Safe Harbors

Most mornings before I start my work day, I read several inspirational or motivational quotes to help set a positive tone for the day. Some of my favorites come from The Foundation for a Better Life which are posted on my website, www.nolanstudios.com/dailyquote.html. This morning I received the following quote by William G.T. Shedd 1820-1894. "A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for."

It got me thinking this morning as I was finishing up an art piece (I'm an artist but I'll discuss that in another entry). So often I start an art piece aiming low, attempting to do something, whether paintings or resin work, that I have done before, something conservative. I kind of know in advanced what the end result will be and how the piece will look when I'm finished. But a lot of my work that I enjoy, appreciate and am most proud of are those where I didn't go in with any preconcieved expectations. They are surprises. Or at least, I recognize that I was in my "comfort zone" and consciously decided to move a little bit outside. I end up doing something I having done before, sometimes big, sometimes small. But in the end, I have a piece of art that is completely an original and I have a great sense of satisfaction in producing it. If I never took a step back and left my "harbor", the art piece would not even exist.

What I've also noticed that I may fall back into the familiar often but I only have to push myself a little once in a while and, over time, I began to see big changes. Both in my work and in my personal views. In doing so, my style of art I produce has shifted from pop art paintings to modern/contemporary resin work, all accomplished little by little, not in one big push.

I have found an easy prescription for these life nudges that seems to work for me. When I recognize that I'm in a rut, when I am merely going through the motions but not feeling very excited or energized by what I am doing or about to do, I find it helps me to write it down. I used to use a formal document but now I use any piece of scrap paper I have lying around. The idea is by writing it down, I acknowledge what I am feeling. It also helps to see it. It becomes real and not just feeling flying around in my head. After I can see it on paper, I reread the sentence(s) and figure out which part I'm not happy with (or worse, bored) and ask myself "what if I change...". For example, I was working on a series of abstract pieces that consisted of layers of different swatches of colors but they all started with a black background. What if I used a different color as the background? I chose white. The result was very cool. The piece felt lighter, more vibrant, and more crisp. If I had stayed with black (which I still use all the time - I trust it) I would not have this other option at my finger tips. Of course, now I'm really curious what would happen if I start with RED! Maybe I'll try that someday but for now, I ventured out of my harbor and when the winds blow again, I set out to open seas.