Do it every day.
The people I know who are in the best physical shape they can be, exercise daily. They do SOMETHING every day.
And the artists I know who are the most creative and most productive do their art every day. They make SOMETHING every day.
Let's pursue the exercise metaphor:
Healthy people exercise every day. Or as nearly as they can.
They mix it up. They run alternated days, and bike in between.
They vary the intensity of the activities. High-intensity workouts with something less "pounding" in betweeen. Yoga, for example, or pilates (which is strenuous but not high impact.)
They vary the type of exercise. Kickboxing some days, gym workouts on other days.
They make accomodations for the season. They run more in the more temperate seasons and swim in the winter.
They accomodate for injuries. When I couldn't kickbox after knee surgery, I walked and swam.
People who exercise regularly get creative about how to get a daily workout in. Because they've learned something important about exercise:
Once you stop, it's really, really hard to get started again.
I've had to come back after several major injuries. The first time, after a debilitating knee injury, it took almost ten years to REALLY get back in the saddle again. Going to martial arts class and not being able to do the things I used to do easily was humiliating. My pride and my frustration got in the way.
I finally found a way to ease myself back into hard workouts by joining a women's gym. After a year, I was able to try martial arts again.
When I injured myself again a few years ago, it only took me about four months to get back into a routine again. It was just as frustrating and humiliating. But I didn't give up. I learned to find SOME WAY of maintaining my routine by alternate exercise, modifying my movements, and doing extra strength work.
What's really insidious are the people who try to cajole you into "taking it easy."
"Come on!" they wheedle. "It won't hurt you to miss a day!"
Well, no. It doesn't hurt to miss a day--at first. And it's so easy for one missed day to turn into two or three missed days. Soon you're looking for excuses--"I'm really too busy to exercise today. I'll work twice as hard tomorrow!"
Skipping exercise only makes coming back that much harder.
We do the same thing with our art. With the same devastating results.
Our artistic nature is like a muscle. It needs to be exercised regularly, too.
And like our physical workouts, sometimes we need to mix it up. It's good to try new things, take a class to develop our techniques or expand our vision.
Sometimes we need to vary the intensity--alternating lighter art (short fun projects) for serious art (the stuff we pour our soul into).
Sometimes we need to compensate for overwork/injury with rest and recuperation--allowing time for our "artistic well" to refill from time to time.
Sometimes we need to warm up first, doing quick, easy tasks to warm up the right side of our brain before settling into our long "flow" work periods.
Sometimes we are fortunate enough to have leisurely, long periods of time to work on our art. Other times, we're lucky if we can grab fifteen minutes. But those fifteen minutes may be crucial to us keeping up that habit of daily work.
I've learned the hard way that this means actually touching the things that involve what you DO with your art. The days I spend putting together show applications, or doing press releases, or doing banking, or shipping orders, are RELATED to my art business. But they are not my ART. It's too easy to think you are "doing your art" when you are just taking care of business. After all, you have to MAKE art in order to have a business selling and promoting it.
Learning to say "no" to the constant interruptions and distractions from doing my art may be the most valuable lesson I learn this year.
Go to the study. And make SOMETHING. A decision about color, pulling some fabric pieces, creating a study for a larger piece. Make a bead you will use in a later project. Do one more step in that project you're working on--polishing a piece, pulling the bead selection for that new necklace, a sketch for that next quilt.
Put your hands on your art. Pick up your tools and materials. Enjoy the way they make you feel.
Do it today.
