Do you ever get asked why you create, especially if you don’t sell or otherwise do something with the finished work? Have you ever questioned your own reasons for the hard work and effort you put into learning and creating your art work?
Today, I have a very simple answer to a question that can be complex and hard to understand for those who don’t have a particular creative passion. It not only helps others understand why you do what you do, but it can help you understand what draws you to the studio as well as increase your motivation and willingness to take risks.
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CREDITS:
Cover design by Sage; Illustration by Olga Kostenko
Music by Playsound
I took off this last week, very last minute, to visit my good friend Christi Friesen. I just needed to get away, renew, destress, forget about the state of the world and find some joy which has been a little scarce of late.
So, yeah, I went to one of my happy places… Maui. It’s not that I’m not a big beach person because I’m not. They’re great but I’m not into lounging on the sand. I’m into adventuring and the islands are so much more than beaches. And with one of my besties there, and a free flight, there was no good reason not to go.
I love getting together with Christi. We have very similar minds and push each other and our ideas and we also get stupidly excited about the same things like bird song and the sound that tree leaves make in the wind and insanely good flavors and the texture of weird bark or twisted branches or random ideas of things we will never do because we can’t do it all. But even though we talk regularly, there is nothing like chatting in person plus the whole shared experience thing of adventuring in the same place with a person that really gets you. I’m lucky that Brett is also that kind of person for me but when it comes to the type of art we do, we are different, so an injection of silliness and texture gawking is occasionally necessary for me just as geeking out on animation and weird characters is for Brett. So we give each other room for that.
So yeah, I’m out in Maui with Christi… you all need to get one good friend in a cool or exotic place that you can occasionally escape to. It’s really awesome! Or maybe just live in a cool exotic place and then invite adventurous crazy creatives like, you know, me, to come visit. (laughs)… But yeah, I’m out there and she does these live chats on the weekend so I join her to chat about the podcast a little and say hi to her people, some of which are actually my people so if that’s you, I hope you got to join us on that chat. It’s just wonderful to connect with other likeminded artistic folks. So we’re chatting about the What if episode and we went off on a tanget somehow about, initially spouses and partners who want to know why we buy all the art materials we do but then it went to those people who question why we make things when we have no plans to sell them or share them or whatever. And there were some thoughts by Christi and a few others speaking to our drive that makes creating a necessity or but when it came to the art itself, that was a little hard to answer.
So I chimed in because I have thoughts, of course, but there’s one thought came to me in a way that it hasn’t quite before even though I think I say this or it’s inferred but it occurred to me that what we really need to say when people ask us why we make what we make regardless of what we do with it, is: “its for the experience.” So if someone asks you why you’re doing what you’re doing or even buying the materials that you’re buying when you don’t know what you’re going to do with either, you tell them “I’m doing this for the experience”. And it was really cool to kind of see the pause in comments and almost like a collective think was going on. Because its such a truth about making art but how often do we think of it in those terms, not just as part of why we do it, but the actual end goal purpose. Like you’ve heard me say before If you’ve been listening for a while, you don’t go on a hike to have an end product or vacation with thoughts on what your return on the investment is. You do those things—and many other things—because you enjoy them.
I bet most of the things you do that aren’t the mundanity of life stuff like housework or the gym or your bill paying job, are done without any particular outcome in mind other than to enjoy it. Even playing golf or going to a casino, which you might hope have results that favor a win of some sort, you’d still do even if you don’t expect to win anything. These things are done because they are fun, or exciting or calming or rejuvenating or fulfill your sense of curiosity or something of that sort. Does anyone ever ask another person why they go on vacation or go skiing or camping. I mean maybe someone doesn’t get the allure of a particular adventure but they don’t question that you must get something out of it. So why do people ask creatives why they create? Because isn’t it the same thing?
I talk a lot about the experience of making art. It’s a large part of why we do what we do even if we aren’t aware of it and I think many people aren’t aware. We think in terms of the resultant art work, the end product. That DOES seem to be the ultimate, common, end goal, right? But then how do you explain temporal art like sand mandalas that are destroyed once done, or Ephemeral nature art which is laying out patterns or scenes with found natural objects outside where they’re found, that is blown away with the next big gust or even things like dance or live music. Something happens, something is changed but there isn’t necessarily a finished item, a product, not in the tangible way many people think of art. There is something that is made but then it’s gone so what’s the point?
The point is that temporal work is an experience, a moment that is witnessed or heard or emotionally felt. The artist creates an experience for a viewer or a listener or maybe just themselves and then it’s gone. I mention this as a stepping stone that I hope will twist your thinking around to the idea that there is value in anything you create because you gain that experience of creating, the experience of creating something that didn’t exist before, of adding beauty and awe and reflection to the world. That experience can be more than just a PART of why you make art. It can be the core of it.
So, if people ask why you do something or what you are going to make from some art supply purchase, short-circuit the idea that there must be finished work at the end of that journey or that you have to sell it or gift it or have a place in your home that need to a bit of decor. Instead, tell them, its for the experience, the same way playing a round of golf is, or going for a country drive, or riding a rollercoaster or doing a crossword is. Think of something they do for fun and make note that their reasoning for doing what they do is just as good as your reasoning for making art. Because you enjoy it, you are happier for it, if it fulfills you, it brings you a sense of accomplishment and adds beauty and wonder to your world.
Now if you do this to yourself … you wonder why you make things, why you bother, what is the purpose of this pursuit… it’s the same thing! It’s for the experience. We don’t have to have end goals and do something with every tangible thing we produce or with anything that we create that has a sharable outcome such as poetry, music, or photos as well as art.
And sure, for some people, for some, the experience is the impetus and the cherry on top but the end result is what they live for. It doesn’t matter. The end result is an experience as well… if the art work is successful it is an experience of accomplishment and if its not, it’s a learning, educational experience. But at the end of the day and the end of the long row of days that make up our life, our experiences and the stories we derive from them are the few things that are permanent, that can’t be taken away. So, yeah, why can’t what we do with our art be just about the experience?
Some may say, well, when you don’t sell the work piles up so what do you do with all of that work? Or when it comes to our obsession with art materials, same thing. We just end up with a lot of stuff. Well, so do collectors. If they make you happy just to look at them on occasion, they serve a purpose… putting a smile on your face. That is literally what my husband does for a living… He makes things to put a smile on people’s face so if that can be worth all the bajillion dollars they go in and out of the animation industry, then isn’t it money and time well spent to make you smile as well?
Another way to look at it is that our artwork that may stick around, or even the materials that we’re not sure what to do with yet, I think they are like photos. We take tons of photos these days but often forget about them afterwards. Still, it was the experience and the ability to capture the experience even if you only look at the record on them once or twice after. There is joy in capturing the experience even if you do nothing with those records that those photos are. You saved the experience in a sharable way and you know it is safely ensconced on paper or in a digital file and you can relive those memories with the images you captured whenever you want or at some serendipitous moment when you find them again. I love going back through my photos and seeing something I forgot about or the way an image can surprise you by bringing back a memory you hadn’t thought of in a while.
The art work I keep does the same thing. Especially the really good ones. It’s almost like reliving the creative moment. And the pride and encouragement one can get from seeing, hey, I did good. I’m pretty good at this. That can do amazing things for your motivation and confidence. So keeping your art, doing pieces that are just for fun, are actually really valuable to you as an artist and for just being a happy person.
So, yeah this is a bit of a short one but I think it’s a really important viewpoint to take on, that you shouldn’t question why you’re making what you’re making and anyone around you that questions it can be made to understand why you do it and what its purpose is by simply comparing it to other things that they do for the experience. I know that can be hard because we, at least most of us, live in a culture that expects that when we make a thing, a tangible something or other, that we’re going to do something with it—sell it, gift it, or hang it in the house or whatever. But that doesn’t have to be the case. And I think if we looked at what we do with the experience of creating being not just a bonus reason for making the art but a core reason for making the art, I think it might even make it easier for a lot of us to create and even to take risks. Because if you look at what you do as an experience, like playing a game or playing cards for money or anything where there’s a win lose aspect, then you’re going to be better prepared for not always being successful, and valuing the experience and the things that you learn when you’ve taken risks that didn’t quite hit the mark.
And if you procrastinate at a fear of failure, just think about how good it feels to be at your studio table or whatever it is you work on or work at, and make your goal to go have that experience. If we spend too much time thinking about the final artwork, I think that can be overwhelming and scary for a lot of us. But if we think about how much fun it is to muck around with our materials, we’re more likely to put in more time that will gain us more skill and confidence and more often end up with work that we’re happy with.
And I’ll tell you, I deal with that a lot. I have a very high expectation of myself drilled into me by a father who thought we all had to be perfect. Don’t ever expect your kids to be perfect they should be a little messy and made lots of mistakes and be comfortable with it. Don’t do that to another person. We’re all humans and we are messy. But I battle that mindset a lot. So like right now I’m just doing 3 inch square pieces and colored pencil although I’m finding it a bit small for some of the things I want to try so on my trip out I expanded into 5 by 7 pieces of paper and I don’t know if I’ll ever show them but with the mindset that I’m doing this for me and for my skill set and that I just enjoy the Zen like feeling of getting into flow with the work, it makes it a lot easier to just go do it. Maybe there’s a little extra pressure these days because we think that we need to show people what we’re up to on social media but you don’t. But if you have this fantastic experience making art and then the result is also fantastic, sure, you probably want to share how much fun you had period the same way you share your vacation photos or your kids graduation photos or all the things that you’re happy and proud about in your life. That makes sense. Because, and truth, we, at least most of us, are probably not sharing our artwork to enrich other people’s lives, but rather to show what we’ve been up to… in other words to show what we’ve been experiencing. And then of course if you sell, you’re trying to promote your brand and get some sales and all that stuff. But I really hope that you see the value of the experience aspect of making art as key to both having a more fulfilling creative life And your purpose in choosing a creative life.
So, yeah just put that in your back pocket. If anybody including yourself is asking why you’re doing what you’re doing, it’s at least for the experience. It doesn’t have to be more but it’s, of course, absolutely wonderful if it is. Just really take in that it doesn’t have to be more than an experience and I think that will help the people around you understand more about what you do and why and will help you and getting more joy out of your work.
