I
love drawing but I find it really hard to fit it in around a full-time job so
this year my New Year’s resolution is to find ways to fit it into daily or at the very least weekly life.
The
main problem I have is finding inspiration because I live and work in North
Shields there is not much in the way of new, exciting, vibrant topics to
inspire or give you the seed you need to put pen to paper.
I
have been really thinking about this and apart from using social platforms such
as Pinterest, Stumble Upon and Instagram I find that I cannot be engaged in my
creative side as much as I would like. When you are working and living in the
humdrum of the day to day the creativity slowly eeks out of you and one day you
find that you really have to make
the effort to find that passion again. Normal working life is not the same as
when I was at Art
College constantly
surrounded by ideas, colour, energy, pioneering people and an active social
life – one that included taking our sketchbooks to pubs! I do find that throughout
the day in work I often make little doodles and I am hoping that I can use
these doodles as a way to inspire further art pieces.
Another
way I have been encouraging creativity is to sign up for things.
I currently contribute to NARC magazine, Firewords literary magazine and collaborative projects like a zine about Grainger Market with local artist, Lydia Wysocki. By putting your name down to do a piece of writing or drawing for someone
(unfortunately this is mostly for free) you are pushing yourself to actually
complete a piece of work AND you have a deadline. I have found this really
effective when it comes to making yourself work. And if you get involved
locally then you might just end up making new friends too!
 |
| Firewords 'Geeks' illustration |
Something
that really inspires me is travel but when you’re on a tight budget and
mediocre salary this is not always possible so I find that even travelling to
local places really makes a big difference. I recently visited Durham Cathedral
and I was surprised by just how beautiful it was, every crevice is amazing that I could feel
ideas bursting to the surface every time I turned to look at another stained
glass window or ceiling. I think it could be easy to say that I will only be
inspired by new landscapes and new cultures but there is something very special
about taking the time to appreciate where you live and to make the most of
that.
Finally,
I have also started this blog and although I am not in the full flow of the
blogging culture – currently only doing one post a month if that – I find that
I now have to THINK of ideas, MAKE the time and ACTIVELY take part in this because
if not then it will just end up being one of the many thousands of blogs
countless people have started and after a few months have left by the wayside.
In
2015 I want to try and create my own destiny, I want to be open to opportunities
and be happy. I would love to be an illustrator or wallpaper designer or draw
stuff for people and get paid for it but that won’t happen if I just mope
around all the time wishing someone would notice me. You have to make things
happen for yourself and put the hard, unrelentless work in.
For
now, I will settle with (hopefully) making someone smile.
I
would be really interested to hear if anyone else has the same issue as me? How
do you keep your morale up and fit your creative life into your working life?
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