Art and Creativity: The Importance of Dedication and Perseverance

When you're an artist or work in a creative field, it's pretty much a given that the creative process doesn't move in a nice smooth straight line.

In fact, creative expression is usually a pretty bumpy road-- or, as some of the artists who come into the Red Dragonfly often say: "It's feast or famine."

Sticking to It

It can be tempting to simply take a break when we're not feeling creative. If we're painting, to just step away and do something else for a few weeks, till the elusive muse returns.

However, if you're serious about developing your art, that's really not a recommended course of action.

The problem with taking breaks from pretty much any creative field is that what we're doing is a practice. And when we stop practicing, we start to get a little rusty and awkward when we resume work. 

The longest "break" I have taken in the past ten years has been about two months... and to be perfectly honest, it took me longer than that to get back into the groove. 

Which got me to thinking that perhaps we need to look at "creativity" almost like we look at muscles-- if you don't use it, you lose it. Or, at least, if you don't do at least a little something every day you start getting "out of shape."

Dedicating Yourself to a Practice

If you're more than a hobbyist, it's quite a commitment to dedicate yourself to your art (or music, or writing, or singing) every single day.

Of course, in an ideal world "we love what we're doing" to such a degree that it never feels like work. But that's in an ideal world-- and most of us don't actually occupy such a world.

As a writer, there are plenty of days on which I don't feel like writing... but I still make a point of doing at least something, every day. Even on those days where I just can't find a "flow" at all, I still sit down and do some editing work-- that way, even if I am not writing anything new, I am at least in a creative "head space" for part of the day.

Today, I didn't feel like painting at all... so I have been doing "finish work" part of the day-- signing, even a little paperwork. But at least I will be able to close out the day with the thought "I worked on something creative today!"

Avoiding Negative Self-Talk

One of the important things I have learned along the way is to avoid negative self-talk when I am in a non-creative period.

From talking to the many artists we see, I came to realize that almost all of us suffer from occasional creative slumps. And that doesn't make us bad people, or "inferior artists" or "bad writers." And so there's no reason to sit around and listen to voices in our heads trying to persuade us that we're "not good enough" just because we're not churning out masterpieces on a clockwork scale. 

Fact is, nobody does. So cut yourself a break!

And don't listen to "helpful" friends who use phrases like "if you took this more seriously, you would ___." They have never been in your shoes, and even if they ARE creatives, themselves, chances are they have their own unique approaches to artistic creation.

Success Is a Long Term Affair

With a very tiny number of exceptions, "success" is an ongoing process-- a "practice," much like creativity itself. 

Sure, there are people who enjoy "sudden" success, but then what? You don't just stop, you keep going. Being a successful artist or musician isn't a one-time thing, it's practically a life. It's a long-term affair, and so it becomes yet another area in which dedication and perseverance matter.

"Good" and "bad" may be able to stand alone in a very limited way, but here's the thing: Creating one really rotten painting doesn't make you a "failure" as an artist, any more than creating one masterpiece makes you a "success." These ups and downs all become part of your overall body of work... and you just have to keep going, regardless.

Patience can be a struggle, sometimes. We want things to happen "now," and that means it can be difficult and frustrating to work through those "creative doldrums" I mentioned at the beginning. But we need to. Because then we arrive at that day where we spend days and weeks turning out one great thing after another.

And that makes it all worthwhile!

Thank you for reading! Red Dragonfly is a proud member of the @sndbox creative initiative.

The Red Dragonfly is an independent alternative art gallery located in Port Townsend, WA; showcasing edgy and unique contemporary art & handmade crafts by local and worldwide artists. All images are our own, unless otherwise credited. Where applicable, artist images used with permission.