When your art life goes to crap, what to do?

Summary

In this motivational video, Sean from R Mentor addresses the challenges artists face when life's pressures threaten to derail their creative pursuits. He likens life's turmoil to a grenade, emphasizing the importance of not letting art become collateral damage. Sean suggests setting an 'art thermostat' to maintain a consistent creative routine, considering different scenarios for planning, and stresses the significance of discipline over motivation. He also highlights the need for clear communication with loved ones about the importance of art in one's life and the strategy of equivalent trade to balance life's interruptions with dedicated art time.

Takeaways

• 🎨 **Maintaining Artistic Passion**: Even when life gets tough, it's crucial to keep your passion for art alive and not let it become a casualty of your circumstances.
• 💥 **Life as a Grenade**: Life's challenges can feel like a grenade explosion, with the shrapnel representing the ongoing effects that can damage your pursuits, including art.
• 📉 **Avoiding the Back Burner**: It's easy to put art on the back burner during difficult times, but doing so can make it hard to reignite your passion later.
• 🔄 **The Art of Balance**: Balancing art with life's demands is essential, and it's about finding a routine that works for you, not just daily but throughout the week.
• 🌡️ **The Thermostat Analogy**: Just as a thermostat regulates temperature, set a consistent 'art time' and stick to it, adapting as necessary to maintain your creative output.
• ⏱️ **Time Management**: Instead of focusing on daily art time, consider weekly allocations to better understand and manage your creative schedule.
• 🛠️ **Planning for the Inevitable**: Murphy's Law suggests that things will go wrong, so plan for suboptimal, balanced, and optimal scenarios to accommodate life's unpredictability.
• 🚶 **From Victim to Victor**: Your response to adversity determines your outcome; don't let life's challenges make you a victim, but rather use them to become a victor.
• 🔄 **The Law of Equivalent Trade**: In the spirit of Full Metal Alchemist's equivalent trade, you must give something to get something; if life takes away your art time, find ways to rebalance it.
• 💡 **Discipline Over Motivation**: Motivation is fleeting; instead, rely on discipline and habits to maintain your art practice, even when you don't feel inspired.
• 👥 **Communication is Key**: Clearly communicate your needs and the importance of your art to those around you to ensure you have the support and space to create.

Q & A

What is the main message Sean wants to convey to artists facing life challenges?

Sean emphasizes that artists should not let their art be collateral damage due to life's challenges and stresses the importance of maintaining a balance between art and life, even when circumstances are tough.

How does Sean compare life's challenges to a grenade explosion?

Sean likens life's challenges to a grenade explosion where the initial impact is followed by damaging shrapnel, symbolizing the secondary effects of life's difficulties that can create collateral damage in one's life, including the potential neglect of one's art.

What is Sean's perspective on the common advice of making art every single day?

Sean rejects the idea of making art every single day as a manageable approach. Instead, he suggests focusing on a weekly schedule, which can be less daunting and more effective for tracking art-making time.

How does the concept of a thermostat relate to managing art time?

The thermostat analogy is used to illustrate the idea of setting a target for art time and then either rising to meet it or falling short, depending on one's commitment and circumstances.

What does Sean suggest as an alternative to measuring art time daily?

Sean recommends measuring art time on a weekly basis instead of daily, as it can provide a more forgiving and realistic metric that can lead to a better assessment of one's art-making habits.

What is the significance of planning in art-making according to Sean?

Planning is crucial, but Sean advises to plan in different scenarios—suboptimal, balanced, and optimal—to account for the unpredictability of life and to maintain flexibility in one's art-making schedule.

How does Sean interpret Murphy's Law in relation to art-making plans?

Sean interprets Murphy's Law as a reminder to expect things to go wrong with art-making plans and to incorporate flexibility time to accommodate unforeseen circumstances.

What role does communication play in balancing art with family or roommates, as suggested by Sean?

Communication is key to ensuring that family members or roommates understand the importance of art-making time and respect it by not interrupting unless absolutely necessary.

What advice does Sean give for dealing with the feeling of lacking motivation to create art?

Sean advises that motivation is not the primary concern; instead, he suggests focusing on discipline and habits, which are more sustainable and reliable for consistent art creation.

How does Sean relate the concept of 'Equivalent Trade' from Full Metal Alchemist to art-making?

Sean uses 'Equivalent Trade' as a metaphor for rebalancing art time when life events disrupt the schedule, suggesting that artists should compensate for lost art time by adjusting their schedule to maintain consistency.

What is Sean's personal strategy for maximizing art-making efficiency when time is limited?

Sean's strategy includes having a clear plan and purpose, cleaning the workspace after each session to reduce resistance, and prepping for the next art session to ensure a smooth start.