Burnt Out On Art

Hi There,

Now that the holidays are officially over and our new years resolutions are either taking a hold or falling to the wayside, I'd like to take a moment to talk about burn out.

All the insanity that happens at the end of the year inspires us to hit the reset button, to clear out clutter and to bring in new habits. As artists we do this in our approach to our art as well as health and work habits.

It's so easy to fall into this idea that now we finally have the opportunity to jump into the things that we've been dreaming about for months now. This is perfectly natural and definitely something that I've aligned myself with in the beginning of January but now I'm thinking about something else.

After all the insanity that this past year has brought me and a strong push to get myself back onto my idealogical path, I have come to realize that I've neglected something very important: my own personal wellbeing.

Maybe after experiencing a influx of tasks and busy work and emotional stress, it is okay NOT to pile on more expectations the second you have a free moment. Maybe it's okay to give yourself a break.

As the month of January progresses, I have committed myself to another drawing challenge after successfully completing 2 back to back and found myself falling very quickly behind. I've had time to do this work, but I am also mentally burnt out. I need a break, and you know what? I am going to give myself a little time to heal.

I will finish the prompt list (#magicmoonweek) but I won't finish it with the group and I am okay with that. If I want to produce the quality of work that I would like, I have to give myself the opportunity to reflect on what I have learned and gosh darn it, that's okay.

So don't fall into the spiral of self doubt if you find yourself struggling to change in this new year. Instead, have a moment of doubt and let that be okay. Then let yourself heal and move on.

If you'd like to see my pieces for magicmoonweek follow me on Instagram @leighannenight_art.

Thanks for resting with me,

-LeighAnneNight