Combating burnout?

[SShirley]

What do you do if you start to lose interest. I've been in a long slow slump lately and can't manage to finish anything. I have tons of bisque on the shelves and absolutely no energy to get it glazed. Shows are coming up very soon, so I have to get moving. I guess I'll start by cleaning and organizing my glazing room and see if that helps. Any other suggestions?

 

Thanks,

 

Sylvia

[Guest JBaymore]

Sylvia,

 

It may sound pretty off topic or very obvious..... but make sure it is not actually a medical issue causing the "noty into things any more". Sometimes they are insideous and sneak up on you.

 

best,

 

..............john

[Chris Campbell]

I agree with John, make sure you are not losing interest in other things too and that it is not medical.

 

Other than that, creativity is a cycle that ebbs and crests so sometimes you just have to ride out the bottoms ... the main thing is to keep making pottery, stay connected to your studio. Don't think it is gone for good ... something in the outside world ... a book, a museum exhibit, a magazine article, another piece of art ... will bring it back and you will be off and running again.

Another thing it could be is boredom ... are you tired of making the same work? Give yourself permission to spend the winter months doing something completely different with clay or with another art form ... painting, sketching, whatever. Take a workshop in something you have never done before.

Also ... there is no time limit on it. It could take a month or it could take a year to find your new source of energy ... to have something connect again. Give yourself permission to search for it and TRUST YOUR TALENT & CREATIVITY ... it'll be back.

[Denice]

Sylvia why don't you take a drive to Wichita and we'll get together and I'll show you some new glaze layering combinations I have come up with. I haven't used them yet on any of my work but I am willing to share with you just to get you out of your funk. Denice

[TJR]

Sylvia why don't you take a drive to Wichita and we'll get together and I'll show you some new glaze layering combinations I have come up with. I haven't used them yet on any of my work but I am willing to share with you just to get you out of your funk. Denice

 

[TJR]

Sylvia why don't you take a drive to Wichita and we'll get together and I'll show you some new glaze layering combinations I have come up with. I haven't used them yet on any of my work but I am willing to share with you just to get you out of your funk. Denice

 

 

 

Sylvia;

I was in a major slump this year as well. I moved studios after 26 years in the same space, and didn't feel like unpacking the boxes in my new space. I started building tables and shelves. Then I built a deck and a fence for my mother-in law. Now that the weather is cooler, I will be spending more time in doors. People keep bugging me for orders."Where are my plates?", or "Remember those mugs I ordered, not the white ones, those orangey ones?" [shino]

I don't have any Shino mugs left, and Christmas is coming. I hopped on my wheel yesterday and made a dozen mugs. It felt great. Sometimes you just have to get right out of there. But not for too long.

It also helps me to watch other potters on youtube.I like Doug Fitch,Tony Clennel, Rogue potters of Minneapolis.

Don't worry, it'll come back.

Tom[TJR]

[SShirley]

John,

 

Funny you should mention that. I have not felt really well for a while, and have an appointment with the doctor but it takes 6 weeks to get in to see her. Good thing it's not an emergency! So my appointment is next week. Maybe that will tell me something.

 

But otherwise, I will keep plugging along.

 

Thanks for the advice.

 

Sylvia

 

 

Sylvia,

 

It may sound pretty off topic or very obvious..... but make sure it is not actually a medical issue causing the "noty into things any more". Sometimes they are insideous and sneak up on you.

 

best,

 

..............john

 

[SShirley]

Chris,

 

I have had a strong urge lately to take a painting class. Years ago I used to do a lot of watercolors, but never acrylics or oils, and there is a guy (painter) in Joplin whose work I really love, and he sometimes gives classes, so I have been toying with the idea of taking one of those.

 

Actually, I don't make much of the same type of work. My style is all over the place. People come into my gallery and say "There are so many styles! How many artists to you represent here?", and I tell them it's all mine. I sometimes think it would be easier if I did just one or two styles, and really focused on them (my work is mediocre at best), but I think I would die of boredom if I did the same thing all the time. Still, I do feel somewhat scattered. Much like my mind is scattered.

 

I'm signed up for a Bede Clark workshop next month, so I'm really looking forward to that.

 

I have to get stuff glazed for two upcoming shows and an open house, but I can't seem to finish anything. It's thrown, but not glazed. I don't handle pressure well and sort of get stuck.

 

I have a million excuses too. It's hot in here. It's hot outside. It's raining. My hands are chapped. My dog is sick. I'm out of toilet paper - better go get some. There is construction noise in the alley that bothers me. The glazes are all settled, and I don't feel like remixing them. I can't find my favorite paintbrush. The studio is too messy - better clean it up first. You name it, I can build an excuse around it.

 

There is a continuing ed class at a local college, and for several years a group of my friends all took the class every sememster - mostly for a social outlet, but that sort of broke up this fall and I didn't take the class again, so I feel a little isolated from my friends. Things just aren't the same. So I built an excuse around that.

 

Maybe you're right and it will pass. Thanks for the encouragement.

 

Sylvia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I agree with John, make sure you are not losing interest in other things too and that it is not medical.

 

Other than that, creativity is a cycle that ebbs and crests so sometimes you just have to ride out the bottoms ... the main thing is to keep making pottery, stay connected to your studio. Don't think it is gone for good ... something in the outside world ... a book, a museum exhibit, a magazine article, another piece of art ... will bring it back and you will be off and running again.

Another thing it could be is boredom ... are you tired of making the same work? Give yourself permission to spend the winter months doing something completely different with clay or with another art form ... painting, sketching, whatever. Take a workshop in something you have never done before.

Also ... there is no time limit on it. It could take a month or it could take a year to find your new source of energy ... to have something connect again. Give yourself permission to search for it and TRUST YOUR TALENT & CREATIVITY ... it'll be back.

 

[SShirley]

Denice,

 

That's so sweet. I will really consider it. I have lots of glaze combinations that have been less successful than I would have liked. Are you working at cone 6?

 

Sylvia

 

Sylvia why don't you take a drive to Wichita and we'll get together and I'll show you some new glaze layering combinations I have come up with. I haven't used them yet on any of my work but I am willing to share with you just to get you out of your funk. Denice

 

[SShirley]

Tom,

 

Yes, throwing feels great. I hate taking orders because I never know if I will feel like making them or not. I have a lady here who wanted 10 plates, all different. Surprise me, she said. Now that is an order I could love, but so far I have managed to finish 5 of them. She keeps asking for the other 5 and I haven't gotten around to glazing them.

 

I love you tube videos. I'll look for the ones you mentioned to add them to my subscription list.

 

Thanks,

 

Sylvia

 

 

 

 

Sylvia why don't you take a drive to Wichita and we'll get together and I'll show you some new glaze layering combinations I have come up with. I haven't used them yet on any of my work but I am willing to share with you just to get you out of your funk. Denice

 

 

 

Sylvia;

I was in a major slump this year as well. I moved studios after 26 years in the same space, and didn't feel like unpacking the boxes in my new space. I started building tables and shelves. Then I built a deck and a fence for my mother-in law. Now that the weather is cooler, I will be spending more time in doors. People keep bugging me for orders."Where are my plates?", or "Remember those mugs I ordered, not the white ones, those orangey ones?" [shino]

I don't have any Shino mugs left, and Christmas is coming. I hopped on my wheel yesterday and made a dozen mugs. It felt great. Sometimes you just have to get right out of there. But not for too long.

It also helps me to watch other potters on youtube.I like Doug Fitch,Tony Clennel, Rogue potters of Minneapolis.

Don't worry, it'll come back.

Tom[TJR]

 

 

 

 

[Denice]

I just started working at Cone 6 again that is why I am doing all of the testing, the last time you were here I was still working in Cone 1 on my exterior murals and fountains. I decided to take a break and see if I could still make pots, 10 years is long time. See you later. Denice

[neilestrick]

First, go fishing. Second, get out and look at some pots at a gallery or museum. That always gets me excited about making pots again.

[yedrow]

I think John's advice is spot on. I also agree with Chris. Personally, I tend to approach thing from a mystical side. I believe that creation and destruction are united qualities and we need a healthy experience of both to function. So break some stuff, purge your soul. Go into your studio and find the things you hate and destroy them, maybe throw in a couple of things you like. Go to a park and ride a roller coster. Do something that involves loud noises. Refuse to pay for a bad meal. Get outside of the cycle and find some rebirth. Drive down a backroad without a map. Anger a large dog and try to get away.

 

Joel.

[TJR]

Tom,

 

Yes, throwing feels great. I hate taking orders because I never know if I will feel like making them or not. I have a lady here who wanted 10 plates, all different. Surprise me, she said. Now that is an order I could love, but so far I have managed to finish 5 of them. She keeps asking for the other 5 and I haven't gotten around to glazing them.

 

I love you tube videos. I'll look for the ones you mentioned to add them to my subscription list.

 

Thanks,

 

Sylvia

 

Sylvia;

The thing with plate orders is that you have to throw 20 to get 10. Sometimes they crack or warp. You might just have the blues. I also have a youtube video. Go to youtube, then In Plain View Manitoba.ca. It's Tom Roberts. There is a shot of my plates .This is the studio I just moved out of.

Tom

 

 

 

Sylvia why don't you take a drive to Wichita and we'll get together and I'll show you some new glaze layering combinations I have come up with. I haven't used them yet on any of my work but I am willing to share with you just to get you out of your funk. Denice

 

 

 

Sylvia;

I was in a major slump this year as well. I moved studios after 26 years in the same space, and didn't feel like unpacking the boxes in my new space. I started building tables and shelves. Then I built a deck and a fence for my mother-in law. Now that the weather is cooler, I will be spending more time in doors. People keep bugging me for orders."Where are my plates?", or "Remember those mugs I ordered, not the white ones, those orangey ones?" [shino]

I don't have any Shino mugs left, and Christmas is coming. I hopped on my wheel yesterday and made a dozen mugs. It felt great. Sometimes you just have to get right out of there. But not for too long.

It also helps me to watch other potters on youtube.I like Doug Fitch,Tony Clennel, Rogue potters of Minneapolis.

Don't worry, it'll come back.

Tom[TJR]

 

 

 

 

 

[SShirley]

Joel,

 

I do love breaking stuff! But I don't think I'm up to pestering a big dog. Can't run fast enough!

 

Thanks.

 

Sylvia

 

I think John's advice is spot on. I also agree with Chris. Personally, I tend to approach thing from a mystical side. I believe that creation and destruction are united qualities and we need a healthy experience of both to function. So break some stuff, purge your soul. Go into your studio and find the things you hate and destroy them, maybe throw in a couple of things you like. Go to a park and ride a roller coster. Do something that involves loud noises. Refuse to pay for a bad meal. Get outside of the cycle and find some rebirth. Drive down a backroad without a map. Anger a large dog and try to get away.

 

Joel.

 

[Lucille Oka]

It sounds to me that you feel the pressure from the 'gottos' 'havetos' 'betterdos'. The half filled orders must be done. So open up all the windows and doors in the studio, clear away your glazing area. Put the items that must be glazed on the table. Go get a nice clear glass of ice cold water. Stand at the door of the studio look at the light beaming in. Drink the water. Don’t do anything else in the studio; don’t look at anything else in the studio and head straight to the glaze area.

 

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uc6jd9P1X6w Get going!

 

 

 

 

 

[Lucille Oka]

Sorry this duplicated for some reason.