Putting Energy Into Art

Have you ever observed a really bad ass singer, let's say Michael Jackson, and noticed how much energy they put into their art? I was watching some of his old music videos today and really zoning into his expressions, his voice, his body language. And what I noticed (and probably have known all along) is that his absolute greatness, his bad ass-ness, comes from feeling.

As a writer, to me feeling is two things:

• A part of our emotions that requires paying attention to
• Absolutely necessary for art of any kind to emerge

Have you ever seen an actor who felt nothing in particular about their art? Sure, there are a handful of famous people who say acting is just a job. But there are more people who slaved for their art, gave everything up, worked their asses off for what they love, and hit rock bottom and still kept going.

I would venture to guess the I-don't-care people are more interested in money and fame than in art. In fact, I know so. Because I believe every artist is compelled to create due to a feeling of some kind - sometimes deep, sometimes shallow, but it's something.

And if feeling is part of our emotions, then I must argue that feeling has to have energy behind it. And furthermore, because I suppose I want to turn this blog into a persuasive essay tonight, I argue that our energy resources are finite. So we have to be very selective about the people and projects we give our energy to.

This is a really long way to say that if you want to be an artist, then you've got to make room in your life to devote energy to your art.

To infuse it. To saturate it. To embrace it. And you know what? I'm failing in this area.

My freelance business has taken off nicely after a lot of really hard work, which is helpful in keeping financial freak-outs to a minimum. But this also means I've gotten really busy. Which then means I spend almost all of my energy writing for other people. Which also means, you guessed it, I've stopped putting energy into my art.

And I know this because I ache to work on my personal projects. But at the end of the day all I can do is pick up a good book, take a walk, or snuggle with a loved one (human or furry). And then I dream of maybe working on my art tomorrow.

But I'm going to do something about it, by golly goose. Picture this with me (oooh ahhh): I wake up on Friday mornings, do my yoga, and plop down at my computer and look at my manuscript. Not a press release, not website content, not a user manual. But my manuscript. My art. I can give my feelings the energy they need to flow through my hands and onto the paper. On Fridays, if all goes according to plan, I won't give my writing energy away to anyone else.

The first step in making a change is identifying what the problem is. I think I've got mine identified. Step two? Planning a solution. Art Fridays...that's my solution. Now, to make it happen.

Do you give your art enough of your energy?