Diving In

Often the hardest thing I must overcome is just getting started! I know that once I begin, I won’t want to stop and actually resent any interruptions like phone calls, meal time or even bathroom breaks. I have ideas swimming through my head but as I make my way to the studio, to begin a new project, my doubts and insecurities surface and I find myself drawn toward other less threatening and more mundane activities just to postpone the moment of truth; getting started. One would think that after a lifetime of making art, with more than half of that time spent teaching others to be creative, I would have moved past these feelings long ago. But no, it’s always that slightly panicky hesitation similar to how I feel before I dive through the surf. Once I take the plunge and realize that I’ll come to the surface, the adrenaline rush hits and I’m ready to swim. And so it goes with my art; I keep reminding myself to just jump right in, flounder around a bit, try different strokes and techniques and before I know it I’m caught up in the riptide of creative momentum.

“I go to my studio everyday. Some days the work comes easily. Other days nothing happens. Yet on the good days the inspiration is only an accumulation of all the other days, the nonproductive ones.” Beverly Pepper