Pacing Yourself With Art

Say it with me: I am an artist. After all, the ability to create and turn imagination into reality is a fundamental aspect of being human. Everybody’s got their own thing going on. Even if they don’t see it as art, in the end, life will remind us time and time again that there is nothing more fulfilling than setting our hearts and hands to work in the manner they know best: art.

If you can’t recognize your thing right now, that’s okay, take your time finding it. If you already know your art, then you have everything you need to start being amazing, don’t stop working on it. Ever. Do you know how much it sucks when “That’s What I Like” comes on the Saturday radio but flailing like an inflatable dancer is the best you can do? Keep going at it, even if it means embarrassing yourself every now and then. Rest is always great, but pushing yourself a little bit in a different manner can often give you better results. The thing is that we are not born finished, left without any more room for improvement – we are always works-in-progress, no different from that ubiquitous final_final_thesis.doc we all had in college. It helps to be reminded that we are never really stuck, and that things can always change no matter how bleak the situation may seem. Art is the helpful kind of madness; its chaos breaks the routine that we’ve grown too familiar with, allowing us to see things from new perspectives.

To quote Joe Inoue’s “Closer,” “The closer you get to something, the tougher it is to see it.” Whenever you feel like you’re stranded or stagnant at anything in particular, get yourself some distance from that rut and reorient yourself. Don’t be afraid to withdraw for a moment and use the time to switch up the pace with art. Belt out your favorite song on repeat while doing something mundane, or coop up in your room, dose yourself to the eyeballs on coffee, and spend the rest of the day painting a full-color spread. Play around with JS and CSS overnight and see if you can get the fluidity of that fancy preloader just right, or render a bogosort and enjoy the chaos.

I’m a visual kind of guy myself, so I often spend nights doodling along to game soundtracks with several tabs of Pixiv and DeviantArt open. Personally, I find that the time I spend on browsing artworks hones my ability to spot mistakes and notice little details, which are key abilities in my job as a software tester (for the wonderful i4Asia Incorporated, come join us!). I also think that it has made me more appreciative of life in general; I find something to compliment in things and people more often, so that’s two birds with one stone!

Just remember that all work, no matter how simple, are essentially creative – except for the funemployed, that makes us all artists, no? You can always put an artistic spin on everything you do. Can’t convince colleagues who might as well be brick walls? Use your inner soprano to sweet-talk them. Project members tripping over themselves in confusion? Keep them in line and in time with the finesse of a band conductor. That roadblock you’ve always deemed impossible to pass? Make a new friend and tango around it. Because sometimes, the best way to recoup your sanity is to lose yourself in the madness of your imagination. That, or you drink enough espressos to pretend you’re high-functioning. Now go do your thing.