I quite often go to the studio and feel… well flat and at a loss. But one of the best pieces of advice I ever got (from an older artist), was that you have to keep on keeping on. Even if it’s rubbish, even if it’s not ‘good’, even if you don’t feel like it.
So what can you do when you don’t feel like it, but you’ve carved out the time, so now you have to fill it?
Well, I have a few ‘tricks’ up my sleeve for when I need to do something that feels like making, but doesn’t take too much creativity (at least to start with- these things have a habit of gently starting the creative engine).
1.I often root out old work, and take a good look at it. I’m fairly prolific (though don’t finish everything, by any stretch), so there’s usually quite a bit to pootle through.
One great thing about this is that I’m often surprised by how good some of what I find is. Seperated by time, the original outcome forgotten, I can see the thing anew, with fresh eyes- and sometimes that’s all it takes.
Sometimes, I can see straight away that it only needs one mark or addition to make a real difference (and one mark is surely do-able…)
And other times, it’s just useful to see that there is a thread running through my work- however eclectic it gets, seeing many things together allows the mind to re-connect all the parts and make you feel like there is a rhyme and reason (this can often result in finding new motivation for new work too).
2. This process often leads me to do a bit of ‘severe cropping’ as I like to call it. Working on paper means it’s very easy to totally transform a piece by cutting, cropping or ripping a piece down.
It’s such an easy, transformative win- and boy does it feel satisfying cutting something in half- or more!
Looking back this has often been the turning point in making a piece of work. Struggling along with the wrong format or composition, it sometimes feels like treading treacle and this technique is easy, quick, transformative and somehow shrugs off the struggle to make something good out of a piece you’re not in love with.
(It also often produces smaller pieces of print, colour or texture that can be made into further pieces of art- like an added bonus, it feels lighter somehow to make something for ‘free’, and mark making is usually less precious because of it).
3. I often challenge myself to ‘make just one mark’ (which usually leads to another one and another one) This feels do-able and is a doorway into making simple creative decisions.
By allowing myself not to think too far ahead or have to ‘complete’ or finish a piece it takes the pressure off.
This might be a drawn mark, a little bit of mono-print, sticking some collage down, or using a stencil or stamp.
My Summer holidays routine has become ‘one mark a day’. A hangover from lockdown, when I was home schooling (and all the rest), it’s a way to make, in small pockets of time, and not feel bad about ‘doing nothing’ or not completing larger pieces.
My 100 day projects have also fed into this idea, this year’s in particular (transforming a found poetry book into an artists book, one mark at a time), and if these periods of time or projects have taught me anything, it’s that small things can have pretty big cumulative effects. Give yourself time and kindness and see what blooms.
4. One thing that I often do, as a hand printmaker, is make large scale hand monoprints- these are essentially collage fodder for my other prints and mixed media pieces- but they are so much fun to do.
I make them by rolling colour out onto my big, smooth, plastic surface, make some big marks in it, lay over a big piece of tissue paper ( I don’t care about wrinkles- in fact the more the merrier), apply pressure to the back of the paper, and peel back to reveal my colour and marks on the paper (hopefully!)
I rarely plan what I’m doing- this is really an exercise in gesture, colour and mark making. No big decisions, just using my body and hands to make ‘stuff’. I think all artists should have some equivalent for this- a non-thinking, whole body making.
And the great thing is, you should end up with raw materials, ready to go, for further, more intentional art, when you have the motivation and energy to do it.
5. And lastly, another low pressure, no-decision activity that still feels like making, is splashing paint- in my case I do it as an underlay for mixed media boards. This is another fun activity, that feels creative, but with the knowledge (in my case) that almost all the paint will be covered up at some point.
Sometimes, it produces great, expressive marks, that I wouldn’t make if I had planned it. And sometimes it doesn’t. And that’s OK. It’s just emptying mind, body and spirit for a few moments and it also happens to be ‘useful’- ie taking away the white board or canvas so that I can react to it, collage over, and generally play (anything is better than white!).
So those are my favourite ways to trick my mind into making or at least passing the time in a vaguely creative way. What are yours? (I’ve turned off the comments on this blog- too much SPAM from Russia, but you can let me know at ruth@ruthander.co.uk or DM me on Instagram @ruthanderprints)