Something I've been thinking about lately ... posting EVERY. DAY... on Social Media (and when I say that I'm really talking about Instagram. Facebook is its poor cousin for me these days) I read a post the other day (coulda been yesterday. coulda been a month ago.) about how we are short changing ourselves, hurrying to post a finished work every day.
Finished? Every. Day. Let that sink in for a second.
How? HOW?? Oh! I get posting during a challenge when maybe the work IS finished but likely not thought about, or thoroughly fleshed out. Been there. Got many tshirts ...shoved to the back of the drawer never to see the light of day again, I might add.
Let me step back for a second... last year I was gungho to get my Instagram account over 1000 followers. I don't know why. Just seemed important at the time. And so I started posting every day. Initially on the weekends too although that waned after a month or two. And you know what? It worked. Go me! Only..
“A goal is something that goes away when you hit it. Once you’ve reached it, it’s gone. ” Jason Fried, founder and CEO of Basecamp
And I just kept doing it. Posting something. Every day.
My numbers grew, my interactions grew, and my need to keep doing what I was doing...well...grew. Or at the very least kept me in place. Then this quote started showing up. Not once. Not twice. But more than a dozen times.
"Never play to the gallery. Never work for other people in what you do. Always remember that the reason you initially started working was there was something inside yourself that, if you could manifest it, you felt you would understand more about yourself. I think it’s terribly dangerous for an artist to fulfill other people’s expectations.” –David Bowie
Okay, Universe. I get it. I'm listening.
The problem with posting every day is it's an insidious, dopamine fix.
As artists, we often work alone. And frankly most artists I know are introverts who prefer it that way (raises hand) but it also means we don't have someone to bounce ideas off or show our work to even if its to laugh at what a dismal failure today's work was. When I googled 'stop posting art online', google just dropped the 'stop' and showed me all the why's of how posting my art online was going to make me a "successful artist". The few articles that showed up about NOT posting art online was more along the lines of "why I had a Social Media break and why you should too' all touting how taking a break would have you refreshed and ready to return to becoming a posting maniac. (hmmm. this POST could become a drinking game... DRINK for every time I type P.O.S.T. annnnnnd GO!)
ANY. Way.
The thing is, if we want to grow as artists, dare I say human beings, we need to dig in. We need to wallow in the mud. For days. Maybe even weeks. We need to explore everything. We need to follow all those little ideas that pop up in the periphery as we draw or paint or apply wax, sew, cook, craft, whatever it is you do. And that takes time. And there is often NOTHING that bears taking out your camera and making a pretty Instagram worthy photo. I mean seriously how often do people want to see panoramic shots of your studio or works in progress on your desk or easel before they hit "unfollow"???
Lest you think I'm going to come up with some brilliant solution to wrap this up? Sorry, I don't have an answer. I just know I need to head down those art/idea rabbit holes to grow. And I also know, I'm not quite ready to leave the ethernet and go it on my own. Conundrum.
If YOU have any ideas how I can achieve both, please. I'm all ears.
