So first, a little background as to where the idea for this post originated from.
Over the past three months, I have been offering a one-hour mentor Zoom call to graduates, soon-to-be graduates of illustration and those wishing to transition to Illustration as a career. I have always lacked a mentor, and to be honest back when I most needed advice, I wouldn’t have known who to reach out to or how best to find a good fit. This resulted in several missteps.
My previous post on my creative journey in Cape Town (click here to read) touched upon this, and my complete lack of a roadmap during a career and life transition. Undoubtedly these wanderings taught me many valuable lessons, but it is undeniable that a little direction can go a long way and is often highly beneficial. Consequently, I wanted to offer a little of my time to those kicking off their journey, and I am a firm believer in paying things forward. In the short time I have been doing this there have been a couple of questions come up repeatedly. The biggest and most challenging to answer is – ‘How did you manage to work full time as an illustrator”
This question is complex and requires a detailed explanation.
With this question in mind. I would like to share five valuable lessons I have learnt (and still lived by) which go some way in answering that big question. Often what we set out to do and achieve requires some shift in our mindset. It is important to note that these lessons were not always followed and were acquired gradually over time, through both set backs and successes. I now consider them tried and tested. Whenever I feel lost/uninspired/disillusioned etc, one of these lessons is invariably forgotten, and I need to recalibrate on one, or more of the below:
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Accept it takes time.
I know. So annoying and tedious. We live in a world that loves ‘a next day delivery’ however your career is not an Amazon Prime account. It won’t be a case of waiting overnight and it arrives pre packaged, ready to go. Patience really is a virtue. And no I do not have it. I am deeply impatient with everything. And although I’d like to think I have improved on this trait in age, in reality I haven’t. But I have accepted that a daily grind is a little like compound interest in a bank account – things will grow, shift, take shape (more on this in point 2) the more time given to it. Plus if it did happen overnight – would you really want that anyway? I mean really…? Like think about it… instant success with minimal development and learnings. I know this will be an unpopular opinion – but for me, I’m not so sure. I have thought long and hard about this. And as always with the benefit of hindsight I can truly say hand on heart, had this happened I would have appeared like a half baked cake. Sure it’s edible, kinda, a little hard to digest, and looks, well…fine. BUT it would have had so much more potential if the oven door had been kept shut allowing all the ingredients to be left alone to do their thing for a while longer. Then the outcome could’ve been magic. You want to rise, be delicious, memorable and fully formed . Allow yourself to rise. Like I said, this takes time. Lock yourself away, make things, create things, make mistakes, make it – do anything, just keep on creating. And give it your time.
And you know what, if you do this, it will happen. Best of all, the more time you put in the more you will keep on rising. It’s an ongoing process. Bake it to make it (yes I just made that up…! And to be honest I don’t hate it) but accept it takes time.
Ps. If you are cynical on this point. I’m not alone on this, I’m in good company . Here is an extract that hit home from a recent read – its a goodie.
“If the reason are sincere, there are two methods you can take to try and get on the pitch. The first is to try to find shortcuts. Ways to skip the queue and get onto the pitch first – an introduction via a family friend, for example. But taking shortcuts can sometimes leave you open and exposed when you finally do get on the pitch you won’t have put in all the time and developed all the skills to succeed. You’re not ready yet. So, why not instead look to put yourself in the position to play the games you know you can win?”
Extract from – ‘New Methods for Women’ – by Sharmadean Reid
Daily forward momentum.
It really is the only way. Time is needed. As stated above – half baked is not ideal. However, this is not a green light into procrastinate. Be accountable – every single day. You know where you want to be. So what steps are you taking daily to get there? Some days it’s lots of little steps. Others its a leap forward. And let’s face it there are occasional days (see upcoming point number 3) where even for the love of it, it’s simply hard going. That is OK. It’s all adding to the forward momentum.
Time is in a currency that’s in a constant motion. So use it wisely and with purpose. Your use of time will lead to something delicious. Like I said, think of it like money compounding interest, what you choose to do yesterday will have a reward, no matter how slight today. So the plan of your today’s will affect the success of your tomorrow’s. Remember even tiny steps forward still lead to a somewhere.
“First forget inspiration.Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you’re inspired or not”
Octavia Butler
Bad days are part of a good week.
I know, yet another unpopular opinion. The bad has to happen too. Let me give you an example. I am both aware and a little ashamed of how unoriginal this is, but I really struggle on Monday’s. I have almost come to accept that its not my peak productivity/performance day. I never have an itch to get to my studio and get going, unlike other days. I rarely feel inspired, Even if I am mid project – it’s always harder for me to pick up where I left off on a Monday morning. However, if I simply wrote off Mondays that is 1/5 of my work week gone. Over a year that is 52 days. That’s nearly two months of not making the most of time – please refer to point 2 about daily momentum, and point 1 about my impatience. This is simply not an option for myself and my work.
I spent couple of years denying my slower Monday energy, But by not acknowledging where I am at the start of each week actually only made Monday’s even more sticky, slow and frustrating. Now I have learnt to make the most out of my least productive work day. For example I get in a little later around 10:30/11 (I’m usually at my desk for 9:30 kind of gal) with an over priced flat white in hand. I do my admin, I do a tidy up, I do scanning and emails. It is the least creative side of my work that I give my Monday time too. And eventually – and trust me it does happen, I get into a groove, I wouldn’t call it a flow, that thankfully arrives on the other days. But it’s a workable pace that gets things done, and keeps me feeling content with what I have managed to cross off my endless to-do list. As mentioned in point 2 – small steps still lead somewhere.
So for me the good thing about Monday is that it gets all the uncreative stuff out the way for the rest of the week. And then it’s all a go go. Without my version of Mondays the rest of my week wouldn’t happen at the same pace or flow. So make your bad days part of a good week. It’s part of a journey. The only person you need to compete with is that version of yourself who’s telling you to stop, today isn’t your day. That an old version of yourself. You can wave that person farewell, those bad days are needed too.
Read about people you admire.
We all have icons we are inspired by. You’ll be amazed about the ups and downs of your own hero’s journey. It doesn’t have to be a person famous for what you are trying to do, trust me the lessons are all the same. For me, a constant source of both inspiration and wonder has always been David Bowie, I have zero intention of picking up a guitar and writing a song, but I have read about his journey and life a lot , the good the bad and the damn right ugly and difficult. It wasn’t all peachy with endless success. Reading about Bowie and others helped remind me that rhere really is no such thing as a bumpy free journey. A constant upwards trajectory doesn’t exist for anyone – not even David Bowie .
Which is not only inspiring but I also find it reassuring. So every now and then I buy a book to remind me of this, and you know what – it works each time.
Below are some of my recent reads – each has been insightful and surprising in different ways. It’s already an eclectic mix of characters. And it’s only getting more and more varied. The one thing all these people have in common is they were in it for the long run and knew it would take time (see point 1) they persisted making constant progress (see point 2), and they showed on the bad days too (see point 3)
1 – David Bowie by Dylan Jones
2 – Becoming by Michelle Obama
3 – Matisse by Hilary Spurling
4 – Ninth Street Women: Lee Krasner, Elaine De Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, And Helen Frankenthaler: Five Painters and the Movement that chagned Modern Artby 5 – Managing Expectations – by Minnie Driver
6 – The Chiffon Trench By André Talley
7 – A Heart That Works – Rob Delaney
8 – A Visible Man – Edward Enninful
9 – Life with Picasso – Francoise Gilot
10 – Cher: The Memoir – Book by Cher
Lastly. Be a cheerleader.
I have always believed the kind of energy you put out is what you get back – if you cheer on others – you will naturally attract your supporters. Over time you will cultivate a supportive community. If you are silent and disinterested in others – then expect the same in return. Who wants to attract gate keepers and energy vampires? It’s exhausting and your energy is better spent elsewhere. The very best way to repel this kind of energy is not put it out there in the first place. Instead be the cheer leader and over time you will experience a reciprocal positive impact.
Most importantly this approach will not only enhance your well-being – but will remind that regardess of what stage we are all at in this journey, we are in it together. So you might as well be part of the team. Onwards. I’m cheering for you.