Overcoming Creative Excuses

When I asked a number of my friends what was the number one opposition to working on their craft every day I got a variety of answers but most were related to time, space, and family. Do you relate to any of these?

Becky: Interruptions and Distractions.

We all have things that are pulling at our attention and demanding immediate action, from jobs to family to commitments. But they don’t have to dissuade you from making time for the joy of art. I have learned to squeeze a little time in for my projects even when I only have half an hour to spend. You make time if it is important enough.

Sally: Motivation!

Lupe: It’s too much trouble to pull everything out and then have to put it all away again for dinner.

Judith: When I start a clay project- I get to work extra early on it. Sometimes I just need a day off from it. Usually, I am just lazy.

My friend Lupe didn’t have a designated place to do her art and so she had the problem of pulling it out but then having to put it all away. My aunt is an avid seamstress who created artistic clothing and quilts. When she moved in with her son, she had the same problem. She didn’t feel she had the freedom to pull out her quilting without having to put it all away after a couple of hours.

I agree that’s a real problem. In my home, my dear husband and I have allowed ourselves “stations” where we can leave projects out on an ongoing basis. My station is filled with paintings, collage pieces, markers, brushes, paints, colored pencils, specialty scissors, rubber cement, charcoal pencils, erasers, and even a variety of knitting needles. As long as I don’t start to sprawl over the house, we are in agreement.

My suggestion is to find a spot you can call your own where your craft can be out and stay out. It is like anything else in life: my make time and space for what it really important to you.

Lysa: Anxiety, honestly. The feeling of 'other things are more important right now and need to be done right now' and then 'now I'm too tired to do the art’.

Laurie: The anxiety of "will it look right", "will it be the way I mean for it to be?" And then the distraction of the dog needs to go outside.

Do you let anxiety keep you from being creative? It is a real problem. Winston Churchill called it “The Power of the White.” I wrote about this in another place so I won’t repeat it here. It is sufficient to say that it is real and you are not alone. In the Power of the White story, the suggestion is just to begin, make a mark, do something to overcome it, to destroy the power of the white.

Lisa: Family commitment and the guilt of not contributing financially to the household when taking time to do my art.

Vicki: Real life gets in the way every day.

I know I’ve often felt that problem. I am taking time and funds away from the household budget to create my heart’s desire with no guarantee that it will ever sell or contribute back to the family budget. I am blessed with a husband that not only understands the love of creating but is a creative himself. We spend our retirement creating and working on our crafts to our heart’s content with no real thought of trying to sell it or make it contribute back to the budget. It is a happy extra blessing when something sells and we have more to spend on our respective crafts.

However real life does happen. I do have to stop and fix dinner. The mundane of life is a real responsibility. I have to go shopping for groceries, I have to clean the bathroom, dishes need to be washed, the bed has to be made every day. But all these things don’t have to keep me from ever creating. I just have to make the space and time for them in-between real commitments like chores. If I were independently wealthy like Mary Cassatt or Georgia O’Keeffe, I would hire maids and cooks for those things, but I’m not. I just make the time for each thing on purpose.

Like I said before, you will make time and space (and funds) for the things that are important to you. The question is then, is your creativity important to you and will your family support you in that endeavor. If you can get your family backing at least a small amount to the creative effort, they will find a happier and healthier you in return, I’m sure.

It seems to me that if art is more than a hobby to you like it is to me, you will find a way to overcome any obstacle. For me, it is my life. It is a divine spark that God put in me from the very beginning and I would dishonor Him not to use it every day.