How To Choose When You Do More Than One Thing In Art

I can’t believe him. Is he actually accusing me of abandonment?

“I just needed a break. I got burned out!” I said.

“You don’t take a break! Not from this!” He argued.

“But I’ve been working on other things,” I tried to reason.

But it didn’t matter. Deep down, I knew he was right. I felt so irresponsible. Like I had committed a crime. Like I’d left this precious part of me in the middle of nowhere, to die.

He knows I’m better than this. He knows I care. He pleaded with me to come back. To do something small, anything. To fix what I did. So I finally made a decision.

I picked it up and held it in my hands. This small dusty piece of soft clay.

And I began to sculpt again.

I’m a multi-faceted artist — a juggler

I have a lot of interests — photography, painting, drawing, video, sculpture, and now writing! (This is getting to be too much…)

I like it because I can switch to different projects throughout my week. One day, I’ll hold a paint brush, the next I will edit a video. And when the mood hits and I feel like writing, I’ll sit at my computer.

But my struggle is keeping everything going. Learning how to juggle. 

And sometimes one of the balls drops. And I find myself unsure of what to do next. And that indecision turns into a temporary state of paralysis. Or it could.

I didn’t know that being an artist would be a circus act!

My projects are like my children. A good parent will spend time with each of them, not excluding any. When I’m writing, I think of my visual art, and when I’m in the zone painting, I feel bad I’m not behind my camera…and on and on it goes.

If I focus too much on one, I worry the others will suffer.

And that’s what happened to sculpture. I gave it all of my time, and then I left it. And at the time, I wondered if I’d ever return.

Finding balance — time limits

Of course I wasn’t done sculpting. I needed to figure out a way to work on things without burning myself out.

I’m learning in order to juggle different projects, I have to be disciplined with my time.

I have to give each project a certain amount of time daily or weekly. Just like when I took classes.

I’m not great at this yet. (Actually I stink) I have to practice scheduling my projects so that when studio time comes, I’m not wondering, “What should I work on now?” I can just look at the schedule and move forward.

What helps me is timing myself. I set the timer anywhere from 15–30 minutes with a project, just to get started.

After that 30 minutes is up, if I want to keep going, I set the timer again for an hour. And after that, another hour. Pretty soon, I’ve worked 3 or 4 hours.

After the final timer goes off, I stop. But that’s easier said than done. Sometimes I’m so into it, I have to pull myself away from it.

Jack of all trades, Master of none?

That phrase tormented me. Could it be true?

I had to know. I asked my teacher one day, “Do you believe in the phrase, ‘Jack of all trades, Master of none?’”

“I believe in kicking ass,” he said. “Do it all. Everything works together.”

Preston Jackson is someone I respect, a well-known appreciated artist. Not just in one area, but many. I thought for a long time about what he said.

I have seen some of my interests working together.

I realized, it didn’t have to be one at a time. I love photography. And then I take my pictures and I draw and paint from them. And because I love watching it develop, I’ve discovered I also like doing time lapse videos.

And when I illustrated a couple of books, I had so much fun creating trailers.

Like this one:

Then I found another love of mine is adding sound effects. Like for this teaser:

There are some who believe you should focus on one thing and master it. But just because I have many areas of interest, doesn’t mean I won’t master more than one. It just might take me longer.

If we focus on only one thing, we never find out what else we are capable of.

In his book, Real Artists Don’t Starve, Jeff Goins talks about diversifying your portfolio.

Your art is never beholden to a single form. You can always change and evolve, and the best artists do this regularly. They understand that in order to thrive, you have to master more than one skill. This is the Rule of the Portfolio: the Starving Artist believes she must master a single skill, whereas the Thriving Artist builds a diverse body of work. -Jeff Goins

Only doing one thing is easier

When I started my art, it was just me and my camera. My love was photography.

Yes, it was easier back then, I didn’t have to juggle anything. Just take pictures.

But had I stayed with only photography, I’d be missing out on all the other areas.

Little by little, my world of art has opened up. My portfolio is changing dramatically. And now I have more than one tool in my toolbox.

The more I learn, the more interests I discover. Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever stop trying different things. No. I have freedom. I can pick and choose what I want to pursue.

What I’m learning

Artists shouldn’t be pigeon-holed

As an artist, you need to be free to try any medium you may be interested in. Skills feed skills and ideas lead to other ideas.

Artists need to be free to create

Instead of telling yourself, “Now I can’t work on my ___________” add two words: “for now.”

I can’t work on my painting for now. But I’ll do that later.

There is no black and white thinking.

Artists are individuals

There is no room for comparisons. It doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing. Choose what you want to do for now, and do it. Otherwise, you’re wasting valuable time when you could be creating.

Creative people tend to live in the world of ideas and possibilities. Because of this, we may struggle with a lack of focus, but this is not always a bad thing. A wandering mind can be an asset if you learn how to use it. 

— Jeff Goins

What about you?

Do you have more than one area you enjoy?
How do you juggle more than one interest?
I’d love to hear from you.