Slowing down to create better art. Being bored, squirming in the silence and the quiet, replacing stimulation with calmness…
What do you do when you’re already doing something? You’re probably listening to a podcast or an audiobook. You’re having Tiktok on auto-scroll. You’re watching TV and texting someone.
The unwillingness to be in moments of nothing is hurting us as artists. We need moments of no stimulation to be bored and face our thoughts and selves.
For almost a year, I craved nothing but silence and being alone. With no work to think about, no social interactions to keep up with, no plans, no to-do lists, nothing.
And the more I can’t find those moments of nothing, the more I cannot find the hidden ideas in the silence. I fear what might happen if I’m not bombarded with stimuli.
This is your sign to slow down and create better art
In a recent article, I shared some tips that you need to implement to create better art. Although the tips were more about the artist’s mental state and reasoning than the art practice itself, I still believe that one affects the other greatly and simultaneously.
And my biggest tip remains that slowing down is the only way to create better art. As a creative, you need time alone more than most. If you pretend you don’t, it will eat you alive from the inside out.
Sit in your room and create, and eventually, you’ll be invited into new rooms as the work everyone sees happens because of the work no one sees.
Slowing down gives you a better look into the bigger picture of things. Your life, your work, the art you want to create, and why you are creating it.
Read this: Why does Great Art take Time?
And this: Why is Rest Good for Creativity?
