Keeping a practice can be hard, dear reader. We are all feeling the bite of a world where the supports feel torn from underneath us, and in these uncertain times I would like to share some very certain ways in which I keep my creativity sacred.
Over the last decade I have come to experience my practice as a mantra. The repetition of making work is actually the practice of rubbing up against the boundary of self doubt, failure and mistake. The repetition is in choosing to step into and through it - coming straight back to the boundary again.
Like a bird in flight - I look towards those moments in between the flap of wings, where for a moment the body is suspended mid air, cradled by the previous action and the one to come. Can we trust that movement will happen automatically if we remove the obstacles of doubt and the gentle suspension will continue to carry us through? Dedicating your time to a practice with few knowns and many unknowns can make me feel at times, that I have forgotten how to spread my wings and trust my knowledge.
Metaphors aside, here are some ways of being that keep me inspired and improve the quality of my work.
Be radically kind to yourself
This isn’t some self love lecture! This is self love survival. An open heart is open to new ideas, possibilities and change, which are important in retaining the vitality of one’s creative practice. When I notice my inner critic (usually encouraged by a fear of failure) I gently coax her off the megaphone and remind myself that I am truly enough. Befriending yourself will allow you to find new streams of self discovery - the moment the war between you and you ends - the more life force there is to open all the windows in your house.
Break the EGG
In my opinion deliberation is only useful in micro doses for purposeful reasons and at some point one has to break the egg. Get into it - expect to make bad art, write a bad poem. Collect those mistakes as though they are worth much more than your successes - knowing what not to do is an incredibly powerful tool and guide. You can only know by breaking, that, egg.
Pay attention
This title might seem obvious but it’s quite common to assume that flow state is the end goal of a creative practice and in the process of searching for that you may miss learning how you work. I would argue that the most important flow state is a result of forming an intimacy with your expression - one which can only come from attentiveness and practice. When you don't pay attention to what you are doing, even if it’s laying a foundation that will be removed or improved upon later - there is an opportunity to miss small details like what the difference in a paintbrush might make, the tension of your hand on a surface, the specificity of what varying paint consistencies yield. Being able to know when to push and pull and not just follow a plan expands a whole new world for improvisation and plot twists.
Release the tension
We hold so much of our stress in our body - and it flows all the way into our practice. If our body is stiff - the work will be too. No matter the creative practice, I invite you to check in whilst in the process of making and flop your body around! Remember to breathe and give yourself a moment to feel grounded again. It’s a big thing to open a creative portal, the body feels it, and giving back to our bodies is the kind of sacred reciprocity we need to keep making good art.
It doesn’t matter - keep going
At the end of the day, what you are doing is a drop in the ocean of a huge world of experience. Release the weight of the world upon your shoulders (if you are anything like myself) - and just keep going.
It does matter - keep going
It also does matter, and the world needs you and your voice. Take a break when you require a convalescence, but keep going.
May the force be with you x
