How do you keep the heart in your art?

One afternoon this week at theHIVE I had a serendipitous chat with artist/painter/blogger/music wonder Susie Ghahremani of boygirlparty.com. I am always fascinated watching Susie work because there is no computer on her desk at the Hive (Oh, she’s digital all right with a site, shop and blog.) In the morning she was doing preliminary sketches in a journal and in the afternoon had the paints out.

Susie mentioned that she had a little time before beginning a new project and was using the downtime to do some personal work. She said something like, “ “If it is passion for art that inspired me to become an artist, how do I retain this passion when I paint for a living, how do I keep art from becoming something I have to do rather than something I love to do?

The answer is simple, mix it up.

Susie mentioned she was enrolling in a session of the Artist’s Way, which would involve writing

Likewise, as an interactive copywriter, when I’m looking for some creative growth, the last thing I want to do is begin writing the Great American Novel. In past year, one of my greatest creative outlets has been volunteering with Art Corps, a group that brings art into the classroom. Volunteer teachers attend a workshop where we make the project ourselves first before teaching it to the kids. These workshops are a uplifting opportunity to make art and chat with other people, most of who aren’t “artists” either.

What do you do to mix it up and keep your work your fresh and the passion strong?

Image copywright boygirlparty.com.