Recently, Best Buy has been running a commercial campaign featuring The White Stripes song "Seven Nation Army" alongside athletes representing multiple sports pounding their chests. When the commercial first aired, I simply enjoyed the song (I am a huge White Stripes fan)... but then I started to see this commercial as a metaphor for accomplishment and empowerment.
A couple of Journal posts ago, I was struggling with artist block and a total lack of confidence in the direction of my artwork. Now, my work is back on track and I am feeling more confident and, yes, empowered, making "Seven Nation Army" all the more appropriate at this time... although the sight of artist striding around their studio pounding their chest every time a picture is completed seems a bit silly... but, then again, why not do it? The act of creating artwork isn't always easy, some days it can be a struggle. Allowing your work to continue to evolve and trusting in your instincts does not always lead to successful artwork... so when you have completed a piece of work you are proud of, why not celebrate?
As an artist, there are ebbs and flows to your work - some days or weeks are highly productive... others, well, not so much. Since the beginning of the year, I have been attempting to retrain my brain in regards to how it tackles tasks and goals. The list of tasks and goals that I struggle with seems to be every-expanding: maintain a regular studio schedule, develop new projects and ideas, increase my on-line presence, update my blog, monitor my Etsy sight, check for new calls for artists, enter shows, participate in artist receptions and art groups, research and read about other artists, see as much art as possible, teach myself marketing and art business... some days it all seems like too much to accomplish in the amount of time that you have during any given week.
Lately, I have been breaking the larger goals down into more manageable tasks and the simple act of checking one of those tasks off as completed makes a huge difference in my overall well-being. The more that I am feeling that I am accomplishing, the more creative and empowered I am feeling as an artist.
As an artist, there are ebbs and flows to your work - some days or weeks are highly productive... others, well, not so much. Since the beginning of the year, I have been attempting to retrain my brain in regards to how it tackles tasks and goals. The list of tasks and goals that I struggle with seems to be every-expanding: maintain a regular studio schedule, develop new projects and ideas, increase my on-line presence, update my blog, monitor my Etsy sight, check for new calls for artists, enter shows, participate in artist receptions and art groups, research and read about other artists, see as much art as possible, teach myself marketing and art business... some days it all seems like too much to accomplish in the amount of time that you have during any given week.
Lately, I have been breaking the larger goals down into more manageable tasks and the simple act of checking one of those tasks off as completed makes a huge difference in my overall well-being. The more that I am feeling that I am accomplishing, the more creative and empowered I am feeling as an artist.
For some time now, I have been toying with the idea of creating a design that spans more than one piece of paper... double, even quadruple pictures that when displayed together would create an even larger, complete picture. I love working on large sheets of paper, but the cost involved in framing these works is sometimes a bit high, so breaking the design into smaller parts actually makes sense.
I decided to start small and use the Journal Project format as a "test" run:
I decided to start small and use the Journal Project format as a "test" run:
I haven't been framing my work as I go along, but wanted to see how "Seven Nation Army" would look:
So, celebrate your accomplishments: every completed piece of artwork, every show you successfully enter, every task or goal that has reached. But, most of all: keep creating.
Jenn White
White Rooster Studio
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