A lot has come out of this summer that was unexpected for me. I had big plans after my last day of spring semester this year with hopes of creating a whole new body of work. And although that didn’t go as planned I can’t necessarily see it as a period of wasted time. Most days I felt like I failed myself and didn’t meet my own standards of art production. The creative block is a vicious cycle and if you aren’t careful, addressing it angrily can just lead to more devastation for the artist within. 

My core problem I’ve concluded was social media. What a blessing and a curse it is to be exposed to such an infinite amount of art. When used correctly, the internet can be the holy grail of inspiration. On the other hand, it can easily be destructive. In my case, I’ve become fixated on others work almost to the point of no return. I see someone’s artwork I like and I look at it for weeks comparing my own work to theirs. A few days go by which turn into a few weeks which somehow have turned into months of feeling like I want to achieve this style or that look but not being able to so I’ve given up, taken a hiatus. How often admiration can turn into obsession which can turn into frustration and eventually  consumption of the creativeness within. 

So I don’t look at this summer as time lost because I’ve learned this lesson along with others the hard way. It was a summer of trail and error, attempts and failures, over analyzing, and a lack of style development that had left me at a stand still. I’m happy I’ve learned this lesson now rather than after senior year. 

I need a break from social media and I need to get back in touch with myself. So yes, maybe my summer was spent learning but they were lessons I couldn’t possibly be taught in a classroom. 

So I’m making this school year all about production and portfolio building with new approaches on the horizon and traditional ways of working being incorporated. My silver lining to the end of summer, and I couldn’t be happier.