SED Artist

Proof-less productivity

If your aim is to be an artist, and is based mainly off the production of your creations, then leaving your space behind and going travelling is not the easiest shift to make. You rely so much on the ability to shift, change and be spontaneous in a space where all of those options are already accounted for.

An artist creates a studio space for themselves for a reason, they want somewhere where their fears and ideas can coexisted freely and without judgement. In giving that up, you also give up the space in your mind allowing you to lose yourself in the process, the materials, and the mistakes. Making mistakes (creative ones) whilst travelling, becomes harder. And in becoming harder, it happens more often, but not in a way which tends to benefit the one making it. Mistakes tend to be more genuine if they happen when the artist feels at home and safe. They act as informants for future creative decisions. Your ability to do that is narrowed when you don’t have everything you need around you, when the floors and walls are not your own to spread across, and when the paper you are working on is small and self contained in a singular sketchbook. The mistakes are more like hesitations, which feel like such an effort that when you finally work up the courage to apply yourself and it goes wrong, you lose your sense of credibility as well as your ability to bounce from mistake to the other.

Sometimes though, this little blip of self doubt is what you need in order to overcome a challenge you didn’t even realise needed overcoming. By struggling with the mistake making process, you realise how important it is, and begin to value it.

Taking the dedicated time to sit on your sketchbook can also feel counter productive at times, torn between the desire and need to be present and enjoy your new environment, and having to be productive and make something worthwhile which also demonstrates your appreciation for your travels and learnings.

There’s an all too real pressure between feeling like you have to be creating, you have to be productive, and when there’s nothing to show for it, no matter how much thought you’ve put into things, then it feels pointless. For an artist, so much of said ‘production’ is going on behind the scenes. Productivity is defined in society in a way that makes it difficult for artists to prove that that is the case. Sketchbooks are like one of those loopholes that gives them a little more time and credibility in the eyes of others, because it proves the process, but most likely, the process is the most significant during its invisible stages. The piece of work tends to be the fruit of a lot of mindful labor. This is something you have to try and accept when you’re travelling, because there is so much stimulation most of the time that’s it’s hard really to find the ‘boredom’ or ‘peace of mind’ to create.

Maybe you don’t need to be as productive as you, or other people, think, as you spend time exploring and learning. It’s easy for an outside eye to judge what they cannot see, but enjoying time doing nothing and journeying through new places is far from unproductive. Most likely as you get home and find the time to sift through your months away, the things you learn, saw and thought will develop into something new and exciting which you can then find the time and space to nourish.

Sometimes, you simply have to find the time to be bored. Being bored isn’t a bad thing. It’s then that you can make space for yourself and actually listen to your mind and stimulate your own creativity. Rather than attempting to force the creativity out of yourself in times of rest or discovery, it’s a crucial thing to remember that your mind and subconscious is most likely creating most of the time anyway. That’s not an excuse however, to use over and over as a way to get out of the task you’re putting off, but it’s a little weight of your shoulders as you still develop an understanding of yourself and the world you’re living in, and try to make some sense of it all.

So, here are five tips from my completely unprofessional point of view to help you enjoy your creativity and productivity, not only in a physical sense. Remember though, I have no idea what I’m doing. So maybe these are all terrible ideas, but have simply helped in my own experience.

⁃ Spend time with yourself. Whether it’s meditating, sitting and staring, or writing and sketching, just take time to let your mind settle so that it doesn’t boil over and get in the way of other things.

⁃ Observe with curiosity. You’re travelling, so you’re going to be subjected to a lot of new stimulation. Take it all in, look at things for too long and ask too many questions (even if just to yourself). You have lots to learn from the new and different.

⁃ Have interesting conversations. Other people’s opinions will help you realise your own, and having both terrific and terrible conversations will stimulate and inspire you to great extents.

⁃ Try new things. Try to enjoy the failure and see it as another form of exploration. Observe where it takes your heart and your mind.

⁃ Ask others for their thoughts and opinions. Whether good or bad, you’re learning both about your audience and yourself.