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ARTIST ARTIST
THE KEY TO CREATIVITY? DISCIPLINE
HOW TO ESTABLISH A DAILY CREATIVE RITUAL BY JODI WALSH I 16
decided to get this out of the way up front with this, my fi rst column for ABN. Normally I try to avoid this topic, probably because it is not one of my own strongest qualities. I try—I really do—but if I don't
remind myself constantly, I fall back into old habits. But aſt er all these years of being an artist, I've fi nally fi gured out the key to being successful: Discipline. Renowned dancer and choreographer
Twyla T arp has said that she starts off each day by getting into a taxi and going to the gym. For her, getting into the taxi is her daily discipline. If she can just make it there, then the rest is history… and we all know how her career turned
"IT'S EASY TO WATCH
out. (Her 2003 book, T e Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life, has been translated into six languages.) While reviewing the list of artists
in an exhibit I recently curated, I was struck by how all of them are extremely disciplined when it comes to their artis- tic careers. Each one gets up every morn- ing and sticks to his or her daily routine, whether it involves devoting all day to their art or working for an hour or two before starting their other jobs. Another common denominator is
that they all start their days with a physi- cal ritual; whether it's stretching, run- ning, liſt ing weights, meditation or yoga, the ritual is the same every day. Washington, D.C.-based mixed
WEEKS, MONTHS OR EVEN YEARS PASS BY WITH LITTLE OR NO PROGRESS IN ONE'S ARTISTIC CAREER."
media artist Anne Marchand is a good example of an artist who has kept the same routine for years, and she has a successful career to show for it. Her routine goes like this:
Morning Meditation Breakfast Computer/Offi ce Work Studio Time Exercise Dinner
As you can see from Marchand's rou-
tine, she alternates between energizing the mind and energizing the body. T is feeds her creativity and keeps her en- ergy level high. Food and exercise have a great infl uence on your creativity and the actual artwork that you create. Artists need experience that only
time and practice can bring. But without the discipline it takes to get up every day and start a creative ritual, it's easy to watch weeks, months or even years pass by with little or no progress in one's artistic career. One of the artists in that same exhi-
bition I curated has three children, the youngest of whom is under one year; two have full-time jobs and another works part-time and has two children; the remaining three are full-time art- ists. When I asked how they manage to produce so much quality work, they told me that they just get up earlier and/or go to bed later. One of them takes a week out of the year to go away and recharge her batteries. And they all participate in their share of workshops during the year. T e artists also agree that if they
didn't stick to their daily routines, they defi nitely would not be producing the
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012
TO
