I get all kinds of email and asked TONS of questions about all sorts of creative things and once in a while I will take the time to answer many of the frequently asked questions here on my blog!
Something I get asked A LOT is advice about finding and making time to create. I've got a lot of experience under my belt, under all kinds of circumstances when it comes to creating and today I am sharing some of the best tips I can give for making time in your schedule for creativity.
make time to create from Alisa Burke on Vimeo.
love what you do from Alisa Burke on Vimeo.
find small chunks of time from Alisa Burke on Vimeo.
keep those supplies on hand from Alisa Burke on Vimeo.
take an honest look at your time from Alisa Burke on Vimeo.
incorporate your art into your life from Alisa Burke on Vimeo.
Have a question you want me to answer? Feel free to leave a comment or email me alisaburke@gmail.com
To read more about my journey as an artist-
jump start a creative career- HERE
jump start a creative career- HERE
taking a leap into full time artist- HERE
coping with creative burnout- HERE
coping with failure- HERE
managing life and a creative business- HERE
the art of setting goals- HERE
the art of blogging- HERE and HERE
the things I haven't shared- HERE
stronger than I ever knew- HERE
the art of setting goals- HERE
the art of blogging- HERE and HERE
the things I haven't shared- HERE
stronger than I ever knew- HERE
Thank you for having taken the time to answer these questions in a real Alisa way.
ReplyDeleteI hear you and I second you on what you share here yet I do have one important remark:
what about the importance of focus while making art?
I used to read while I was eating and still multi-task a lot yet speaking for me when creating it's truly important for me personally to -at least try to- focus on the creation without being distracted by other things. Being or getting in that almost meditative flow is the whole point of creating for me: it makes me stop thinking too much, stop juggling to fit everything in my day schedule, stop worrying/feeling nervous, etc. etc. and makes me concentrate on what really counts. Being in the now, seeing things evolve minute by minute, listening to the sound of my pen on the paper, line by line, or seeing a colour scheme coming together on the canvas, square centimeter by square centimeter ...
Maybe it's easier for me as I threw out the TV at the age of 17 ...
You make a very good point and I totally agree that focus, peace and creating in the moment without outside "noise" is so important and I do make time for this in my current schedule. I actually have to because creativity and art is my profession and I need the quiet and focus in my day to take on all of the creative projects that I have on my plate. But as someone who spent years needing to pay the bills and juggle two day jobs, I found that there was no other way for me to be creative and grow as an artist daily if I waited until I had the "perfect" amount of quiet or down time or was free of distractions. As a new mom I also found that if I waited for 8 hours of uninterrupted time, I would be waiting for weeks and would miss out on the opportunity that comes with small moments of creating. As much as I love the peace and meditation that comes with making art, this kind of time (for me) is just not possible and I've had to learn how to find that peace and meditation in small moments, even while juggling, even with distractions. While I may spend time making art while watching tv, hanging out with my daughter, waiting for a doctors appointment or making phone calls... I am still able to focus and enjoy the process. Because at the end of the day, for me, I just want to make art and I don't care how, where or when it happens....I love the process regardless of doing it in a quiet space with lots of time or in 10 minutes in a room full or distractions! But that is what makes creativity so darn special is that we all are different and have the ability to figure out what works best for our lives! Thanks a bunch for the dialogue!
DeleteThank you sooo much for the posts above Alisa and Cococita. Yes, the things I struggle with myself are focus, distractions and peace and quiet – enough of it. I haven't had time to watch the movie clips yet but I intend to. I struggle to paint unless I have peace and quiet. I tried going to a café just recently but it was too noisy and distracting and I felt like I was at centre focus while there. You've made me realise that if I don't get used to just doing it when I can, it's never going to happen as I have a 4.5 year old as well and still have to pay the bills with my graphic design work. Yep, I have to change my mindset. I love both lots of comments as they both make total sense. OK, off to get something done. No TV around here either – except my partner (or daughter) in the background watching it. Just the occasional movie every now and then which can be inspiring within itself.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your valuable and interesting answer, Alisa! And yes, we are all different and so is the way we create.
ReplyDeleteBrig, good luck with your creative practice: you could try to make it a ritual. For me, it works, yet not always.
Both the time and the way I commit to art tend to change organically, depending on the season, amount of daylight, both the geographical place and mood I am in, etc.
One thing is for sure: on the days I don't create for whatever reason, I feel unlike the real me ...
The weird and kind of contradictory thing also is that on the days I feel super good I create a lot and on the days I feel sad, sick, unhappy or whatever, I tend to feel more resistance as I want my art to be a happy act. Yet when I show the courage and bravery on such 'dark' days to pick up the pencil, both my sense and state of being immediately start to feel different.
This speaks for the theory that all of us are creative beings and that being creative is as important as sleeping, eating, exercising, ... We are all inherently creative and need this creativity to nurture our -inner- selves.
PS Brig: I go to the movies quite often and sometimes treat myself to a documentary as well, for the same reason.
Thank you so much for this blog post! I've been struggling with making time for my small Etsy shop. I love it so much and despite working both a full-time and part-time job, I'm slowly finding a good "schedule" for myself. I tend to throw myself into creating on the weekends to make up for not having time during the week, but now I'm also trying to find time to inject creating during the week as well. There are about two or three days a week where I work both jobs and go home to sleep with literally no time to really do anything else. It's those other days that I have to squeeze in some time to create. It's a struggle, but like you said if you're passionate about something, you'll make time for it.
ReplyDelete