thing I have learned to do is treat my craft as my job. The way that I do this is by choosing specific days and times to do my work. I usually work on Mondays, Fridays and Saturday afternoons. Of course, this is not a rigid schedule, but it really helps to keep me more disciplined and structured.
Sometimes, I have no motivation and just don't feel like making stuff; I call this my dry period.
How do I deal with the dry period??
- Since I photograph most of my creations and catalog them, I can review them for inspiration. This often sparks a new idea.
- If I really don't feel like coming up with a new design, I usually don't force it because it'll show in the work. I remember, one of my regular clients once commented: "Your work is different. You must be tired because you're not putting as much effort into your pieces." Although this comment struck a nerve, she was right!! I was exhausted and I was just producing like a factory line... My heart was not in it. So, instead of attempting something new, I make repeat pieces, or focus on cleaning my studio, working on my website and blog, get some rest and I usually bounce back and get back in the game.
- Browse creations by other artists', but always do this with respect and never copy someone's work; it's a crime in the art world. An artist works hard to come up with something new, it's really not fair when someone takes that away!
I found this 2015 desk calendar which I really thought was appropriate for artisans: It's a motivational calendar which encourages artisans to make one project a day for 365 days. I thought it was cute and I wanted to share it with you on my blog.
So what are your tricks to get through the dry season, when the creative juices aren't flowing ? Please share them with us. We need all the tricks we can get...