Sometimes You Hit a Brick Wall

 

sketch of a bunny backpedaling in reverse.

©Diana Ting Delosh

Sometimes you're busy, busy, busy. Humming along, being inspired, productive, creative and then BAM, you hit a brick wall. OKAY not really, but it feels like it. You're in a mood and all you want to do is scroll on social media or binge junk, TV, food, you name it. Of course while you're doing all that you're feeling guilty because YOU SHOULD BE DOING SOMETHING! And now you're feeling like you've gone in REVERSE, not only have you not been moving forward, but all this meandering has made you loose whatever progress you've made!

Sigh.

Personally, the above has been happening at an alarmingly regular rate. Part of my problem, is that I don't allow myself regular day offs. If I'm in the studio, I expect to create and produce something. This is all due to my awareness of my own mortality as well as the fragility of what we consider our usual. I suppose this is partly due to the pandemic. In the last few years, I've had a few unexpected losses of family and friends. That certainly shook up all my assumptions of my world. Which goes back to my feeling like I could be running out of time and I don't even know it. Mind you I'm healthy and up to date on all my shots. Still, there's that old saying if you're standing still you're actually going backwards.

What to do?

I've come to the conclusion that I need to plan a day off on a regular basis. In hopes that I won't be waylaid by my brain/body deciding to have a rebellion. Allow myself to goof off.  And enjoy it. Dammit.

HA! Right after I typed the above, I'm tempted to take it back and make it only a half day off but only if we really need it. 

But I won't. In the pursuit of finding balance we will give Goof Off Day a shot. I also need to remind myself that pre-pandemic and other current responsibilities I had a weekly errand day. But Errand Day back then actually involved, aside from errands, meandering off  to the library or mall or wherever to play a game of look.

Do you gift yourself a day or time off on a regular basis? Or are you stingy about it like me?

You can find me at:

Website: dianadelosh.com

Instagram: @dtdelosh

Post: @dtdelosh

Check out my illustrations on products at:

Greeting Cards: greetingcarduniverse.com/dianascards

Gifts: zazzle.com/deloshdesigns*

Art Prints: wingedrabbit.imagekind.com

 

A List and a Mind Shift

Being a freelance illustrator, or as I prefer an independent illustrator, means life doesn't always hum along smoothly. In fact it usually means life moves at a herky jerky pace. Somedays you're rushing to meet deadlines. Other days you're wearing a hole in the rug with your pacing as you wait for art directors & buyers to make a decision on your art. Then there are the lulls between jobs when you're waiting, just waiting for something to happen, checking your e-mail, phone, twitter feed anything. And yes, I believe this kind of waiting is the worst.

In a perfect world, life as an illustrator would hum along, full of wonderful, creative, well paying dream assignments, projects. And of course all your clients would give you due dates that gave you ample time and your art would be rubber stamped OK. But real life sucks. And I bet all your  deadlines, like mine, seem to clump together on the same days no matter how hard you try to schedule them. Which means you're waiting to hear back from everyone at the same time...always. In between those mad rush periods there are stretches of nothingness.

So what's the trick to keep yourself from getting too nutty?  I mean after you've gotten bored with walking in circles and starring at your in-box what's next. May I suggest a list and a mind shift?

I keep a list of back burner projects. These could be anything from messing with my new color pencils, participating in a group art challenge, to working on a picture book dummy. A trick I learned as a mom was that big projects can be broken down to it's smallest components. Keep working those small bits and eventually that picture book dummy gets done.

Now for the mind shift. Think of yourself as an Independent Creative. Freelance Artist, Independent Artist, don't they mean the same thing? Yes. Perhaps. But here's the implied difference as a freelance artist your'e looking for freelance work or looking to be hired, commissioned, assigned. You work as a freelancer. In other words looking and waiting for someone to say yes. However as an independent artist you may be looking for freelance work BUT you are also coming up with your own projects perhaps even self-publishing. You are no longer just waiting for someone to give you a project. You can come up with your own. Granted you may still be submitting that project and waiting for approval or putting it out there yourself and waiting for sales. Unfortunately the waiting part can't be helped.

So Diana, you say, noticed that your website says: Diana Ting Delosh is an illustrator/author. She creates whimsical and elegant art, independently and by assignment. Why aren't you calling yourself an independent... Well for awhile I did, but then I kept getting queries about whether I took on freelance assignments. Duh!