What DOES “filling the well” mean? I’m guessing that most artists have some idea of what it means. It’s a huge and necessary part of the creative process. In order to say something, one has to have something to say! When you work and create and move on to the next project to work and create again – eventually that well can run dry. It needs time to re-fill. The well is what you draw on for ideas. You may consciously dig down in that well, looking for something. But, I think it’s usually a more subconscious thing. It’s not something you think about doing. It just happens. So, when that well is dry or nearly dry, time is needed while it re-fills. And, how does that happen? How does the well fill up again? All your life experiences are part of that well. Every vision, every thought, every encounter, every experience – contribute to filling the well.
So – time and living are the key requirements to filling the well. You need to take some time away from your studio and your creative process. You need to just “be”. Don’t be putting pressure on yourself to come up with ideas for your next creation. There will be plenty of ideas in due time. Your experiences and visions and subconscious thoughts are always pouring into that bottomless well. Even your daydreaming contributes. But, let it all be subconscious. Try to consider yourself “on vacation” from your art. You’re NOT, really. You’re never on vacation from being an artist. It’s who you are. But, TRY to just let your artist lie fallow for awhile. That is when seeds are being sown, ideas are percolating… And, soon enough, you’ll be heading into the studio again, ideas flowing, more than you think you have time to even work on. As if by magic, new ideas appear on your canvas, or whatever ground you work on. It’s an ongoing cycle. Take from the well…refill the well…
Do you have thoughts on filling the well? I’d love to hear from you on how it fits into your creative process.
Sometimes it seems like life gets in the way and interferes with my ability to make art… when I want to.
It’s hard when I’m “inspired” to paint and all kinds of things interfere with my plans. It tends to make me angry and/or frustrated. I have ideas. I want to paint. I NEED to paint. But, I have to do this and I have to do that. And, the car needs to go in for some repair …and ends up taking all day …and into another day.
Why me? Aaaaaagh! I try to remain calm and just go about doing what I have to do. I know that getting angry and grumpy isn’t going to help. As a matter-of-fact, that usually makes everything worse. That makes the people around you angry and grumpy. It’s not their fault that everything isn’t going smoothly.
So – the Big Irritator this week is the car. It needs to go in to see what’s wrong – and get repaired.
I went “prepared” for a long wait. I took my crossword puzzle book and two pencils. I never work crosswords in ink. It’s guaranteed I’ll be doing some erasing. I forgot to mention that I like crossword puzzles that are HARD – ones I’ll most likely not be able to finish completely. I took along my Washington Post crossword puzzle book. I used to have the New York Times crossword puzzle book that I loved.
I also took along my copy of Julia Cameron‘s Walking In This World. I have read it through several times. I can’t remember how many times. But, I get something from it every time. When I finish it, I will either go back to The Artist’s Way and read that again, or I will re-read Walking in This World again. The books are full of reminders about what it is to be an artist, what one should be doing, the pitfalls to watch out for, and all those wonderful quotes.
So, while car problems got in the way of my plans to attend a holiday coffee and to spend a day painting, maybe it was meant to be. It provided some probably much-needed time to slow down, think, and think some more.
I could read a lot more than I do. I used to read a lot. But, it takes away from my painting time. I tend to think in terms of creating time and other things that interfere with creating time. Perhaps I need to expand my horizons and remember that all those other things fill the well. Where does one get the experiences to paint about if one isn’t “experiencing”?
So, maybe life doesn’t get in the way after all. Life is what it’s all about!