Part 2: The Importance of Wasting Time
“Creativity is the residue of time wasted.” Albert Einstein
A lot of people like being alone…I am not one of them. I always order takeout instead of eating in a restaurant alone. I could never plan going to a movie or concert alone. I love to travel, but doing it alone would be a fate worse than death. I spent a lot of time alone as a kid, spending endless hours lying on the grass watching the clouds…or spending time alone playing house in our backyard. But, being alone now is dangerous for me. As a friend once mentioned, when I am the only person I have to talk to, I get into trouble. I first realized I had this fear after graduating from college thinking I wanted to be an artist. I did what every responsible art graduate does at first…built a studio and tried to make art. Ummm, but what do when there is no assignment? I tried to throw some paint on canvas in my feeble attempt to be a painter. I was awful…but worse, I felt like being alone in my studio was like a punishment. I needed to be out talking to people, engaging with art, but not making it. I liked the business side of the art world but wasn’t qualified to do anything. I briefly entertained the idea of going to law school to study art law, but by the time I graduated I was so buried in student debt it was not a realistic option for me. So what to do? I spent hours in my studio being bored and feeling like I was just wasting my time. Hours of just sitting, thinking…alone. Finally the idea came to me…I could help artists navigate the business side of being an artist, getting into a gallery, getting shows or selling their work. I found I liked doing all that stuff for my artist husband, and he happily relinquished those chores to me. But such a career didn’t exist in 1980. Necessity is the mother of invention. All of our artists friends wanted me to do the same thing for them and when I started my business I had to attribute the idea to being bored.
Following is an article I wrote in 2012…Originally intended for partners of artists to help them understand the creative process…but, now I am recycling it more for my own benefit. As I age (getting ready for my 74th birthday in a couple of weeks) I find I am spending more and more time alone. I don’t like it. I have to force myself to get out and do things, call friends, make plans. It is hard for me as I wait for the next iteration of this phase in my life to come to me in this, the final chapter. Writing for substack has been a savior. I have my daughter to thank for forcing me to start writing again and I am grateful to all my readers that continue to encourage me while I wait for an answer to the question first posed by William Shakespeare (Two Gentlemen of Verona)…”Who is Sylvia, what is she?”
The impulse that fuels creativity is nourished by stillness, time alone. That’s why so many artists find their most productive hours are in the wee hours, when everyone else is asleep. The lack of distractions is a must for artists to be productive. Resting, thinking, meditating, looking…this is when the creative juices are most actively percolating. And, this is one of the most difficult aspects for non artists to understand.
Summer is around the corner, time for relaxing by the pool, laying at the beach, taking a vacation from work, spending time outdoors, with family and friends, reading junky novels and just doing nothing, if you feel like it. The only problem is…if you are an artist, you rarely feel like it. One of the most misunderstood ideas about artists, is the notion that they can work whenever they want to. Catch an hour in the studio after the kids go to bed or while your partner is sleeping. But, those that are cursed/blessed with the DNA that makes you an artist, know better. It is precisely the quiet time in stillness, of nothingness that stimulates ideas…the middle of the night after wrestling with the unfinished part of that painting/poem/musical score. Or, the boredom that comes from just sitting in front of your painting/computer/blank sheet of paper, staring…waiting for an idea. The funny thing is, the ideas rarely come when you are just waiting for them. They intrude themselves into the idle moments of relaxation. Just when you thought you could finally escape, POW, it hits you. Without the boredom/relaxation/time wasted, creativity CAN NOT exist.
It’s important for artists to be able to communicate this critical part of the creative process to family and friends. Normal people believe that being creative is the ability to make art…WRONG. There is a huge difference between a person who can draw something to make it look real and an artist (who may not be able to draw a straight line). I am not saying that the person who can draw is NOT an artist, but I am saying that an artist is not necessarily a person who can draw. Experienced, mature artists are able to control how and when to tap into their creative juices, much the way professional athletes and actors are able to go into “the zone” when called upon. Understanding this often, misunderstood, unidentified part of the creative process can make or break a marriage. It’s really only after 38 years of marriage to an artist that I am beginning to understand why we have never been able to vacation together, spend more than a few hours visiting with friends, or even “relaxing” together. As an artists’ partner you may at times feel lonely, rejected, abandoned, when in actuality you should feel lucky. It is precisely this time away from you when the artist is “working” that allows them to be the person you fell in love with in the first place. And it is precisely when the artist lacks this time, (whether consciously or unconsciously) that makes them unbearable to you and to themselves. Artists that surround themselves with busyness, either by choice or by necessity, are bound to experience the eruption eventually. It may takes years for an artist to acknowledge what they have been suppressing. They may or may not ever be in a life choice position when they can heed the call. But, hopefully, by talking about it, educating people about it and sharing this necessary part of the puzzle, we can heal ourselves and those closest to us. Share this with someone you love.
Okay, you have obviously been reading my posts and hopefully they give you a smile or a tasty bit of information you can use or share, So, here is my unabashed plea to upgrade to a paid subscription. To those of you that have already upgraded, heartfelt thanks. Substack subscriptions cost $6 per month, less than a cup of coffee at Starbucks, or $60 bucks for the year,,,If you are not able to upgrade, please be sure to share this article with someone whom you feel may benefit from it. For over 40 years, I have devoted my entire career to helping visual artists navigate the business world…and now, I am asking if you can help me continue to help you? My heart is smiling…