Monsoon Season

Monsoon season is upon me and it feels as though I’m swimming in a sea of inspiration.  As an artist, I experience an obvious ebb and flow in creativity.  While the summer season often brings a fresh deluge of ideas and avenues to explore, the winter season always seems to be a bit drier.  These spurts of creativity interjected with a dry season often mirror the relationship in nature between periods of abundant rainfall and extreme dryness.  So, how do we benefit from both seasons while trying to maintain a flow of creativity in all seasons?

It’s easy to see the benefit of monsoon season.  The creative inflow of ideas brings life to our souls and energizes our artistic endeavors.  We’re able to do what we are born to do…create.  Rainfall is essential for life but much like the parched ground, when we are coming out of a dry season we can only absorb so much.  When we experience those first few drops of rain, it can be tempting to try to catch them all.  We see the glimmer of potential in each tiny raindrop but the overflow of ideas can leave us in a state of paralysis.  Instead of chasing down every little drop, try one of these ideas:

• Allow yourself to experience the downpour of ideas without striving to find the “one.”  Let your imagination be refreshed and your soul be revitalized as you encounter a new outpouring of ideas.

• As an influx of new ideas flows into your mind, grab a notebook and start an inspiration journal.  Simply observe the pictures or ideas that float into your mind and jot them down in your journal.  For now, just give each idea a one or two-word descriptive title.

• Relax and enjoy the experience but pay attention to repetition.  Does one idea or word keep coming to mind?  Focus on that one idea and write down everything that comes to your mind on that one topic.  This is a time to brainstorm, not refine.

 As artists, our creativity often feels like a superpower.  So, when that endless flow of inspiration starts to dry up, we can feel it!  Like Kryptonite draining Superman of his powers, we can feel our creativity dissipate into a dry abyss.  Welcome to the dreaded dry season.  We may not enjoy this season but remember, it’s just a season.   Your passion for art isn’t gone, it’s just hibernating for a bit.  The rains will come again, but in the meantime, here are some ways to navigate this season:

•   Creativity comes from rest, not stress.  Be intentional about creating periods of rest in your schedule.  I have just started incorporating an hour of rest into my day right after work.  It doesn’t happen every day (or even most days!) but on days when I feel like I can’t stop and rest, I benefit the most from a little downtime. 

• Remember that idea journal?  Now is the time to refine!  Pull out the journal and look at all those ideas you didn’t have time to explore before.  This is your rainy day fund for creativity!

• Create something for fun – try a new medium, create something with no intent or plan, make a mess (and enjoy it), practice mindfulness while you create, or try Intuitive Painting.  Step out of your specialty and try something new.

• Refresh your workspace - do a deep clean, organize your workspace, change the lighting, or head to Pinterest for some inspiration.

• Buy a piece of art from an artist you admire.  Treat yourself and allow someone else to bring a little beauty into your life.

Dry seasons are simply a part of the artistic process.  We don’t have to enjoy every season but we can learn to steward every season.  That way, when the rains come again we can be ready to ride the wave of inspiration!

If you have a suggestion for navigating the different seasons of creativity, drop a comment below!

*Photo by Roxxie Blackham on Unsplash

Failed Launches

As an artist, there’s nothing more exhilarating or scary than releasing a new collection.  From the initial spark of inspiration to the countless experiments and hours of hard work, all those tiny moments culminate into an instant in time when your work is released to the public.  Will they love it?  Will they hate it?  Will I sell out?  Will I sell…anything?

This last January I put my heart and soul into a new collection that brought me so much joy.  The posts leading up to my release were quite popular and I had high hopes that the release would go well.  Despite large social media gains in 2022, sales had been slow.  In fact, this Christmas season was the slowest I had experienced since starting with resin.  I hoped that this new collection would raise my spirits and jump-start my sales in the New Year.

Well, I sold nothing.  Literally nothing.  To this day, I have sold zero pieces from that collection.  It was probably the most soul-crushing experience of my art career.  Even as I typed that last sentence, my first instinct was to write art career in air quotes because I still feel like an imposter and failure.  The disappointment and feelings of defeat are just as strong now, as they were four months ago.  Tears still sprang to my eyes and I struggled to choke down that lump of fear that rose in my throat. 

True bravery requires vulnerability.  To be accepted we must risk being judged, rejected, and even ridiculed.  Every time an artist shares their work with the world, they are taking a step into the unknown.  They bare their soul, hoping that the beauty and vision that captured their imagination will capture the heart of another and leave a little imprint on the world.  Sometimes that happens and a piece is snatched up.  Other times, those pieces stay with me and bring beauty to my little broken world.

So, what should be done when our art doesn’t sell?  I think our first impulse is to jump into something new and take action of some sort.  Granted, there’s something to be said for hustle culture and striving to achieve goals and new benchmarks.  But what if, we could view these failures as an invitation instead of rejection? 

Instead of jumping into action we could enter a place of stillness and allow ourselves to simply feel what we feel.   Instead of identifying with failure and condemning ourselves, we could approach ourselves and our work with a sense of curiosity and humility.  What does my work say about me, what does it say about the world?  Who is my ideal audience and what do I want to convey to them?  How do I want them to feel when they look at my art?  How can I further develop my unique voice as an artist?  There’s always more to learn about ourselves and our art.

The same day I wrote this blog I sold a piece of art.  Not a piece from that failed launch, but a different piece.  A piece that I can only describe as kind of ugly!  Even my mom and sister thought that I needed to fix this piece.  It had been sitting in my redo pile for a few months when suddenly someone bought it and was even willing to pay $70 for international shipping.  They saw beauty and value where I saw a problem.  Maybe the biggest lesson is learning to simply wait so my art can connect with the right person at the right time.