My planning has been a bit of a mess lately. All kinds of things happen that demand my attention. Looking ahead, I don’t think it will get much better. It’s not that I don’t plan, but things go differently than planned. I’m sure that I’m not the only one facing this, does everything you plan always go as planned?
What about art? Do plan ahead or just sit down and go? Do you have set goals or do you just create whatever you feel like? Is one better than the other?
A lot of what I do I actually plan ahead. I set goals for my artworks and my growth, learning new things. I also leave room for spontaneous artworks. Sometimes something pops into my mind and I have to create it. At times I see someone do something that I really have to try. Then I learn about a new art supply and I just have to try it. Nothing wrong with these things at all, as long as they don’t take over.
What I’ve seen is that people who always do whatever they like, can end up frustrated. They get lost in the sea of possibilities. Someone sets out to learn something, then totally gets distracted by all the art world has to offer. They give in and get overwhelmed in the end. On the other hand, I see people with a clear plan and vision giving up as well. They’re holding on to their plans so tight, that it consumes them and they get stuck, losing vision and creativity.
Neither is good. We shouldn’t spin out of control, nor should we get obsessed by staying in control. Travel the middle road.
Personally, I try to work seriously on my set goals during the week. I’m following my vision for art, sticking to the plan. When the weekend comes, I stop planning and just go with whatever comes to mind. Now I do admit that these weekend ideas often get incorporated into my serious plans later on, but that’s not the intention.
It’s not set in stone though. If a project needs to get done, I use part of the weekend to work on it. If I start something for fun, it may get some attention during the week as well.
All work and no play isn’t good. Neither is all play and no work. For me what it comes down to is this: work or play, art is fun either way.