The object of art is not to make salable pictures. It is to save yourself…to make yourself alive. Most people remain all their lives in a stupor. The point of being an artist is that you may live.Sherwood Anderson
As our first monthly series Make It Monday comes to a close we thought we’d take a moment to reflect on our findings.
When we first introduced this series our goal was to shake off the fall doldrums and cultivating a deeper personal creative practice. I think we achieved these things. One of the main objectives for Rabble & Twine is infusing our lives (and the lives of others) with creativity! The deadline we created for ourselves turned out to be a really nice incentive to focus on new and different projects. A chance to get out of our creative comfort zones. Plus, it was exciting to share them with you!
We definitely hit some road bumps this month. The struggle was real when it came to finding time to do everything! We bit off more than we could chew a few times. This month was a reality check that this chasing your creative dream thing is going to be hard! And our life and our plans are only going to get bigger and busier. We’re examining this whole blog as a creative experience in itself. There are a lot of moving pieces even on the small scale. We’re lucky that we are in the place to learn, re-evaluate, and adjust the big picture as we go.
LESSONS LEARNED
- Time Mangement: Last month was just like being back in school. It’s still soooo easy to just put things off till the last minute.
- Collaboration: Collaborating with others is more than just cut and pasting someone else’s work and giving credit. You need ground rules, and respect everyone’s contributions and their intent.
- Work/Life Balance: Anna and I have jobs, and it’s hard enough making sure the dishes get done, get some sleep, and have some quality fun. Adding creative projects into your schedule…it’s easy to let something slip.
- The Unexpected: We had a project in mind for one of the weeks, but it rained on our raw ingredients (branches/sticks). And to top it all off Anna sprained her ankle (dancers know that can really cramp your style). But hey, we improvised, and I’m happy with the result
- Expectation vs. Reality: Sometimes projects just fail. Sometimes you think it’s gonna be great…then not so much. It’s part of the process.
- Motivation: We set the goal to make a habit out of being creative. But sometimes I’d just rather sit around and watch TV. Sometimes doing stuff is hard.
Other Makers!
We weren’t the only people who made things during MAKE IT MONDAY month. Here are a few projects our friends and family shared with us!
Kate Seethaler & Joe Sills
Dance Film
Dancer, Choreographer, and genuine baller Kate Seethaler took up the challenge of Make It Monday with aplomb, contributing a few improvisations this month. She’s been posting interesting videos over on her Vimeo page. Here’s a collaborative video she just put together:
A Sunday Exploration from Kate Seethaler on Vimeo.
Final Musings
- Art on a deadline can be challenging.
- You can’t rush the creative process.
- Sometimes inspiration doesn’t strike.
- There is value in a work in progress. You just need to see it.
- Rituals of creativity are important.
- Show up and do the work.
Don’t worry this isn’t the end of Make It Monday! We’re still cultivating our personal practice and swimming around this creative pond. We’ll continue to make and share projects with y’all just not on such a regularly scheduled basis.
Happy Creating!