Too tired to create.

[lfarist]

I'm a mother of two small children and not surprisingly I'm tired all the time. I'm super frustrated because I cannot seem to find the balance between time spent creating art and my home life. What do others do to find balance in their lives? What do you do when you're just too tired to create but still want to?

[artyczar]

I suffer from major fatigue (I have MS) and it's hard to paint when I am feeling so very, very tired. I will work through it most of the time, but if I am so fatigued that I can't even stand, I will lay down and make rough sketches in my idea book. Later, many of these become paintings.

I think it's about how badly you want to do it. Like I said, I work even when I am very tired, even if it's a few hours a day. I am ambitious though and I am committed to working on my art, so I follow through because I've made a promise to myself.

I hope you will be able to find the time to start creating. I'd like to see your work.

[La_]

when mine were little i just transfered my creativity into raising them.
saves a lot of frustration that way, have fun with it, lots of funky things to do with kids, it won't last all that long really, trust me.

found a weird thing for kids - poke spaghettini noodles through cut up hot dog/sausage pieces and boil them ... creepy cool munchies right there

dustless chalk on bedroom walls is a fabulous creative for all ages, damp rag takes it off easily

sure i dabbled about with my own art then, but never produced much that was very good, not enough time in most days when there's littles running about

la

[caldwell.brobeck]

Originally Posted by lfarist

What do you do when you're just too tired to create but still want to?

Practice. Don't worry about making something good, just enjoy the relaxing side of art making. For example, if you are really beat, just curl into some comfy chair with your sketchbook, close your eyes, and let your mind clear. Then open your eyes and allow your view to settle wherever it wants. Then draw what you see. Or sketch out amusing incidents that happened with your kids.

Read - art history, philosophy, biography. It helps form your understanding of what art is, where it comes from, and how it works.

Browse in books of collected works, or books that have lots of pictures. Personally I love books of collected drawings of different artists, particularly when they include rough sketches. You can learn so much more about actual art practice from these than you can from most "how to draw" texts.

Turn off the computer and the TV and other distractions (the computer is the worst), and just let your imagination run. It can be quite reinvigorating, active visual media like TV and the computer tend to suppress the imagination, which in itself is very tiring.

[fritzie]

Like La, I valued the short time when kids were small and spent no time focused on sacrifices. If you adapt your idea of balance to allow your time to be balanced not necessarily in every day or week but rather across a longer time period, that might take some pressure off you.
On the other hand, if you are feeling resentful of the energy draining aspect of child rearing, could you use a baby sitter a couple of times each week to spell you?

[lfarist]

I appreciate everyone's advice. I do value my time very much with my children since in essence my memories and experiences with them are reflected in my paintings. I think maybe I'm thinking too short term and can't see free time down the road even though I know it's coming. I really appreciate Caldwell's advice since there is other aspects of art other than just drawing and painting.

[AllisonR]

You are probably thinking short term, but when you have small kids, life really is mostly short-term. Thought go like this "How long to get shoes on before we get out of the house?" Answer 10 seconds with daughter, 4 minutes with son because he doesn't want to do it himself, oh-no , also 4 minutes with daughter, as she has now changed pairs twice and then gone up to change outfits to match the new shoes...
I painted frantically until they were born, as I was free from work 4-10 weeks before birth. After birth - output was 0. No, less than 0. I could not even think creative thoughts, because I was so burnt out and tired. When my son was 3 and my daughter 1, I did sneak in a little time for sketching or making an idea list, but no "brilliant art" was made. When they were 4 and 2, then I really started painting again, though in-between everything else. Now they are 7 and 5 and I paint 5 days a week. I do not regret not painting when they were very young. I needed to be with them, and I was. I guess I sometimes felt frustrated, that I was sacrificing, but actually most of the time I was too busy and too tired to even think that.

[lfarist]

Lol AllisonR...you're exactly right. My daughter is just turning 3 and my son is 4 months. Long term thinking is what's for dinner tonight! Thank you for the encouragement. I need to be reminded that this time is short. I don't regret spending time with them but I do really miss creating art. It's especially hard because my husband is a trucker and is gone most of the week so all of the responsibility is on me and I'm so exhausted by the end of the day I can't think straight.

[boomerbeach]

I'm a soon-to-be 65yr old guy, living & caring for a soon-to-be 90yr old Mother. Two yrs back, I grew to understand "acceptance", that is, I could/should not make commitments for Plein Air contests, for this was not "my time" .. Mother's instead. Yes, I still get out about 100x annually, Plein Air saves my mind & soul, however, I no longer fret about Not being able to make certain Plein Air contests/workshops, etc.. Nearly everytime I signed on for one, something Would(!) come-up... So, be with your kids, it is their time (and your's!), learn not to fret and take advantage of smaller time slots to accomplish smaller things .. A lot can be learned thru quick efforts of drawing and more. Be thankful for what net time you may have!
Before you know it, they'll be asking for the car keys and GONE!

[mame]

Is there a husband lurking in the background? How about he take the kids one evening a week and Saturday afternoons - preferably away from the house?
As others have said, your "art' time could involve visiting galleries/museums, doing art research, sketching, etc.

[caricatura]

I am an expert on dropping the dishes, the laundry. or the organizing the bedrooms, that day I MUST do some art stuff. I have 4 kids from 6 to 12 yo.
Thank God my husband and kids understand that, and appreciate my projects too.

[lfarist]

It's nice to know that there are people who can relate when life starts to push it's way into the art world. I think I've accepted that I just can't do it right now even though I think about it all the time. I'm creating an idea list for when I do get the chance.

[Dave Hawk]

Everyone has different paths. It's choosing the right one at the right time. Doors open to what's important and close to the ones sometimes we want more then anything but their just not right for the time.
Once I finished college got married wife and I had 3 sons , I started my restoration business and a few years ago after 26 years of not painting because of responsibilities a door opened to paint again. The time was right and I feel very at peace and grateful that my talent and desire have been gifted back to me. Follow your heart, handle the gift at hand and when the time is right you will be overwhelmed with the amount of energy you'll have.
BTW I filled up about 7 sketch books with pen & inks waiting lol.

[artgardon]

Fortunately kids love art too ...they love to paint and color and are usually not very picky as long as they have something to create with. Try to set aside some creative time for all of you (before you get tired) and give them paper and water colors/crayons, markers, colored pencils, etc - and even if you cannot fully concentrate without interruption while creating or painting...at least you can express some creativity and that will help keep you sane during those 'young kids' years when it requires so much attention. It's does get easier with time and its true, looking back it goes by rather quickly. I even remember giving my daughter a smallish nice canvas and acrylics at age 4 and she painted along with me.....the painting still hangs on the wall today 8 yrs later (everyone loves it . She is also pretty good at art now and now she is interested in photography which is also cool! Anyhow good luck.

edited to add - I re-read the thread and see you also have a 4 mth old...so I would just schedule creative time with the 3 yr old while the baby sleeps probably or unless dad or other family members can help. Three is a good age to include in creativity. I started my daughter also on the computer at age 2 (lots of great sites for young kids online) and now she is a whiz...surpassing my abilities often times on the computer. Of course at that time - I had to hide my desktop icons and made a special folder just for her so she wouldn't click on the wrong thing or change settings on the computer. Because I had her on the computer early, she was able to read by age 5...she surprised me one day when I went to read some Disney game instructions, she said she could read it herself, I said you can? Please read it out loud for me. Needless to say I was very pleased .

[Use Her Name]

Artists are historically male and leave everything for the wife to take care of. It gets a little harder when the wife is the artist. I'd just say spend time with the kids until they hit kindergarten, then you may have a few hours to play with. "Nap time" is also a nice time to get something done.