In addition to making art, one of my favorite things to do is to go spinning at my local gym early in the mornings. I know the idea of getting up at 6:00 a.m. to go sweat, pant and work your behind off for 45 minutes straight on a stationary bike doesn’t sound appealing to too many people but I actually enjoy it. It takes a while to get into in, and I’ll admit there are times that after about twenty minutes in, I’m wondering why in the hell I’m doing this when I could still be in my bed sleeping , but eventually I get into that zone where I feel like I’m in the lead at Tour de France and I’m unstoppable. By the time the class is over, I feel like I’ve really accomplished something.
One thing that my spin instructor, Victoria, would often say when we were in the process of climbing a massive hill was that since we had already showed up, the only thing left to do was to accept the task at hand and do the work. Ever since I heard her say that, I carry that along when I’m faced with doing grunt work, including when it comes to making art.
Yes, the life and the process of making art is not always glamorous. In addition to it being a very solitary practice, there’s a lot of grunt work that you inevitably have to do is achieve the results. One of the things that held me back from pursuing an art career was my willingness to do the grunt work. I painted when I felt like it, when the inspiration hit me, which might have been as infrequently as every few months. As I read about other successful artists and their practice, I realized that to make it happen, you have to always be willing to do the grunt work: going into the studio and painting when you don’t feel like it, stretching canvas, assembling frames, designing websites, pounding the pavement, etc. Anything that is really worth anything requires work and it’s a matter of you being willing to accept the task.
For me, the latest in grunt work has been committing myself to creating my inkblots and getting them ready for my site and potential shows. Making them is a practice of dedication unto itself. Since they are somewhat spontaneous creations sometimes I have to make ten in one day just to get one or two that I really like. Once I got a collection together that I like, then I have to start photographing them. I will be the first to tell you that I don’t enjoy photographing my paintings; getting the right lighting, mounting the piece on the right backing, getting the proper angle, then uploading onto my computer and tweaking them can be a tad of a chore. Then after that, I have to upload them to my site, which is always in the process of being tweaked. These are the times when I wish I had a clone that would do all that stuff for me while I am just free to make my creations to the sounds of some nice jazz, but alas, that is not the case and so, I accept the task and do the work.
But at the end of the day, it’s totally worth it. When I get positive feedback from people that come to my shows or who email me to tell me that they like visiting my artwork online because it cheers them up, I know doing the grunt work made that possible and it pays off, just like when I go to the gym.
And speaking of labor of loves, it’s time that I get back to some photo editing.
I absolutely love this post…it serves as a reminder that I too have to accept the task of doing the grunt work on consistent basis. Thanks for sharing.
Yes, Elle, even if it’s a little bit everyday, if you do something, create something every day, you will see results.