All Is In Movement.
I’ve spent a lot of time moving to a new home this month. I got a van to move the big furniture, but the rest has been car load after car load of boxes, and countless flights of stairs. I’m still not finished, but I think with a few more trips I will be. As you can imagine, it has taken a lot of time and energy to get this done.
That being said, I’m not only moving my physical self and belongings, I’m also developing my creative practice. Although I thought I had a good idea for what my new project would entail, I’ve found over the past few months of working on it that things are not falling into place the way I thought they would. I’ve realized that if I don’t have a solid project idea to work towards, I feel as though I have no direction. I need that sense of direction and purpose with my work. I think it’s important to take the time to evaluate what you’re doing with your work every now and then.
An image I thought I was going to use for my project. I have since changed my mind about the direction of the project.
In assessing where I want to be with my practice, I find myself with these questions:
What interests do I have?
What do I enjoy photographing?
What do I care deeply about?
What do I want to learn and understand?
What would I like to explore?
What decisions have I made about the project?
What is left to be decided?
Let’s take a deeper dive–
What moves you? What issue or topic are you passionate about? Whatever your project ends up being, it should be something that you really care about. That could be something like climate change or the political scene, or your spiritual beliefs, or documenting a person or group of people that means something to you. Following your passion is what will help keep you on the right track in working through and completing your project. If you find that your interest in the work you are doing is waning, it may be time to rethink your ideas.
What is it that you want to learn? Whether about the world around you, a style of art, a particular camera, or a different culture, it is important that your project helps you understand something new. Learning is an important and rewarding part of life, and in taking on something that will enrich your understanding, you will find the motivation to carry out your goals and keep working. As you learn, you’ll uncover new avenues to investigate and new interests to pursue. This will further fuel your creative practice. The possibilities are endless.
Finally, take your time and explore. You likely won’t find your direction in a day. It will take time, trial and error, mistakes, experimentation, and play. It can certainly feel discouraging when you lose your sense of direction. But that means, more than ever, that it is time to try new things. Approach subjects from a different perspective, try unusual techniques, go for subjects you wouldn’t normally find appealing. If you mess up, learn from it. If you get it right, learn from that too. Exploration leads to growth. Thinking of your artwork as play can set you up for unexpected possibilities and ideas.
After evaluating where I want to take my work, I realized I want to do something a bit different. This photograph is from my recent Mystery & Manifestations book.
If you find yourself losing direction with your creative practice, ask yourself the questions I laid out in this blog post. I found that just by writing out my thoughts and talking them over with a trusted friend, I was able to work through my own block and figure out where my photography is headed. Now that I have a direction again, it’s time to plan my trajectory. But that is a discussion for another day.
