The Art of “Just Showing Up” Part 1…

Kim and her 4th John Deere used in the horse pastures that are now flowering after years of horse showing with her younger daughter.

I ran across a quote from an artist that I did not recognize but what he said resonated with me and, yes, I do consider myself an “emerging artist”…

“Inspiration is for amateurs, the rest of us just show up and get to work.” Chuck Close

What I was drawn to was “the rest of us just show up and get to work.”

I have to ask; Do you ever feel that you aren’t a good artist if you don’t feel inspired? I have thought that part of my job description of being an artist is that I must, pretty much, stay inspired. A fresh idea, a new plan, a different direction consistently presenting itself while I am in my studio, is what I have thought is supposed to happen. When I peruse instagram, I find myself thinking that every artist is creative “but” me and I sometimes think that they are also painting in those pretty dresses on a daily basis!

When I looked up “inspired” (just on @google) the first definition i saw was this one…

”of extraordinary quality, as if arising from some external creative impulse”.

Now to me, that definition in itself is rather intimidating if I do not continuously feel particularly extraordinary, or if an “impulse” is NOT rising up in my heart!

Sometimes inspiration does not present itself and common sense says that must be pretty much true for all creatives. Hopefully that does not happen often but to say it does not occur at all is a bit inconceivable. So what is the best way to approach this lack of inspiration?

This is where I think I see a lot of common sense especially in the latter part of the quote by Chuck Close…

“the rest of us just show up and get to work.”

So here are a few thoughts I have had. I hope that at least one of them will resonate with YOU as well regardless of whether you are a left brain or right brain in your field of work or the passion you pursue.

There will be days when you indeed see no inspiration. You may be overworked, lethargic from being sick, you may have promised too much, signed up for too much, experienced personal problems, you may not have been taking care of yourself or it has rained with no sunshine for two weeks…it could be anything that has depleted your enthusiasm but regardless, you just don’t feel it.

If it is a matter of health and you know it, then you have to take a break and rest. Everyone needs a vacation or a break of some sort and if you are exhausted, inspiration probably is not on the day’s agenda. If you are an artist on instagram, you have seen comments made by successful/talented artists about taking a break, going on vacation, even “disappearing” for a few days. They know that to continue to do work at their level, rest and rebooting is necessary. This is not giving up or being weak or a sign of a lack of talent.This is your body saying that you need a real and needed break. To that end, be good to yourself and do it. When you take your break, whatever that looks like, do some activities you enjoy. That might be reading, napping, and hopefully it also means getting outside in the sunshine! I find that fresh air, walking in the sunshine, talking to a friend while sitting in your garden goes a long way. Listening to music or a fun podcast that you like is calming. I like to knit but haven’t been doing it for a few years. It came to my mind that I wanted to do just that in the next week. I actually have a feeling that perhaps I am being drawn to divert some of my attention to another creative endeavor that is pretty and a bit mindless. You know what you like to do…so make a list to take care of yourself and rest.

Another step that you might consider to get back on track is to clean up, straighten up, rearrange your studio, work space whatever that means. Throw out old or used up supplies, items that clutter your mind just because you see them, whatever it is that catches your eye and has always made you feel a lack of peace, or irritation or some kind of anxiety. For me, that has meant a process of getting my art area in the best "hands on” set up. If your area can be cleared of things that have nothing to do with your work/passion store them, move them, get rid of them, share them. Recently I straightened up my area for a photo shoot. I can not tell you how more relaxed I felt later. Taking an inventory of my paint, getting rid of anything that distracts or is of no use to me any longer was, in the end, quite soothing!

There is a popular quote that “Art is Life”…now you need to know that is not literally true. There is a lot more to life than art or any passion. “Art is Life” infers that it is life giving, that you are most fulfilled by pursuing art. I really enjoy art and many things about it. I enjoy the process, meeting new people that like what I do, I like how it has broadened my horizons and it does make me feel like I am doing something God has led me to do in my life. But Art is not Life. There is much more like faith, family and friends…you know what I am saying. If you become “consumed” by art, your job or whatever passion you pursue, your life is unbalanced and some other area will suffer for it.

Being consumed by a passion, breathing it, living it, can tire you out to the point that it can cease to be a joy and become a ball and chain. If your art doesn’t continuously get the recognition you would like as in sales, or instagram likes, or gallery representation, etc. you might become depressed, filled with anxiety and give up. It is so important to enjoy what you are doing but give yourself boundaries to prevent burn out.

It is also important to have boundaries so that you don’t give up because you are not giving yourself ample time to grow as an artist. For those of you who are knowledgeable about the Enneagram, I scored both a 3 and an 8 equally. I know what it is like to pursue a passion hard and want success in the next 2 weeks. My first career as a 4th grade teacher and being a military brat combined with being a first child, has made it all too easy to be very driven and have high expectations for myself. Sometimes my high expectations have been unreasonable and I have had to learn to #doitfortheprocess another popular quote/hashtag. It’s important to enjoy what we do just because. Just to enjoy what the process is of our passion and then know when to put it down and rest.

Most jobs, or at least it used to be that way, are 8 to 5, Monday through Friday. The weekend comes, people refresh themselves, do family things, go to church on Sunday and then Monday comes. Built in boundaries provide rest and distance from your work, your passion. Fast forward to today and many more people due to new job descriptions, high tech opportunities, and pandemic separations are working from home or pursuing new creative passions. Many of our new creative passions are lucrative and the temptation is to work hard with “thin boundaries. I am well aware that my art can be a siren call even when it is time to go to bed. How you create the boundaries you need to “have a life’, or have a balanced life and be intentional with your family and friends is different for each of us…the important thing is that we find it.

If you pursue a creative passion that you are paid for, it is a job and bottom line, you need to show up when you are inspired and when you are not inspired. If you are inspired, which hopefully is most of the time, it is easy. If you are not inspired a few of the things I described toward the front of this blog might be helpful. In addition you might remind yourself to get with other people. My husband takes special notice when I begin to hibernate in my studio and reminds me to get with friends for lunch. I also at times love to do a give away because it reminds me that it truly isn’t just about getting but giving.

Kim Kreis graduated with a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education and taught the most delightful fourth graders in a blue collar, farming community outside Dothan, Alabama for 10 years. Following her marriage in 1986, she moved to Birmingham where she began a new career as a stay at home mom and a fine stationery entrepreneur for 25+ years. Once she and her business partner passed on their company, Sweet Pea Designs, the next step became obvious…to be an artist with a purpose…