thread: 2006-02-16 : Throwing It Open: Pulling the Plug
On 2006-02-26, paulkdad wrote:
I'm finding two distinct ideas here.
First, pulling the plug. That's entirely intuitive, but there are some cues that guide me: (one) If I'm forcing the process something is wrong. Creative work for me is fluid and natural; and (two) It suddenly hits me that this thing is actually broken, and it can't be fixed.
Number one isn't a big deal, because maybe I just need to take a break. But when number two happens, I do what I do with a drawing that doesn't work... I throw it away. Some people keep old crap, and that's fine for them. I don't do it, because for me that would be a fearful response. It'd be holding on when I really need to let go. Time investment and prior relationship to the material are irrelevant; when the time comes I'm happy to move on. Destroying things is just a part of the process. Basically, I like to think that my understanding of the creative process grows no matter what I have to show for it. My next writing or drawing will be demonstrate that growth, kind of like waste matter is used to fertilize the soil.
Second, when it comes to the creative process itself, that's kind of complicated. A few thoughts: (one) I will start things as the ideas come to me, but I generally work on one thing at a time until it is finished; (two) I see talking about unfinished pieces as a waste of valuable energy; (three) My sketchbooks and notebooks are about developing my skills, and rarely have any direct relevance to finished pieces; (four) Tools and technique are a huge part of the creative process, and so I'm constantly evaluating the way I go about doing things. This means finding the right tools for the job, maintaining them, and organizing them in an efficient way; (five) Time spent away from a project is often a good thing. I'm growing, even if the piece isn't. Unless it's broken, I'll eventually know what to do with it; (six) Every piece is an experiment, and the goal is to learn (or re-learn) something; and (seven) Trust my gut. If I'm waffling back and forth between two different options, that's always an intuitive decision. One will just "feel" right, and the other will be discarded. In my opinion, taking the right step towards the completion of a piece may be time-consuming, but it's never hard.
For me, probably the biggest enemy to the creative process is forgetting stuff I've learned and practiced for years, and the second biggest one is starting something with the idea that it's going to be good.
Thanks for the topic, BTW. It's been a while since I've had to put something like this in writing. Quite fun.
