I had a blog years ago where I posted every day. I also included a new image every day. While this worked great for exposure to new people it also kept me inspired to create new work constantly.
There was a philosophical purpose to my art. Just create something every day. It didn’t have to be good or great or even something I would show to anyone. It was just about the creative process and to keep my mind active in this process. Dedication does not have to mean perfection. Dedication is just about putting the time in and working on it every day.
For the past week I have felt more like my old self again. During Covid I opened my little art shop. Unfortunately a very good friend of mine was dying from a terminal illness and I had to become his caregiver. During the pandemic nursing was nearly impossible to get and the last thing he or I wanted was for him to end up in a nursing facility where he would basically die alone. So I closed my shop most of the time and took care of my friend.
This took a greater toll on my than I had thought. After he passed away I reopened the shop and I struggled to get back to normal. I thought it was other things distracting me, but I think my perspective changed and I also stopped creating just to create. I was focused on too many things that didn’t matter. When my friend passed away he wanted to leave me everything, money, property etc…. It wasn’t just for me but it was for others as well. His family thought otherwise and took most of the money and whatever else they could. My friend had a trust and thought he had made preparations for all of this but no, the family he had counted on to do the right thing did the exact opposite. And I was in the middle of this fight. This sucked the creative life right out of me.
It has been about two and a half years since his death and this is all finally settled. It wrapped up a little over a month ago and I am just now feeling back to normal. I noticed the creative flow coming back and I didn’t realize why until now. I learned something about myself. I can do a lot of things when I am stressed out. I can take care of others, I can manage a business, I can live a productive life. But I cannot create. I cannot think like an artist. I don’t even have the desire to push myself to learn more about my craft.
Last week I was reading something my friend had written. It was about how he discovered digital art and how it changed his life. This is something we had in common. We were both photographers, artists, writers and we both had an affection for mixed media art. This is what got me back on the right path.
Frustration and stress can take a lot away from you. When you find what takes it away and what makes you happy, do that as much as you can. Trust me. It is worth it. I know my artwork isn’t for everyone. But it is for me and my sanity. For all we know we only have this one life, so I’m going to continue living it the best way I know how. And yes I’ll be writing on here a lot more!
House of Positive Vibes 