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Phase 1: Observe Limits

Take some time to get grounded and accept your own unique starting point. Reflect on your challenges and the things that have stopped you from making art regularly in the past.

NOTICE AND ACCEPT FEELINGS Write out all of your doubts, feelings and reasons why you “can’t” make art — try not to judge yourself; accept that these are your feelings at the moment.
FIND PATTERNS Write out the things you’ve tried before. What is your typical approach? This could be media, subject matter, style. What have you been basing your decisions on? What has been the destination you were trying to get to?
OBSERVE LIMITATIONS Write down your unique circumstances in life (health, family, other job) and any constraints you have; be honest and realistic about how much time you have to dedicate to art (this will inform the kind of project you choose)

You may also want to specifically note things like the kinds of supplies you have available, an honest assessment of your skill level or attention span, etc

Try to be as matter of fact as possible here, and try not to judge yourself for feeling the way you feel!

Share what you feel comfortable sharing. You can type it out, or just take a picture of your notes.

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Phase 2: Gather Data (Inspiration!)

Look through your own life to find the things that inspire you and for clues/pointers as to what the Next Right Step is.

WHAT YOU LIKE — what are you into, what do you like, what do you not like? How do you spend your time? Be as specific as possible here, and try to go beyond just art (i.e. don’t just list a bunch of artists who you like). Another way to phrase it: what is something you’d almost always feel excited to talk about or do?
WHO YOU ARE — what are you like? Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Big picture or small picture? Quiet or loud? Brave or cautious? What sort of attention span do you have?

These lists can be long! I encourage you to really spend some time doing this. Maybe even do it over a couple of days and keep a list going the whole time. You could also ask family and friends to give you input if you’re feeling stuck.

Share what you feel comfortable sharing in the class projects section.

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Phase 3: Test Hypothesis

Bring together what you learned in phase 1 and phase 2, your Constraints list and your Inspirations list, and use them to come up with an idea/plan for art-making that:

Pulls from your inspirations
Respects your constraints

This is your Hypothesis, your idea for what might be your next right step.

Test it out on 2-5 pieces (This phase may last a few days to a few weeks, depending on how much time you have to dedicate to focusing on art)

With each piece, pay close attention to how you feel while you are making it, and how you feel immediately afterwards. Ask yourself:

Do you keep wanting to know more about the subject/media?
Are you more curious or less? More excited or less excited?
Even if the process was challenging, do you find yourself feeling excited to try again, or deflated/de-motivated?

If you find your curioisity/openness fading, go back to your lists and come up with a new Hypothesis that pulls from your inspirations and respects your constraints.

If your curiosity keeps deepening, it’s time to try again on a new piece, or (if you’ve tried and had the same positive result several times) move on to the next phase.

Share what you feel comfortable sharing. At this point, if you've made any physical artwork, it would be great to share that as well as your reflection on how you felt about the process of making it.

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Phase 4: Build Your Prototype

After you've had several positive tests with your Hypothesis, take that idea and adapt it to a longer trial period. Try something short initially 10 days, 14 days -- whatever seems doable. If you are new-new at this, opt for a shorter period of time. It’s better to finish feeling strong and like you’ve accomplished something, taking that momentum to the next phase than it is to overcommit yourself to something and then end up dropping it partway through. Under promise, over deliver — especially for beginners.

Continue to pay attention to how you feel while you are making the work, but IN THIS PHASE, keep making it regardless of how you feel.

The resistance you encounter is hopefully generative resistance — this is how your skill and tolerance will grow.

During this phase it can be helpful (though, not mandatory) to share what you are making online or with a group of like minded creatives.

Regardless of whether you plan to share on social media, I encourage you to share your work and journey here amongst other creatives on their own journeys. You can share your goal, the images you make, your thoughts and notes on the process, all of it, or just part of it. If you're stuck on something or looking for feedback, please say so when you post so that others (myself included!) know how to support you.

Elia Christen

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