Focus on the Journey (And March Giveaways!)
Joseph Barbaccia created his “foXstitch” piece as a proof of concept, which, if you’re not familiar with the term, means that he’s experimenting and there is no particular expectation of a completed piece. Now, who would think his process a waste of time, even though it’ may not become a finished piece? He says he’s not happy with the execution, but that just means that he can see ways to improve it. And he could only see that through what he learned in this process. And, yes, all those “stitches” are bits of polymer clay.
Do you know who said this:
“It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”
Well, first of all, a lot of creative people! But specifically, this is a line in the book Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson was particularly good at appreciating the little things, especially the value of our true and unique experiences.
If you spend all day in the studio and don’t complete a single decent piece, or a successful part of a piece, do you feel like you wasted the day? I think we can all be disappointed when we don’t accomplish as much as we hoped to, but it’s never wasted time.
Every minute you spend at your studio table, no matter how long you’ve been working with the material, is a valuable experience, right? We are learning something new all the time, even if we don’t see it. We are honing our skills, solidifying our understanding, trying out new ideas, and finding out what doesn’t work, which can be more important than finding out what does work.
But the most valuable thing, I think, is the fact that we are sitting down for some quality time with ourselves and our thoughts, taking up the enormous challenge to make something from nothing, and forging ahead on a creative journey that will teach us things and give us memories that no one else and nothing else can provide. How common can such an experience be? Not that common, truly. We are some lucky ducks to have the creative time that we do.
Sure, having a successfully finished piece is such a high, but what comes after that? The journey’s over. Okay, that’s not quite true. The process of creating any piece is a short trip on a much bigger journey. But what is more valuable—the finished piece or the skills and knowledge acquired that will allow you to make that again, and probably even better?
Now, where is all this philosophical nattering coming from?
Well, this week, I had lots of starts and stops with my time at the polymer table and with my writing. Not only am I trying to get taxes done—that can really kill one’s creative vigor—but I’m on a new nutritional regimen which is making me a little foggy in the head. So, I’ve been a little frustrated. However, I realized that every night I go to bed, I think about what I did do that day, and, honestly, it’s just all too exciting to know there’s newly created bits on the studio table and new pages in my writing project. All in all, if I got to create something, it was a really good day.
So, if you can go to sleep at night with a little more knowledge and a bit more experience than you had when you woke up, that’s been a successful day. I know we can be anxious to finish things or can be disappointed by how little we produce, but unless our efforts need to put food on the table, let’s see if we can’t step back and not just appreciate but really learn to value our creative time for simply being our own precious, unique experience.
I mean, really, would you trade that time for anything?
Yay Giveaways!
So, I’m keeping this short since I’ve had a bit of a rough week but, as promised, I’m going to do some giveaways!
I have enough goodies here to give something away every weekend this month, so here’s what we’ll do this week:
Giveaway:
- Polyform’s Sculpey III clays in 7 new 2oz glitter colors, an 8oz Opal block, and a pack of their new jewelry templates.
- Or if outside the US, I have a $25 Tenth Muse certificate, not wanting to chance shipping clay outside the US.
How to Win:
- Put a comment in the blog comments* (below), telling us all what you appreciate most about your creative time. It can be one word or a story. I am just supercurious to hear what you love most about your studio table time. *It can take some time for the comment to appear since, due to annoying spamming, I have to approve it if you’ve not commented before.
- Giveaway winners will be chosen by random—it will not be based on your answers. And let’s say you can only win once this month so we can spread the love around.
- Get your comments posted by Wednesday March 10th at midnight Pacific time to get in for the raffle.
- I’ll announce the winner here on the blog next weekend!
Then … next weekend, I’ll put together another pack of goodies to giveaway so keep an eye on these posts!
You can support this blog by buying yourself a little something at Tenth Muse Arts or, if you like…
One thing that always amazes me is that I get so lost in time when I’m playing with clay that hours go by without thinking about eating! I have no other activity that I do in which this happens…4-5 hours…Poof!
Since I work a full time, non-creative job (I’m a letter carrier), my creative time allows me to relax and escape from the days challenges. I love how I can get lost in time so to speak. Often, it does end too soon.
My most favorite thing about my clay time is the meditation. For me it’s like a deep meditation creating my pieces. The very first time I picked it up I was hooked and now today almost 24 plus years later!
Although I must admit that seeing the finished piece comes in close second.
I am totally in agreement with you. The days that mean the most to me are the ones that I have time and the inclination to sit and “make”, to create with whichever of the various materials and media I happen to be exploring at the time. Some days I actually LIKE when one of my paintings or pieces is at that “ugly” stage because it challenges me to come up with a solution. Just knowing I have a creative space, tools and time can make a day so much brighter!
And yes, the time to think, to just let my mind relax and not force it to go in a particular direction. It’s meditative and I love when I find that flow.
Thank you for your blogs. I love them.
What I most appreciate is getting into the flow state – mindfulness without the bells 🙂
What I appreciate most about my creative time is that it happens at all, amidst everything else going on in my life!
Thanks so much for your blog — it has taken my thoughts in new directions.
I’m relatively new to polymer clay so at this point every time I get to sit at my studio table I’m learning something new. I love to learn new things. But that’s not my favorite thing. My favorite thing is actually a combination of things. The alone time to sit and be creative with no judgement from the outside world. The act of working with my hands. I haven’t created many pieces that are worthy of being seen yet. But when something does turn out (I have a lot of scrap clay and a few burnt pieces, LOL) it’s such an awesome feeling that I was able to create some thing beautiful in my eyes.
I spent all day yesterday building a birdhouse and it renewed my soul for another week.
Thank you so much for your blog. I just found you a couple of weeks ago but each email I’ve gotten from you I have actually sat and read the entire email and loved them.
When I am creating, I am in a different realm. Gone are the problems or non-problems of daily life. I am in a good place.
Thank you for your words of encouragement. Thank you for your insight and the sharing of your knowledge.💜
Well, first of all, my creative time takes place in a room that could be featured on the show Hoarders. It’s a total mess, but I NEED all that stuff! And the mess doesn’t bother me when I’m “in the zone,” and that “zone” is what it’s all about. It’s my hollow tree, my cocoon, it’s a wonderland with limitless possibilities. I’ve seen artists I respect give studio tours of THEIR wonderlands. I love that! I will never do one, however. A few years ago, when I was trying to focus my energy on exactly where I was going with my career I came to a very important conclusion. Was I going to teach, travel, use my French, create tutorials, sell high-end, time consuming work, sell low-end, easy to move work…? What niche could I carve out for myself? I had to ask myself, what about this work do I love the most? The answer came: what feeds my soul is time alone in my studio. That’s the magic. The rest will fall into place. And it has. Thanks for the question, Sage.
I try to get to do something creative every day, even if it’s just for an hour. It renews and refreshes me. I turned to polymer clay because I love to experiment and polymer is very forgiving. If it is a worse case scenario, oh well, it becomes scrap clay. No time is wasted in my studio, even if what I am trying to accomplish doesn’t work out. Very often, my “failures” take me off in a new and wonderful direction. In fact, I love failing. My ‘failures” have very often been my best work!
This is a great time to put your mind on doing something creative. Not only creative for you, for for something that others can see. Your mind is thinking of so many ways to try something, that it keeps you from thing of pandemic, etc. I find it very relaxing, and passes the time. Joan
My creative time… wow. It’s precious. I love clearing a day and sitting down at my studio desk.
I actually get cranky if too long passes by and l don’t make anything. I think it’s actually a physical requirement!
Thanks as always for the inspiration!
Time in the studio means time not cleaning the house, grocery shopping, or any of the other less-fun activities that call out to me!
It’s a time when I am totally in control, and can choose to not be in control—that is, to let my creation go where it wants.
I work out designs and experimentation in my head rather than sketching, as I go about my day. When I begin working, I love seeing how these thoughts materialize. Sometimes, there are surprises, which lead to questions…What if I do this? Often, a little experiment leads to a new direction…a new series…a new set of tools.
I enjoy the solitude of color and light and supplies at my fingertips saying “choose me, I’m next to be used”. After 45 years of making art for a living ( grateful) I can make art , or not, for my soul.
What I appreciate the most about my creative time is the wonder I feel when something I’m making actually looks like what I was trying to make. I realize looking back on my epic failures that more often than no I learned something from the experience, or sometimes not. I still have no real direction other than trying to learn more and for now I’m ok with that as there seems still endless possibilities.
Since things have closed down, I had fallen out of the routine of creating something everyday. Now, I’ve determined that I need to create something daily so I’ve planned to spend at least 4 hours a day making SOMETHING. Often I get lost in the planning and creation process so that more than 4 hours have gone by! Creative people need make time to create whether it’s art, cooking, gardening or whatever your creative passion is.
My mind is always creating, so my creative time helps me to give my ideas a physical form. Whether it is a brooch, or a whimsical goblin, the possibilities are limited only by my skill or lack there of. Time creating in my studio is both magical and spiritual and feeds my creative soul. Thank you for all the fun and the pain you share in your blogs. I have enjoyed the trip for many years!!!
It’s my “me time”. My chance to play and experiment.
It also gives me a sense of accomplishment.
Creating art allows me to focus my mind on what I am making and the outside world disappears. I can focus on being joyful in my own little world!
My late husband was my Dollmaker partner. Through the 90’s I sculpted one of a kind dolls and he came up with ideas, made miniature props and was the ‘trouble shooter,’ making things happen. We would sit together into the night before fool shows, ‘playing’ with elves, mermaids and figures like Long John Silver, etc.
One time he told me, “Your other job (which was purely mental) satisfies you mentally, but your art feeds your heart.” That is still true today.
I’ll confess that since he passed I’ve had a tough time picking it back up but it’s as strong a part of me as breathing. As soon as I move I’m setting up a new art space but even sorting materials and touching the clay seems to ground me and prepare me for a new beginning. Thanks so much for all you do! It is appreciated more than you know!
I learn something almost every time I work in my studio, whether it is a new technique, a different vision for something I want to create, or a way to further organize my work space. My job is very stressful, and some days it takes everything out of me. But once I get home, and the chores are done, I try to make an agreement with myself, to just accomplish one tiny part of a project or goal, and I often end up working in my studio for hours. I always have several projects on the table; one or two I am actively working on, and several that are just play time or inklings. Regardless, at the end of a night in the studio, the time is never wasted.
Sometimes during the night I will have a dream about a new project I want to try out. Early in the morning I will sit in my work space and see if I can put the dream into actuality! Sometimes it works… sometimes it doesn’t!! But it is fun trying.
When I am in my studio, I have only one focus and that is what I am working on. Nothing else enters my mind. It is very peaceful; almost Zen like. Time has no meaning. 1 hour turns into 4 hours and I don’t realize it until something or someone calls my name.
Time away from the noise of the world.
I love my creative time, it’s a form of meditation for me and not only do I get to see something beautiful come together but I feel so relaxed as it all takes shape.
What I like most about spending time in my studio is that I’m finally spending time doing something for myself. Doesn’t even matter if I don’t make something, just being in the studio and puttering around is fine.
It feels like home!
I enjoy the peace and quiet that I get when I’m in my room. My creativity comes out, I’m one with my thoughts.
I appreciate my creative time as it’s like recharging my batteries.
(my studio table is my dining room table…and my computer table.)
When I am in my studio creating with clay, so lose myself in the process. The best comparison I can make is what runners tell me they feel when they are just running without thinking about it, a “runners high.” Has anyone else felt this way? At that point, you are so engrossed, nothing else matters!
What I appreciate about my creative time is the opportunity to experiment, express what is in my head or heart, create something, and do something different than my weekday job (engineering).
What I appreciate about my creative time is the opportunity to experiment, express what what is on my mind or heart, create something, and do something different than my weekday job (engineering).
Once again a fantastic article, thank you. My studio time is special in different ways. Sometimes a time just to complete some practical sewing , a recent time isolated in our cocoon with a young granddaughter to sew. Times to meander in some printing exercises, ready to continue another day with the paints. Playing time with polymerclay, trying a new technique.
I have some time ago decided that art creations are mine to distribute, no more art gallery concerns about deadlines, or shops to having to pay commisions. I am lucky in my happy space.
I appreciate being able to spend some time working with my clay, and when it is flowing well, I love that feeling. I especially enjoy seeing a new little animal taking shape in my hands (I sculpt animal figurines) — it’s always something of a surprise, and choosing how I will finish him or her is exciting too.
I love to learn and there is something to be learned every time I sit at my table.Either the “AHa” moment when I finally “get”something or the satisfaction of learning and/ mastering a new skill.
Clay time is play time for me.
It feeds my soul.
I get lost in time.
It’s a healing and meditative journey.
Thanks for all your hard work.
I love the time because I am not disturbed by phone, people at the door, and other interruptions. I am alone with my creative thoughts.
Working on simultaneous projects keeps me energized and in the studio. So satisfying when one idea comes to fruition in a happy way!
Even if my creative time is only clearing a spot so I can work, or gathering the goodies I think I need to create something, it’s a true joy to me every time I step up to my table to create.
Without some creative time, the day seems filled with doing nothing for ME and everything for the rest of my family. Am I not as important to nurture as everyone else? Carving out a few minutes or more does not seem selfish at all. It affirms my own value.
I love going through pictures that inspire me. Even if I don’t hit the bead table that day, I feel like all those ideas are percolating in my head and that one day I will make something from my own synthesized version of the many things I saw.