MEANING AND MOTIVATION

Photo credit Tim Laman

One of the great existential concerns that many artists struggle with is why they make their art – questioning what purpose it serves. This concern can arrive all on its own as an artist attempts to carve out space and opportunity in their life for art-making, but it is especially concerning in times like these when there is so much need, suffering, and uncertainty.

In these past several months we may have found ourselves struggling – feeling uninspired, apathetic, unable to focus, and even beginning to question if making our art isn’t just self-indulgent and unnecessary. When galleries have closed and opportunities to show and share our work are even more limited, what motivates us to show up to the studio each day and continue making our work? What purpose does art-making serve in times of such struggle and hardship? And what if we feel that our art-making is dependent on the external circumstances being just right, and when they are not moving in that direction anytime soon, what then?

The answer that can help is to recognize that art-making and being creative is a way of making our lives meaningful. There is no other creature on this planet that makes art for the sheer joy of it except for maybe the amazing Bowerbirds, whose courtship rituals involve building elaborate nests very specifically decorated with groupings of coloured objects – composed, placed and designed to attract an interested female. While their artistry is motivated by finding a mate, they also seem to enjoy the process of making.  But would they do this without the underlying motivation? Probably not. Only we would, because we find meaning in making and experiencing art. It moves us emotionally, provokes our awareness and provides us with an outlet to express what we are feeling or needing to say. 

As artists we have an interesting relationship with this need to make meaning. We want to know that what we make matters, but we also see so much good work already out there in the world and we wonder how ours could matter. And that creates creative anxiety for us, anxiety that arrives as procrastination and resistance, which unchecked prevents us from making our art.

Interestingly, we also experience creative anxiety when we realize that making our art actually means a great deal to us. We can then put extraordinary pressure on ourselves for every piece we make to be significant and a reflection of that deep, meaningful purpose – as a kind of evidence of our worth. When a work fails or doesn’t meet our vision, we decide that we’re somehow flawed and unable to make meaningful work –which is our deepest, unanswered purpose. So the mounting anxiety causes us to stop. We relieve ourselves of the painful experience – the discomfort – by avoiding making our art.

But as the author and Creativity Coach Eric Maisel says, “Since anxiety accompanies both states – creating and not creating – why not choose creating?” Certainly we don’t have any chance of finding meaning for ourselves if we never attempt to make our work.

There is plenty of emotional labour to manage in art-making, even when the external circumstances of our lives are feeling just right for us. And we need to recognize the added layers of challenge that arrive for us when circumstances are not feeling right, and prepare ourselves for that. At these times art-making can become particularly hard for us and we can lose ground easily with our work – avoiding, questioning, abandoning. We may even decide it just doesn’t matter.

But what if the process of making our art was the answer to this question around meaning? What if we found meaning in making, the engagement and the process, and not the outcomes or external validations? The act of creating our art is sourced from a deeply personal and connected place. When we focus on the connection – feel more and think less – we tap into something that nourishes us and allows us to feel meaning. We can choose to make meaning in our lives by honouring this relationship to ourselves. And when we do, we are healthier, calmer and better able to help others.

Our wellbeing depends on this connection to meaning, and art-making is an access point for us. And our art is meaningful because we declare it as that. It’s activated by our choosing to engage with a process that offers insights, truthful expression, trust and courage. The very act of making art causes us to expand, grow and discover. Meaning is a matter of course. And when our lives feel more meaningful to us we make better choices for ourselves and in the world. 

At times like these we can decide to do something that will help us to be stronger and more accepting simultaneously. And art-making can offer each of us that. Regardless of whether there are opportunities to sell or show our work, making art needs to be rooted in this place of “making meaning” for ourselves. Because then our art can’t be touched by anything that changes in the external world – which is constantly changing. It’s our path to mastery in life and will contribute greatly to everything we do. 

The first action you can take in the commitment of making meaning with your art is to state that you matter and so does your work. And only you can offer that to yourself.

Remember that even when we don’t feel certain of the future prospects for our art, like exhibition opportunities and in-person art sales, what you’re doing – being an artist – is tremendously valuable, simply because it allows you to be well. When we are connected to our deepest purpose, we create meaning in our lives...and right now, more than ever, we need to find meaning in our lives.

Through art-making you create meaning for yourself. When that art is shared you give that gift of meaning to others, allowing them to create their own. As an artist you are an ambassador of meaning-making. What a gift you are to the world. 

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