write about your creative work!
/Hi lovely,
back in art school I had a habit. Every night I took out a little journal and wrote down the thoughts I had about my art.
Things I wanted to try out, stuff I wanted to research, techniques I wanted to learn and thoughts about the artworks. Back then I didn't know how important this routine was for the growth of my art.
So I stopped doing this after I had my little boy. There was no time at night to do this and other tasks where piling up, so I made sure to at least work in the studio for a while every day.
I created a lot of work since then and I know there are some really nice pieces amongst them, but when I was meeting with some artist friends a few weeks ago I struggled to talk about my art.
It was hard to get my thoughts out into the world. I found it so hard to talk about the ideas behind the pieces. For example the role my history and my family’s history plays in my works. The weird thing was that I did think about those questions, but I just couldn't turn them into words.
I really struggled. I felt a little bit like being in the first year of art school and trying to make any sense out of my own mind. So I thought I need to work on this. I need to get all those questions answered and I need to be able to talk about my insights with others.
When I came home that night, I took out my journal and started to write down everything I had in mind during my 3 hour drive home. Since then I took some time every day to write my thoughts, my inspirations, my ideas, the stuff I want to learn in my journal.
I don't wait until the night to do it, because I know I must take the time I can get when I get it. Something unexpected happens all the time, but I now know again that this writing part is an important practice of me being an artist.
That's why I want to invite you to get a journal and write about your crafts too. It doesn't matter if you’re a fine artist, a designer, a stylist or a creative of any other kind. You need to think AND write about your creative creations, so you know why you’re doing what you’re doing and you’re able to get those thoughts into words.
I would love to hear how this practice is working for you! So comment below!
And in case you never did write about your creative creations before, give it at least two weeks before you decide it is not something for you.
Don't forget there is no right and wrong for this, just write down your thoughts. If there are some things popping up which you have to do the next day, write them down too. They need to get out of your system ;)
Xxx,
Kerstin
