How do you stay creative through the Holidays?
How do you stay creative through the Holidays?
Being a painter is only one symptom of a greater malady. What it hints at, is a creative and restless mind. The mind of an artist. Some artists express themselves through music and song, others, write weekly blogs, and even others find themselves baking gingerbread cookies with their grandchildren.
“I think – I have often wondered if actually – being an artist in any way – any nature is a kind of a sign of a certain kind of dysfunction, a social dysfunctionalism, anyway. It’s an extraordinary thing to want to do, to express yourself in such – in such rarefied terms.” – David Bowie
The trick for many of us “creatives” is to get through the Holiday season without cracking under the infinite creative possibilities that present themselves.
This can be a time of great joy and celebration, but it can also be a season where my painting takes a backseat. Navigating the demands of social commitments, errands and family can feel big. It can be difficult to eke out even a little bit of time let alone the energy to be creative with my art.
For me, this used to lead to a feeling of overwhelm, followed by dualistic sensations of guilt. An undisciplined wrestling match between my art and attention to those that I love would rage as Christmas drew nigh. Painting regularly triumphed, throttling my relationships in a vicious headlock, and I threw myself into my work. Irrational and Herculean efforts followed, willing me forward to meet self-imposed deadlines before Christmas arrived. This inevitably led to a kind of lean creativity. There was a desperate aura of lack surrounding my pre-holiday work, and the most important people in my life were left to decorate the tree without me.
Fortunately for all of us, there are sleighs full of creative solutions to help us stay inspired through this holiday season. I’ve touched on one already. Gingerbread cookies.
Who are we kidding? If you haven’t got it done by mid-December it can wait until January. These lightless hours offer us up an opportunity to put the “push“ down. Do you have a friend that needs a visit? Maybe a couple of kids who need to be peeled away from their iPads? Is there a version of Santa Clause that still makes things by hand?
If we don’t show up for our art, we can’t be inspired. But sometimes, showing up for our art might look like a couple of pine cones discovered on a brisk walk with your estranged cousin, or half-mad kitchen experiments with cinnamon, nutmeg, and maybe a bit of ginger.