It's interesting being an artist.
There are many romantic ideas surrounding the artist and her work.
She works because she is "inspired"…driven by a surge of creative power that only artists feel (myth). Creating something outside of herself, she is, at every moment, guided by that inspiration and knows exactly what to do, when and how. Almost as if she wasn't directing this whole thing herself, like it was the hand of some greater power……..
WRONG!
There are those moments of divine inspiration and they are grand.
But then there is the other 95% of the time, when doing what she set out to do is just her work. Hopefully, she has her vision nearby in her mind. So many distractions…mail to read (e-mail of course), walking the dogs, that pile of laundry that needs sorting, the newspaper she has delivered to her house and never has quite enough time to get to, the phone, Facebook and all, so many distractions.
Then she has her vision.
Sometimes the work takes so long she might lose sight of the final vision in her mind's eye. She just knows she has to slug through, get the day to day stuff finished, hold the pieces till the glue dries, spend what fells like endless hours tearing pieces of paper to get the just right edge.
The work.
She has to do it, even if she has lost sight of her precise vision of why. But then, the break through…things feel like they are coming together, like the close is at hand, like her idea, her inspiration is coming to life. She finishes and then she can reflect. Is this really where she intended to end? Is there more to do? What is her next step? Now she can decide.
You experience this too don't you?
It is common to many of us no matter what we do, what our chosen profession is. It is not just the inspiration (divine or otherwise)that gets us to do out work. It is also the personal dedication to getting all of this done, completed and finished. Just slugging through the tough stuff, the stuff that isn't so crystal clear all of the time. The stuff where you commit to just getting it done.
That is so much of the process. Just getting it done. Then you can breath and evaluate.
So the goal is to get to the breath…the place where you can evaluate, the place where you are finished!
Congratulations! You have done it.
Time to go out and make today your best day ever!
Michele
Comment below, Share, FB like, tweet and all that stuff!
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Very wise words!!!! I love when my inspiration surrounds me and I just am 'in the zone' at whatever I am doing. But, there are definitely days where slugging it through is no doubt the way I do just that ~ get through. I also think that too many people don't congratulate themselves when they are finished. They just go forward without that. Thanks for reminding me to do this today as I end a day of slugging through ~ I'm going to congratulate myself that I did just that!!!!!
As an artist myself (although not practicing in any medium these days), i totally relate to this. Thanks for sharing. I know when I get stumped, I invite the muse to visit. That helps with the inspiration.
I'm getting ready to go to a gig. I'll probably sing approximately 14 songs with a new jazz ensemble, musicians I've never performed with before. Am I inspired? No. I'm nervous. Was I inspired while I was practicing this week? No. I was tired, grumpy and frustrated. Except for that one day when I felt the natural flow of the song move through me, when I felt as if the song were singing me.
And was I inspired while learning these tunes? When I had to go over every phrase again and again, memorizing them, finding my own way to phrase them? Yes, I was. For awhile. But at times it was tedious.
But like you say, there is a greater vision that spurs us on. And sometimes, while we're waiting for the glue to dry or repeating the same fucking phrase over and over again hoping to finally nail it, we lose sight of that vision.
But I know I will glimpse it again, tonight, when I stand up, face my audience and sing.
Thanks for sharing this Michele!
I've found that it's the ultimate, underlying inspiration and love for what we do that helps us through those 'tedious' tasks!
Being a fellow artist I understand the slog intermittently graced with moments of pure inspiration. I love how you have written so honestly about the process, Michele.
My business is all about helping others get things done… So this post really hits home for me…because as I help others, sometimes I lose my vision and need to breath , do and evaluate. Thanks for the post Michele.