Yesterday, as I was sitting down to think about what I was going to write about today, I had a notion of writing about how the nice weather is distracting and how, sometimes, getting outside can really help things out.
The problem is, I’ve written about that before. I mean, there’s no harm in repeating yourself, but this didn’t feel like the time for that again.
You see, sometimes, when you really don’t want to do something — like when the weather is nice and you really don’t want to — the best thing to do is just sit down and do it.
I can already hear people starting to protest.
Don’t worry. You’re not wrong. Sometimes it really helps to let an idea come to you naturally and let inspiration strike.
The problem with that is, though, it doesn’t always work. Inspiration is a fleeting thing that usually happens at a moment when you’re not ready for it — at the grocery store, having a shower or the always classic just as you’re falling asleep.
Worse than that, though, is when inspiration becomes an excuse. It’s very easy to just use the notion of waiting for inspiration to strike as a reason to avoid working on something.
Art is hard. Sure, there are moments when it just happens and those moments are great, but for every moment that just happens, there are 12 where it doesn’t.
You’ll spend hours staring at nothing, waiting for something to happen and it won’t.
Unless, that is, you make it happen.
It feels weird to sit down and force creativity, but after a little bit, it feels less weird.
A little while later, it feels even less weird. Before you know it, it’s just happening. Even if what you do that day is something that is going to be scrapped later on, taking the time to get it down on paper (or canvas, or on the computer, or in the clay you’re shaping), is better than not doing anything at all.
As I said, it feels weird to force yourself to create like that, but almost without fail, if you ask someone for advice on how to get good at something their advice is to sit down and do it, even when you don’t want to.
The more time you spend just doing it, the easier it’s going to be to fall into that groove, even if you’re not really feeling it that day.
If you’re in a position where you’re feeling good about your creative projects, or maybe you’re in a learning phase, don’t forget to check out the Summerland Community Arts Council’s winter workshop series, “Have you ever wanted to…”
The next season is all about rug hooking with the Summerland Traditional Rug Artists on Feb. 1. More information can be found online at www.summerlandarts.com.
Douglas Paton is a Summerland writer and musician. If you know of a local arts and cultureevent, contact him at dgpaton80@gmail.com.