Creative Depression
I know that many of us have and deal with creative depression. I am of the mind that it is a necessary part of being creative and knowing this does not make it any easier. Many times it has brought me to my knees and at the same time through such harsh self criticism it has shown me that it is ok to just be myself. I also believe that we suffer this depression together or communally and the realization of this is most important. This is no Tom Cruise bent on how we do not need anti-depressants or that Scientology will show us the way. I have this gut instinct that we are all connected somehow (be it spiritually or extrasensorilly(sp)) and our depression is shared. I don't think we need to sit in drum circles and chant either but just the awareness of a communal mind takes some of the pressure off. I am a painter and I work from my instinct so let me know how you feel about it and if you have read anything about it.
posted by kpnil at 7:59 PM
3 Comments:
hey kurt, i think i know what you mean by creative depression. to me, this is the depression that arises from being unsatisfied (or frustrated) with my (lack of) creative output.
i don't know how to deal with it either, except just to ignore it and keep moving forward. i have found it to be unhelpful (and even counterproductive) to dwell on it and think of strategies to become more creative. sometimes a change of environment helps. -ilya
2:19 PM
I agree with you Ilya and I usually find that if I continue to work through it I can progress out of it and then of course I find myself confronting a whole new creative depression. I really believe this helps me to critique my own work and to asses where I am and how I relate to it. It sort of keeps me honest so to speak. For me, a change of scene can be helpful and when I return to my work the difficulty I was encounting may have dissolved but if it is a particularly stuborn issue it will continue to knag me wherever I am. I think it also marks a changing point and that can be very scary and exhillerating at the same time.
2:49 PM
they say a change is as good as a rest...Sometimes it's good to take a step back and see what you're painting. It does'nt mean you've finished it...
there's more to life than art, and there's more to art than painting
if you can't find new experiences away from the canvas, then what are you painting about?
OK , I know that's really crude, but I find the fundamentals help me stave off any lasting or deep depression. Your whole life is the canvas, and you never live to see your finished work, or more importantly, the reaction from it
2:30 PM
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