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Asha
Student
Yuma, Arizona
1
Question
Asked
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How do you work with deadlines, or stress as an Artist?
I am a 7th grade student at Crane Middle School. I have been interested in art for around 6 years, and I want to work as a Craft Artist. Art has always been something I use for comfort. I mainly work with pottery and jewelry making, creating crafts ranging from gifts for others to items for myself. Art has always been interesting to me, but stress with deadlines can sometimes ruin the experience. I’ve wondered, how do professionals work through stress or handle the pressure of deadlines without losing their creativity?
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1 answer
Kim Matthews
Graphic Production Designer and Sculptor
136
Answers
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Updated
Kim’s Answer
Hi Asha,
I know what you mean! Everyone is different, and some people need the pressure of deadlines to get moving, while others are more comfortable working slowly and steadily.
The best way to avoid deadline pressure is to work every day in your studio and develop good habits. Some days that means cleaning up and organizing, looking for calls for entry to shows or grants, researching galleries or stores, reading, or just sketching and searching for ideas. Other days you're immersed in a project, and a whole day will disappear in a heartbeat.
As for the stress part, that's harder. It's hard to be creative when you're worried about paying your bills, for example. And during those lean times, it's easy to get discouraged. But my answer to this problem is the same: work every day in your studio. You might not make what looks like progress at all, but you're showing up. That's 99% of it. Just show up and do your work. Everything doesn't have to be a masterpiece. Some things will end up in the trash. But what you learn from your experiments doesn't end up in the trash; you refine those ideas and they feed into other ideas, and maybe a great work comes from that.
One last bit of advice I have is to do what you can to be fully engaged in the process of making. When you're in that "zone," worries tend to fall away. And the more you practice your crafts, the easier it will be to go deep into your work.
And if you haven't seen it already, I highly recommend the PBS series Craft in America. You can watch full episodes or segments on YouTube.
Hope this helps!
I know what you mean! Everyone is different, and some people need the pressure of deadlines to get moving, while others are more comfortable working slowly and steadily.
The best way to avoid deadline pressure is to work every day in your studio and develop good habits. Some days that means cleaning up and organizing, looking for calls for entry to shows or grants, researching galleries or stores, reading, or just sketching and searching for ideas. Other days you're immersed in a project, and a whole day will disappear in a heartbeat.
As for the stress part, that's harder. It's hard to be creative when you're worried about paying your bills, for example. And during those lean times, it's easy to get discouraged. But my answer to this problem is the same: work every day in your studio. You might not make what looks like progress at all, but you're showing up. That's 99% of it. Just show up and do your work. Everything doesn't have to be a masterpiece. Some things will end up in the trash. But what you learn from your experiments doesn't end up in the trash; you refine those ideas and they feed into other ideas, and maybe a great work comes from that.
One last bit of advice I have is to do what you can to be fully engaged in the process of making. When you're in that "zone," worries tend to fall away. And the more you practice your crafts, the easier it will be to go deep into your work.
And if you haven't seen it already, I highly recommend the PBS series Craft in America. You can watch full episodes or segments on YouTube.
Hope this helps!