Why do you feel the need to create?
Because I love to paint so much...
I am inclined to neglect other areas of my life. I’ve encountered this confessed tendency frequently in artists of every description. The energy and the passion needed to fuel the creative process is so focused that mundane household chores such as laundry and vacuuming are all too easily pushed aside. ‘I’ll do it later,’ is the familiar refrain. It’s hard to believe that I used to be so obsessive about cleaning, but can ignore the whole process altogether most days now. That’s not to say I don’t do any cleaning and tidying. We live in a small place and both work from home, so some resemblance of order is necessary to help us get from one end of the day to the next. I would much rather be painting and creating, than scrubbing tubs and floors, and resent every moment it takes me away from what I want to be doing. This is not going to be a big rant ending with a very bad word describing her tub at the end, like one artists’ blog I read the other day. It is more of a rationalization for avoiding my chores than anything else!
Unfair to the pigs
I used to get some kind of satisfaction from having a reasonably clean and organized home and meals on the table at regular hours. Bringing up children is difficult enough without trying to do it in a ‘pig sty.’ (Unfair to the pigs! There isn’t an animal on earth that can make as much mess as a human being, and then live in it as long as they can! I mean this globally as well.) Growing up in a family of fourteen children taught me many things, and the need for order was paramount. My mother was big on “spring-cleaning”…four times a year!
Disorder and chaos offend my sensibilities
Aside from childhood conditioning, I think that cleaning is basically a creative urge. Disorder, and chaos offend my sensibilities, as you can probably tell from my sometimes overly tidy art. Now that I have a better outlet for the artistic side of me, the obsession with controlling the aesthetics my immediate environment is lessened. The result is a laissez-faire approach to it all that I am not entirely comfortable with. The result is nagging sense of, “I should be doing something else,” pervading my thoughts on one level while I’m trying to focus on painting.
Actually, I can usually block this out almost completely when I am actually painting. It’s when I am researching something, or looking at other artist’s work, or reading their blogs that I feel that sense of guilt. ‘This is too much fun to be work and you won’t have anything to show for it.’ As a matter of fact I could not have learned as much as I did, as quickly as I did, if I had not learned so much from looking at other art, and reading about art. Someday soon I hope to be able to see some art in galleries, stores and art fairs instead of always on the Net. But, isn’t it wonderful to have the ability to expose ourselves to so much Art. Way more than we could have on foot, or by book! This goes for all arts, particularly music and literature, and increasingly film and video.
The need for validation is a strong motivating factor
The attraction of being able to show the results of our artistic efforts and expressions to the world is very compelling. It is part of the big reason most creative people are driven to express themselves this way. The hope that we can strike one single chord, acknowledge an affinity, or connect with another person’s reality in some way means that we are not invisible and insignificant on this huge planet of people. The need for validation is a strong motivating factor. Dusting and cleaning the bathroom just don’t give you the same mental kick!
Please comment on - “Why do you need to create?”
I would love to hear from other artists of any type on this subject. Maybe you articulate your reasons on your website, or on your blog? Or do you Twitter about it? Send me a link!
Happy painting… or I should say Happy creating!
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Posted in Personal on August 11th, 2009.
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