Paper clay cameo made from custom mould for Out of the Box
© Cherry Jeffs 2014 Is Resistance inevitable? Or could we make every stage of the creative process enjoyable?
My aim in my current art project is to see if I can dispel Resistance completely.
Write yourself process love notes
In my studio journal I am making quick notes about the parts of the process that I most love.
I've been experimenting with paper clay and reconnecting with my happiest hours at school spent in the pottery room. This has been generating lots of process-love notes! If I hit a batch of Resistance I aim to stop and ask myself what I could do to inject some fun back into the process at to regain my enthusiasm. 
I am working on an ongoing hunch that Resistance is not inevitable but rather evidence that 'the way we are working isn't working' (the title of the book by Tony Schwartz I'm reading just now) and that if we listen to the voice of Resistance, we can learn what our process is asking for, what the art itself is asking for.
Why not try observing your own creative process this week. Keep an eye out for process-love notes! What Do You Think About Resistance?
What's your experience?
Is suffering as part of our art a misguided subversion of a potentially healthy and useful stimulus? Comment! 
2 Comments
I've been thinking the same thing. Sadly, thus far I haven't been as mindful of my process to know for sure. 19/11/2014 11:59:11 am
Nela, it's certainly true that many people find starting the most difficult part of the creative process. Now you've started thinking about Resistance I'm sure you'll get more clues about when and why it shows up :) Leave a Reply. |
