art project roundup

[spacebug]

Semi-Secret project should be done this weekend. Yay!
The film score is kind of omnipresent; I work on chunks as I get directorial feedback.

Got the notice for the Spark Festival RFP. It's the 26th. I want to submit for it, but this is kind of hard, as I'm running low on new material to submit, and with the death of the Ion, my rig is up in the air right now so it's hard to polish the newer things I might use for a submission and daunting to try and think of performing with so many unknown quantities, even though the performance wouldn't be until February. I also have an idea for an installation that I want to submit, but I don't know if it's too much too soon. I've been thinking about the idea a lot, but I don't know if I have the skills yet to pull it off, or if I would by February. I don't know if I should focus on one or the other or submit for both and just see what happens, or maybe even take a year off while I build my rig and my new skills, or if that's just procrastinating. It all hinges on getting accepted at all, but... still.

And then there's the everpresent album. A lot of why I don't have new material is because I feel like I want/need to make the "finished" version of my older stuff before I make new stuff. The Catch-22 is that then I keep feeling like my older stuff is tired and I don't get very excited about working on an album or music in general at all. Gah!

Sometimes I feel like the reason I never feel like I'm making any artistic progress is because I have so many balls in the air. Other times I think that's the best way to not let things get stagnant. Michael, the artist next door to my office, was saying how he'd finished his recent project and was getting worried for a day because he didn't know what he was going to work on next. I kind of envied him.


How do you focus?

Comments

[ilexcassine.livejournal.com]

Focus? Focusing is hard.

I make lists. Lists of lists, and daily task lists. Of everything, art/craft projects, household chores, dissertation work, RA work- everything. I prioritize by lists, color in the lists, and make decision trees by lists. I live by lists. If I didn't have them, I'd do nothing but lie on the couch. And if I'm doing something on my task list and get distracted by a new idea, I have a "new idea"/doodle/word reference piece of paper around so that I can write it down and get back to what I was doing. Thank you Benjamin Franklin! (I first started making goal/tasks lists because of the advice in his autobiography- if you haven't to read it, I think its worthwhile, its short too)

[spacebug.livejournal.com]

I'm a list person, too, but I use them much more at work than with creative stuff. Maybe I need MORE LISTS!

[pied-piper70.livejournal.com]

I actually have about 2 other projects that I need to work on that I haven't related to LJ yet, and I need to focus on those at some point as well, so your dilemma resonates with me...

The hard part about focusing is prioritization...That's why I usually need a deadline, even it's something I'm doing myself...I can't work with "oh, get it done whenever" - well, "whenever" ultimately becomes "never" unless I set a deadline for myself...A deadline forces me to get over whatever blocks I have and just do it...But again, it's about setting priorities...

What's a priority? A movie soundtrack? An album? An art piece? Which one is easier to finish? Which one takes planning? Can you bite away at it in chunks (like *you're* doing with the soundtrack work) or is it something that needs to come as one big whole?

I'd say also (if you haven't done it already) analyze your working style...What comes easily to you and what requires lots of prep work...How much time do you need? Is there a way to make it easier or do you just need to practice that particular aspect of the work until it becomes easier? Can you turn your creativity on and off like a light bulb for a particular project or does it take alot of other stimuli to get it going?

My problem is that, while my creativity is, for the most part, a light bulb, I find myself stuck occasionally on other skills I haven't developed yet (software knowledge, compositional skills, etc.) and that has a tendency to stall me for a bit...But ultimately, things have to get done and I get them done one way or another...

Also the thing that I'm about to type is something I'm also asking myself as I'm typing: What's stopping you? What are the voices in your head telling you? Why can't you finish that project? Are you using your time to the best of your creative abilities?

This isn't an easy road, being an artist, is it? I hate using this cliche, but it's apt: Nothing worth doing is ever easy...

As I said, we need to talk n' shit...

[star5.livejournal.com]

even though it can sometimes feel like too much, and sometimes i do actually need to take a break from things.. it's usually better to have more going on than less. even if it can get chaotic, that's when i do my best work.. that's when i get the most done and feel the most alive. when i have less creative things to work on, i tend to get depressed.

[r4c.livejournal.com]

If it's your own thing (not a specific project that needs to be done by a specific date) then I think it's okay to temporarily (or permanently) abandon unfinished work that isn't holding your interest and start something else. I generally start WAY more things than I ever finish but that allows me to selectively go back and finish things that I think have potential. Getting locked into the drudgery of feeling like you need to finish something that's not really doing it for you is no fun. Making music should be fun. So if you're not enjoying what you're working on, set it aside, and go on to something that else that IS fun and interesting for you.

[r0ckc4ndy.livejournal.com]

Focus? Have you seen any indication that I have any??

[sarendipatree.livejournal.com]

I just had to record a funky song. I used a reward system for myself. I figured well, if the song's gotta be funky, then *I've* gotta be funky. Therefore I won't shower til I've finished the song. And I've finished it. Now I can be done being funky. Much to everyone else's relief, I suspect.

[ilexcassine.livejournal.com]

Thank god.