Musing and Events — Brian Ashmore Studio

Being proficient at something takes a lot of dedication and time. For the visual artist, writer, musician, or many other creative professionals, that usually means time spent alone... a LOT of time spent alone. It requires countless hours working and practicing before one gets to the point of proficiency (and I’ll bet most Creatives are never completely satisfied with where they are currently, skill-wise, regardless of where they are in their personal timeline). While it’s such a satisfying feeling to see your own growth after putting in the hours, dedicating one’s self to such a solitary endeavor can lead to isolation and a kind of separation from the world (and some would say reality). To make matters worse, many creative professions also require countless hours of alone time once the creative profession is achieved.

Quite the conundrum... most artists do what they do to connect with the world and other people. Yet, creating the thing that connects can also isolate the creative person from those with which they would like to connect. It could be said that creative, isolating careers probably tend to interest people who already have a disposition towards isolation and, perhaps, introversion. For myself, this is definitely the case. If you are like me, you probably didn’t mind being sent to your room as a kid for punishment because that was where your sketchbook and music were. I enjoyed time alone and loved to spend hours and hours drawing and listening to music. At school, I tended to be more extroverted and got into trouble much too frequently for talking and joking around during class. That changed as I got older. In high school, I became less gregarious (obnoxious?) but became much more interested in art and art classes, in particular. For the artist, school can be a lot of fun. Learning with friends, feeding off of each other’s successes and failures, and the ever-present competitive spirit can be a huge part of the creative person’s growth. However, the “real world” comes knocking, eventually, and one’s future becomes more and more set in stone. For many, that means working in an office with other creative people. For others, that can mean a freelance career and the pitfalls (isolation being one of them) that come with it.

I was lucky, after college, to fall into a position with a company that produced souvenir t-shirts (and other apparel) for markets all over the US. This job required loads of creativity at a work pace that, at times, could be crushing. It also required the artists to draw EVERYTHING (animals, scenery, vehicles, cartoon characters... you name it) and to be a virtual fountain of creativity in producing the hundreds of illustrations and designs required to feed the presses and the t-shirt hungry masses across the country (heh, heh). For me, the time spent working with other artists was very fun and several of my friends, today, are from this time. However, my real dream... the thing that filled my thoughts and dreams was painting, and at the time, comic books. I had always dreamed of creating comics in watercolor and spent a great deal of time painting and visiting comic book conventions to show my work to various companies. What I didn’t realize was that I was also pushing myself towards a life of intense pressure (in the short term) and isolation.

Eventually, I was able to secure my dream job as a freelancer... a painted graphic novel with DC Comics illustrating my favorite character, Batman. I woke up excited, each day, to be blessed with the task of actually drawing and painting Batman for a living (at least for while). However, not being the fastest artist in the world, creating the artwork for the book required much more time alone working than I had anticipated. I worked at home and twelve to fourteen hour days, seven days a week became the norm for the better part of the subsequent year and a half. Keeping up with the task of creating around 100 pages of illustration (with an average of 5 or 6 illustrations within each page) became a crash course in being an isolated artist. There was no time for much leisure activity or time for my family. I had a wife and three sons, at the time. Believe me, if you aren’t careful, living the life of an isolated artist can be damaging to your family and possibly your own health, as well. However, this is an example of how isolating the life of a creative person can be, in the extreme. Your mileage may vary.

The Batman project led to another couple of years working on some painted Hulk comics for Marvel. I knew that my self-imposed isolation was becoming a problem and so I agreed to rent a studio with a friend that was a graphic-designer to pull myself out of my “creativity cave” and, perhaps, engage with the world a bit more. Now, however, I was spending even MORE time away from home and having other people around while working on Hulk became a bit of a hinderance. Some of my friend’s clients felt it okay to wander over to my area and watch the monkey paint, ask questions, and gobble up my work time. I really enjoy talking with people but (and I KNOW many of you know what I’m talking about), sometimes, if you are in the “creative flow,” so to speak, and you get interrupted, it can be REALLY difficult to get back into the proper mindset. Again, I needed more isolation to accomplish the tasks at hand.

After completing the Hulk project, I swore to never accept work that would isolate me from friends and family, to that degree, ever again. After a short stint back at the t-shirt factory, I began freelancing again as an illustrator and graphic designer... jack of all trades, master of none; if you will. I’ve been floating in this ether for over a decade, now, and isolation is still a necessary component of what I do... in my life, it is both a help and a hinderance.

Okay, so I’ve gone on long enough with this introspection and self-indulgent reflection of the past. What can I suggest to someone that is just beginning their life as an isolated creative artist or someone that is further in but struggling with the down-sides of isolation? Not much, I’m afraid, but I did try to come up with some tips and suggestions that may help and that have helped me to one degree or another:

1) Stay connected with friends - For the artist, friends can be a life-line to the outside world and a much needed boost whilst whiling away the hours alone. I’m sure I have friends reading this, right now, that are laughing because I am the worst at staying in touch with people ( I go into INFP “hermit mode” far too often... more on that in a bit). Be sure to schedule coffee or lunch with friends to give yourself a much needed face-to-face personal encounter and a chance to break away from your hidey-hole creative space. The internet age and instant communication has also become a Godsend, as well. Being in touch with friends online can be a great boost and antidote, throughout the day, to the myopic mindset that can set in with too much alone time. Heck, some of my best friends live hundreds of miles away and it’s easy to stay in touch, these days.

2) Seek out new music and podcasts - For me, I usually need music playing while I work to keep from feeling like I’m too much in my own head. I enjoy having music or a podcast going. Admittedly, once I’m really involved in what I’m doing, sounds just fade away and I’m not really hearing anything. However, these types of auditory indulgences can be a big help in getting the juices flowing and avoiding immersing one’s self in complete silence. Beware of including things like television, movies, etc. in your creative space. This kind of thing can be helpful in not feeling isolated but can also occupy your mind to a degree to be counter-productive. I’ve had to remove such things from my work environment after finding myself too visually involved and becoming neglectful of my work. You may be different, however, and be able to multi-task much better than me.

3) Take breaks - This seems like a no-brainer but it can be difficult to make yourself break away from something that is capturing so much of your attention and focus. However, you’ll find that making yourself walk away for short periods will help your productivity and focus, in the long run. Your mind needs breaks to work at it’s creative optimum.

4) Internet - The internet can be a double-edged sword. It can help people feel connected to the outside world in unprecedented ways but can also become an incredible time-suck of epic proportions. Checking email and social media can really help alleviate feelings of isolation, at times, but it’s best done in moderation and, perhaps, while taking a scheduled break.

5) Make the most of your non-work time and “people time.” - If you work at home, it can be a challenge to separate yourself and feel like you are not constantly at work. Being in the same surroundings for all hours of the day can lead to even more feelings of isolation. So, get out shopping, enjoy a dinner-out with your family or friends, whatever... just get out and away from the place where isolation is a necessary component of what you do. For instance, my kids’ soccer games have been a great way to “get away” and connect with other people.

6) Know Yourself - Okay, this one may seem a bit “out there” but bear with me. Understanding why you are who you are and why you behave the way you do can be a big help in alleviating loneliness and the effects of isolation. Taking a Myers-Briggs personality test (this is the one I’ve found most beneficial) can be a huge help in understanding yourself and the choices you make. The test categorizes people into 16 different personality types and gives valuable insight into what makes you tick, why you interact with others the way you do, why you are disciplined (or, shall we say, less disciplined), and all sorts of other aspects of your personality. Knowing my personality type (INFP, baby), has helped me quite a bit, over the years, to better understand how I got into the predicament of isolating myself and how to best deal with said predicament without beating myself up for things that I might have viewed as shortcomings, previously. You may be surprised how “dead-on” the results for your personality can be. There are many free tests online, if you are interested. I really like this one...

https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test

7) Work away from your usual creative space - When applicable, work away from the studio and give yourself some “away time.” When working on big projects, I like to do some of the planning and sketching while at lunch, somewhere, or even spend the morning in a coffee shop. Also, I don’t do it often enough, but I like to paint outside when the weather is nice. Of course, the bulk of most creative people’s work is probably best done in the studio (or work space) but getting away, when possible, can be very beneficial.

I’m not an expert on these matters but I wanted to share some of my thoughts on isolation and the challenges it can present to the creative person. Many of us have families and friends that we see during non-work hours but spend 40 or more hours alone while working. I realize that this type of isolation is not necessarily a serious “life issue” but I hope that you’ve found some of this to be useful or thought-provoking enough to create your own strategies for dealing with artistic isolation and the associated issues that can develop.

Back to my cave...