So, I'm assuming everyone in this forum has big dreams to do their art in whatever way they see it. As a hobby, as a profession, learning their craft to the utmost, fame!!!

I'm interested in a few things...

What is your medium? (music, painting, poetry, etc)
What are your goals with it?
How do you pursue these goals? Do you have a discipline?

I am especially interested in this last question.
i.e. Do you have a schedule you follow? Is it strict or not strict?
Or do you CREATE when the mood comes? (which is probably not often if you procrastinate)
Do you have deadlines that move your forward on it?
Are you part of a group project that keeps you accountable?

Tell me what's in your hat of tricks that gets you to actually doing what you love.

my medium sweetie is writing, mainly poetry but i write/edit scripts as well.

i want to be successful as a writer, writing for tv shows/film, continuing my poetry. would love 2 be a successful poet but if it doesn't happen , no biggie, at least im writing.

well, i am goin ( fingers crossed) back 2 school to get a BA ( languages, extensive major in spanish and st8 major in italian) languages r yummy lol

for my poetry. no honey i don't have a schedule. i create when the mood hits.

but 4 my writing , as i am a team member and others rely on me, i have 2 hand it in b4 deadline.

my bag of tricks : well in high school i was all science based, was gonna be a pathologist, i liked it didn't love it as much as what i loved as a kid, singing, creating etc. i was following orders really ( don't get me wrong i looved science and cutting up sheeps brains and rats etc and finding out what happened etc and i wanted 2 be a doc when i was a kid ( stuff 2 do with my mom) but it was never a passion like art is) until i finally stood my ground and did what i wanted.

It's actually a hobby for me. If it wasn't then I wouldn't enjoy doing it. Depending on how I feel. Most of the time I write my poetry 5 to 10 minutes, so it all depends on my mood at the time. No schedule, mostly done on a whim. I write on my way home from work, at work, at home, whenever the words come to me.

I have the majority of my poems copyrighted and working on volume II to add to it. It turns out, I am researching how to self-publishing my poetry in book form. I already have quite a few poems published online on a poetry site, but now I am working on getting it in book form/hard copy. Got a ways to go, but getting there.
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I have no discipline...that's my big problem....
But I do attempt to write poetry now and then...strictly
as a hobbie however, and it seems as though in order for
me to create, I need some strong emotion going on at the time.

I used to play violin and piano, but kind of dropped the ball
on those.

So I'm basically in here enjoying other people's arts and talents.

heartbeatocean said:

On the question of discipline...

I try to enforce a discipline, not in a heavy-handed way, but I do set goals. If I don't, I don't do the work. I also try to have an attitude of ambition about my work -- I mean, why not? Wouldn't we all truly love an audience?

Currently, I'm writing a script and have a realistic goal of adding two pages per week.

So Monday was my deadline for last week. I had written nothing. I pulled out my script in the afternoon, read it. It looked awful to me. The whole thing bored me and made me depressed. But since I had this deadline, I brainstormed ideas, wrote free form, wrote out a stream of consciousness scene. The whole experience was irritating!

But hey, four hours later, I had added two pages to my script! A miracle!

So, yay, for discipline. If I waited for a mood to hit me, I'd never do anything.

paisleypark4 said:

I think this is how I began making art, as a young kid. I was thinking about this when I sat down to write on Monday, and everything felt like a chore. I think one reason for the dryness was because I haven't been consuming enough art. So my goal this week is to take in more...reading, movies, music, whatever. To fill the well, so to speak. Getting inspired by other works is one of the most powerful tools to making your own art.

heartbeatocean said:

I think you hit the nail on the head. Sometime I look back on my stuff and wonder how the hell did I do that at that time.

Recently I have been inspired by looking at peoples artwork on flickr.com and that since then I have been drawing like CRAZY.

What about you?

paisleypark4 said:

I'm preparing to record a radio drama (I know, sounds old-fashioned) and I found a great website zbs.org Some guy out there is apparently still making these things. I downloaded their 90 Second Cellphone Theater pieces, GREAT STUFF! I need more though...my well is pretty low right now.

If you're drawing like CRAZY, sounds like you're definitely on the right track!

heartbeatocean said:

Love the old radio dramas, keep us in the loop!

What is your medium?
MUSIC

What are your goals with it?
PLAYING FUNK LIVE - TIGHT, w/RESPECT to the originals

How do you pursue these goals?
ONE DAY AT A TIME, when one door closes, I start kickin on another

Do you have a discipline?
KEEP MY HEAD DOWN and stay true to the vision

I am especially interested in this last question.
i.e. Do you have a schedule you follow? Is it strict or not strict?
Strict in the sense that most people would've given up by now on a form of music that other's have turned into bad Kareoke. I'm going to do this.


Or do you CREATE when the mood comes? (which is probably not often if you procrastinate)
I have to create around life's schedule. That comes first, unfortunately.

Do you have deadlines that move your forward on it?
My deadlines are within me, when a period of time goes on, my inner voice says "HEYY!" in a James Brown scream and that's the kick in the ass I need to record something or to hit the streets looking for the missing ingredient.

Are you part of a group project that keeps you accountable?
Always.

Slave2daGroove said:

Yes I have been drawing like a mad man everyday. Cellphone Theater? I never heard of such a thing The old radio pieces I never heard a real one either

Slave2daGroove said:

I have goals, man, goals.

But seriously, my plan is to record the first three episodes in September, edit them in the fall, and put them up on Itunes and my website (which has yet to exist) as podcasts by the end of the year, hopefully sooner. I have the first two episodes written (approx. 10 minutes each), working on the third. I also have free access to a recording studio at a local radio station, so things are in progress!

Slave2daGroove said:

Sounds pretty serious.



Can you talk more about what you mean by "keeping your head down"?

paisleypark4 said:

How exciting to be so inspired! Have you posted any of your drawings on the org?

The cellphone theater are short spoofs on b-movie horror flicks that somehow involve a cellphone. Like a man phoning his wife from a swamp before he gets slaughtered. Or a zombie-run restaurant that forces people to eat their own cellphones.

heartbeatocean said:

Keeping my head down means; slow but sure, one day at a time without fail, no matter what other little music projects come into my life, there's only one that matters and that's the vision of FUNK. Dirty, gritty, make you want holler, can help but dance, somebody wants to tell me I can't had better step back and check themselves. It's an internal drive that makes men climb mountains for no apparent reason other than "because it's there", it's border-line obsession and every day I'm alive is another day that I should be on the two and four.

Funk music is about African American freedom and the music reflects that. It's pure, it's ecstasy, it's the only music that can make me feel like the world isn't a fucked-up place. I not only feel it, I identify with it, it touches me at a level no other music does. So when I say RESPECT the FUNK, that's exactly what I mean. I respect the people who made this music and while I didn't live through the hell that they went through, what they created in the late 1960's and early 70's shoots through me like a lightening rod. So, it's serious until I can put it together with like-minded individuals, then it's going to be real. Good, fun, happy, free, joyful, FUNK.

Slave2daGroove said:

So, in essence, keeping your head down means don't get distracted, don't forget why you're doing what you're doing, don't lose the vision, ever. Right?

Anyway, thanks for that, it's really beautiful. I'm going to have to listen and respect the funk some more...(I'm just a baby, you see)

heartbeatocean said:

Right! It's beyond anything else, it's a vision that everyday is leading you to this one goal.
"
The doctor prescribes; Sit on James Brown "best of" for about a day, then move to Sly's "Fresh" album, swing up to Herbie Hancock's "Thrust" and come on back to Dyke and the Blazers, don't forget about Stevie Wonder's "Innervisions" and come back to Sly's "Stand" album. When you've come full circle, put on "Love, Power, Peace" James Brown live in France with his new band featuring a 17 year old Bootsy Collins on Bass.

Slave2daGroove said:

Fabulous! I just emailed that to myself. Some of us need a little help from our friends.

Just a general response :

I work when the mood takes me. I dont discipline myself at all. When the mood comes it motivates me without me having to force myself, which i cant do too well. Sometimes i forget to eat, and after a few hours i realise that im starving, but the mood tells me what to do and i just have to go along with it.

Then there are times when i cant think of any ideas to work on so ive learnt to leave it alone and not feel bad about it, because i always work best when i really feel like it, and when i do, i try to make the most of it and get as much done as possible. The only time when i set myself specific tasks is when i know that its going to happen anyway. If i force myself to do anything, i cant stick to it.

The worst times are when i have ideas, but theyre very similar to things ive already done and i cant come up with anything original. To me thats worse than not being able to think of anything at all. Thats why i might go through a phase of working nearly every day, and then a phase where ill do nothing.

Then there are the times when i really do come up with loads of new ideas. Its tempting to include too much in each song, so i pace myself, and use maybe 2 or 3 ideas in each (and get back to them later when they sound fresh), so that i can compose more songs, rather than a small handful of 10 minute epics that sound too much like a little bit of everything, rather than something concise where everything works together.

The only time when ill consider forcing myself to work is if i realise that i havent done anything in a while. In 2006 i wrote about 20 songs (lyrics), but in 2007 i wrote just a couple, and this year ive written just 3, so i sometimes tell myself to get a move on. But lyrics i find harder to write, whereas music is more my thing. Music wise im not too bothered as altogether ive written about 26,500 pieces of music.

Just kidding. Its probably about 300, but thats over about 10 years (100 or so in the last year). As long as i feel like ive got plenty of material under my belt i dont give myself any pressure to do anything. Like i say, for me its all about getting in the mood and working like a donkey when it comes.

One thing i do is i like to work on songs in stages. I work until i feel like ive got down all the ideas that i had, then i stop and carry on the next day, when i usually have more ideas. Instead of carrying on, just recording any old thing that comes to mind (with a few exceptions), i like to let the subconscious do its work overnight. Then it tells me what to do again and i follow its orders. I love being a slave.

Ive always got a tune or a rhythm in my head, and if i didnt, id probably have to force myself to work. So for me, its a matter or doing whatever i can to get in the mood (without being too forceful), and then doing as much as possible while it lasts, then not giving myself a hard time and waiting for the mood to come again.
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leafar said:

That's interesting. In the past, I have gone way overboard with the discipline thing, becoming my own task master, until I absolutely hated what I was working on! You can imagine how successful those pieces were when they found their way to an audience.

Right now, I'm taking the middle way. Have realistic goals that leave space around it, so I can breathe and contemplate where to go next. I've been working the last year in the financial field, a very left-brained activity, and I find it actually helps me be creative in my off time.

So waiting for the inspiration and working in stages -- I can relate to this. My goal is to write two pages a week, but they have to be good, inspired pages, not just fluff.

I have has a hiaitus as in been a mother for nearly 14 years and a worker for too long. as a 17 year old I was filled with art, never really music. It didnt inspire me, but art, architecture, poetry, verse and books filled my life. these things are food to my soul. I cannot listen to music when creating as it interfers with my own flow. However it is inspiring to see other works of art.

When we went to Dublin this week we visited the national gallery and this has reminded my of the over-washing and flow of inspiration i enjoyed in my youth, so i can thank prince for that. Good came from the cancellation.

Then I became a designer as that is the way society curbs our apetite for the arts - we have to choose a 'career' that prevents the artistry to flow, we work to deadlines usually late into the night - all for money and often someones elses goal.

Now however i am liberated.

Last year I stated writing a book, a childrens novel. I also started writing poetry again. I now have two books on the go and last week i took delivery of some huge canvases. I made the conscious desicion to allow my art t flow again and not for money.

I would like to puclish as I would like to share my work. I am not interested in making a living from it.

I find inspiration hits me, usually through emotion.

I need absolute peace and quite, so the bath is a good place or a sunny day in the garden will invoke images. I see my poetry like I see my art.

I see colours entwined with the words, my words create patters in my minds eye, they dance and i try to lay this out. However i do employ a certain discipline which i endeavour to remember from school about structure and form. I think this is a good tool as poetry cuts a fine line between art others can follow and ramblings of words.


I donot sit and decide to write, i have tried this it doesnt work for me.

I write for my website, I write descriptions of products and blogs, this i find easy and can do at a drop of a hat but it has no meaning for me - but not so for my own art, this has to come to me.

I cannot 'capture' art it evolves. I cannot set deadlines for it either.

My biggest dilema at the moment is where to start with my paintings as i have several in my head. probably ue to the years of not releasing them. This has caused a stumbling block to starting.

Writing, sketching and graphic design.
I need the creative release - also I find inspiration and I need or want to express it. Also, I like to share my ideas with others and hope they will enjoy them as much as I do.

My home computer just crashed, so I'm in the process of trying to rebuild my portfolio from various sources. It's a real loss, but I'm happy that I'm able to get some of it returned to me.

syble said:

I have been having bouts of intense inspiration lately, but when too much information comes I tend to get paralyzed. I also had trouble getting started after a long dry spell. I started doing 1 minute audio sketches, recording, editing sound in random patterns just to free me up again. I also had a friend who was willing to be a soundboard and keep me accountable. I would make up a very easy deadline, then email him my sketch by that day.

Eventually, I've gathered enough focus and fluidity to work on a longer project. The key to starting, in my experience, is to take small bites and have low expectations just to get juices flowing.

applekisses said:

good luck getting that together!

heartbeatocean said:

Capturing the many ideas that come from one image.

leafar said:

That happens to me often

obsessed said:

You write beautiful poems and,
I love the artwork you've posted in the past.

tony23k said:

Thanks Tony, that's really nice of you to say....I'm a beginner, but I
did enjoy writing the few that I did.

And I've always enjoyed your many talents as well.

love this thread and reading the responses!