27
Jan
2010
ramblin’ ramblin’ on, or Keeping up the Artistry when you’re Broke
This past week hasn’t been very noteworthy. The major theme has been finance. Witness Dani and I rearrange our budget in order to keep up student loan payments in this week’s thrilling installment of WHAT HAPPENS AFTER COLLEGE! In all seriousness, the re-budgeting has caused me to examine how much money we waste, and it isn’t pretty. I hate wastefulness, and I hate hypocrisy, so I must really hate myself because I’m a wasteful hypocrite! Time to cut back and tighten our belts.
In the past our attempts at cutting back unfortunately involved reducing the amount of money we could sink in art supplies. Thankfully I stockpiled a bunch, and I’m only unearthing more forgotten tubes of acrylic paint as we set up the studio! It can be an easy trap to fall into, and the bleakness of a bare-bones lifestyle (especially during a New England winter, the kind of setting Ethan Frome took place in) can sap creativity, so here’s a couple ways I deal with it:
1: Stay Inspired
I don’t know about you, but there are some things that just make me wanna make stuff. Reading a good book, a specific piece of music (no fooling, I often listen to one song on repeat until Danielle is ready to bash my brains in) or a scene in a movie (don’t watch the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy though - there’s getting inspired and there’s wasting time) can really get the juices flowing. The same way smells can make you hungry or a song can make you warm, the inspiring piece need not be the same media you want to make. In fact it’s better if it isn’t, or you may find yourself plagiarizing by mistake.
2: Change It Up
Since we’ve already made a change that led to less creative energy, why not push the envelope? You might take to a new media or subject matter better once you’ve stripped away the habits and patterns of your old life. Use this opportunity to play around in watercolor instead of acrylic or oil. Doodle something in a digital program if you’ve stuck to the canvas before, or try sketching on paper if you’re a purely digital creator at this point. You’ve just thrown your old rulebook out! It’s only a tragedy if you make it one.
3: Play Historian
To see where you’re going, it can help to know where you’ve been. Take a breather and pick your favorite completed work. Come up with why it’s so important to you. When you start a new piece, focus on these elements. Far from throwing out the rulebook, this method can help you turn your collected work into a narrative and cause you to see the evolution of your work with new eyes.
