Five Tips for Artist to Actualize Their New Year’s Resolutions
New Year is a time when artists set their resolutions concerning their artistic development goals or what artistic projects they want to accomplish in the new year. Here are five tips for artists for bettering the odds that you’ll materialize your new year’s resolutions.
View New Year’s resolution as achievable goals. Although a new year resolution is a promise one makes to oneself to accomplish something, it has the connotation of being a goal on which one is expected to renege and probably will never achieve. However, can-do thinking requires that New Year’s resolutions be considered as a series of doable goals which you do expect to achieve. Often, one’s expectation is the difference between failure and success. If an artistic goal seems completely unattainable, than reformat it so that it becomes realistic.
Break down a major artist project into a series of mini-projects. This strategy will lessen the feelings of overwhelm and anxiety deriving from the intimidating prospect of writing that 800-page novel or producing that double CD musical album. For example, a novel can be written as a series of interconnected short stories or “episodes.” A double-CD album can be produced as an interrelated collection of 3 or 4 mini-albums. Psychologically, such mini-projects seem so much more achievable.
Be consistent in actualizing your artistic vision. An artist should strive to be as productive as possible. However, a disciplined consistent effort is usually more fruitful than erratic bursts of effort, no matter how massive. Productivity doesn’t mean driving yourself months on end to draft 30 pages a day or produce 20 paintings a month. More often than not, the artist who paces himself and works consistently can be more productive and cause less stress to their long-term health. Moreover, the journey will be more enjoyable.
Recognize that creative tension is vital to stimulating artistic breakthroughs. There are many reasons why artists experience tension: conventional boundaries, creativity blocks, and time and resource limitations are just a few things that cause creative tension. Most creative breakthroughs are born in an environment of conflicting ideas and inhibiting boundaries. Oftentimes a creative block is a precursor to the creative epiphany. Embrace the fact that disparate ideas and concepts undergo dramatic synthesis which birth creative resolutions.
View New Year’s resolution as achievable goals. Although a new year resolution is a promise one makes to oneself to accomplish something, it has the connotation of being a goal on which one is expected to renege and probably will never achieve. However, can-do thinking requires that New Year’s resolutions be considered as a series of doable goals which you do expect to achieve. Often, one’s expectation is the difference between failure and success. If an artistic goal seems completely unattainable, than reformat it so that it becomes realistic.
Break down a major artist project into a series of mini-projects. This strategy will lessen the feelings of overwhelm and anxiety deriving from the intimidating prospect of writing that 800-page novel or producing that double CD musical album. For example, a novel can be written as a series of interconnected short stories or “episodes.” A double-CD album can be produced as an interrelated collection of 3 or 4 mini-albums. Psychologically, such mini-projects seem so much more achievable.
Be consistent in actualizing your artistic vision. An artist should strive to be as productive as possible. However, a disciplined consistent effort is usually more fruitful than erratic bursts of effort, no matter how massive. Productivity doesn’t mean driving yourself months on end to draft 30 pages a day or produce 20 paintings a month. More often than not, the artist who paces himself and works consistently can be more productive and cause less stress to their long-term health. Moreover, the journey will be more enjoyable.
Recognize that creative tension is vital to stimulating artistic breakthroughs. There are many reasons why artists experience tension: conventional boundaries, creativity blocks, and time and resource limitations are just a few things that cause creative tension. Most creative breakthroughs are born in an environment of conflicting ideas and inhibiting boundaries. Oftentimes a creative block is a precursor to the creative epiphany. Embrace the fact that disparate ideas and concepts undergo dramatic synthesis which birth creative resolutions.
See mistakes and missteps as feedback. Learn to appreciate that making mistakes offers you the greatest feedback for artistic improvement. By assessing your mistakes, and trying out new techniques and approaches to express your art, you build up a wealth of knowledge and experience. Moreover, for the artist who remains creatively open, mistakes may even prove to be more valuable than the original idea. For example, incorporating stumbling steps in a dance composition where the elements are extremely conventional and predictable may add the spontaneity needed to enliven the choreography.
Hopefully, as an artist, these five tips will help you have a more productive and creative New Year.Brian K. Hemphill is an author of 'The Elements of Creative and Expressive Artistry.' His book website is www.ElementsOfArtistry.net.
About the Author
Brian K. Hemphill is an artist, blogger, teacher, and public speaker. He has explored a number of artistic disciplines, including fiction and poetry writing, visual art, drama, dance, and music. He now offers consultations, one-one-one coaching sessions, workshop presentations, and book talks about the factors that foster artistic creativity and expressiveness. His new book is entitled The Elements of Creative and Expressive Artistry: A Philosophy for Creating Everything Artistic. Hemphill lives in the New York metropolitan area.
About the Book
The Elements of Creative and Expressive Artistry: A Philosophy for Creating Everything Artistic is an all-artist guide which identifies the nine root elements common to all artistic fields and explains their significance in creating expressive art. This book is for adult and young adult performers, writers, and visual artists. The Elements of Creative and Expressive Artistry uses hundreds of relevant examples, citations, and quotations from prominent art professionals, philosophers, scientists, past and present, to support over 40 chapters. Through warm and insightful narrative, Hemphill offers advice from painters, sculptors, dancers, choreographers, actors, film directors, musicians, teachers, psychologists, scientists, philosophers, and critics, writing on all forms of art, including visual arts, literary arts, dramatic arts, musical arts, dance arts, and hybrid art forms. For advanced artists, critics, and teachers looking to understand artistic depth and nuance, The Elements of Creative and Expressive Artistry presents 36 additional elements branching from the nine root elements and suggests other avenues for artistic investigation and development. Although mainly written for the artist and arts professional, the non-artist who has a general love for art will also gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of art.
Book Ordering
Hardcover, softcover, and e-book editions of The Elements of Creative and Expressive Artistry are available at http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.barnesandnoble.com/, and other booksellers. Autographed copies of the book can be ordered through the author's website at http://www.elementsofartistry.net/.
Discount Book Orders
Art associations or other groups ordering 10 or more copies can receive a 15% discount code by emailing bkhemphill@ElementsOfArtistry.net.
Booksellers' Note
This title is listed as returnable in Ingram’s and Baker & Taylor’s Title Database. Email bkhemphill@ElementsOfArtistry.net regarding setting up book signings.
Book Information
Title: The Elements of Creative and Expressive Artistry: A Philosophy for Creating Everything Artistic
Publisher: iUniverse Publishing
Publication Date: September 2011
Number of pages: 600
ISBN FORMAT PRICE
9780595483013 - 6x9 Perfect Bound Softcover - $33.95
9780595603893 - E-Book - $9.99
9781462005840 - 6x9 Dust Jacket Hardcover - $43.95
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