Exploring my perceptions concerning the numerous gestation periods necessary for art to happen. Up until recently I was not able to step back and see this but as the year moves forward it is beginning to become more apparent. Staying within this terminology, when an idea is born, the birthing process is often long, difficult and messy… and then there are those ideas that are really difficult and decide to enter the world, breech.
I experience that there are stages and these are usually clumped together in groups. Although, I am sure that this happens to everyone. I can only speak for myself. (I am sure that I have many friends who are reading this and shaking their heads thinking, “I told him this before but he would not listen”… yet another part of the process, we often hear only what we are able to process in that time and place.)
I have periods of time where it seems nothing is happening, tumbleweeds are blowing through the studio and nothing is moving forward. I feel stuck, frustrated and depressed and then all of a sudden the floodgates open and all this amazing stuff happens! Then the cycle goes full circle and I am left sitting on the floor wondering what I did I do wrong, why am I stuck again.
I forget that I need these slow or “downtimes” to recharge and get my energy back up to speed. I have to remember that these are also a valuable part of the creative process and should not be viewed as detrimental. For some reason, I have always viewed my downtime as being wasteful or lazy.
It is not always about what you learned but sometimes about what you need to unlearn to move forward. We are all unique and what works for one individual might not work for the rest. Through trying different approaches is how we learn what works best for us…and sometimes that changes as we evolve in life.
The bottom line is that be open to the process and listen to what it has to teach you. It is within the silence between the words that the art is created.
