After creating over 100 collages during March, and launching 33 of them as the PURE JOY collection in April, I jumped back into creating one-collage-a-day in May.
HOWEVER, I got off to a bit of a rough start.
As odd as it sounds, I suddenly couldn’t remember HOW to start a collage.
So instead of creating, I spent hours studying pictures of sold collages from the PURE JOY and SPACIOUSNESS collections, reminding myself how they were created, or more precisely…
How I STARTED them.
To me this was completely bizarre because I KNOW how to create a collage. However, because I took a 3-week creating hiatus to focus on launching PURE JOY, I had forgotten where to start, and felt totally blocked, AGAIN.
After a ton of deliberation, I wrote down these simple steps…
- Put timer on for 20 minutes
- Tear and place images that contrast with one another
- Glue the images with matte medium
- Leave collage alone for 1+ days
- Add final collage elements and paint that tie everything together
The result…
This written reminder was the jump start I needed to create 11 collages in less than a week. What a relief!
Some are “sellable”, others not so much. However by creating FAST, I can usually bypass my critical mind and stay in the flow of allowing a higher power to create through me. Whether it is “good” to others is none of my business. My focus is on being IN JOY as I create, regardless of the ultimate outcome. And when all else fails, I remind myself that I created over 100 to get 33 for the PURE JOY collection, so a “bad” collage is part of the process of finding the ones that will ultimately turn into a collection.
BIG LEARNING?
Don’t stop creating, EVER, even when super busy with other art biz projects. Even 15 minutes a day keeps me in a connected flow, (hopefully) avoiding the feeling of being blocked in between collections.
Thank you for your post. I definitely love the Artist’s dates and creating.
Zenell,
Thanks for the loving feedback and for letting me know that this resonates with you. I really need to get back to the Artist’s Dates. Since Covid, I’ve abandoned them. But not art, doing LOTS of that!
Cat
It is nice to know that even experienced artists have set backs but glad you overcame them. In my experience with my own paintings the ones I least like are the ones that sell first, so how do you know the collages are unsellable or are they just not resonating with you?
Keep shining
Dianne
XOXO
Dianne,
The reality is that I have plenty of set backs and challenges with the art I create and my art biz. I just selectively show those parts, like in this post! I know what you mean about not knowing what others will like in terms of something being sellable. I keep my focus on loving the work myself, and when I can say that I love every quadrant of a collage, then its done. At first they all didn’t sell even though I loved them (I have a large collection of unsold collages), but eventually by sticking with this criteria, I started selling most if not all of what I offered. Persistence counts!
Cat