Kerri Experiment #2: 3 Hours/Day with Artist!
Each week, Shannon or Kerri picks an ArtistCEO experiment to undertake for 5 days and reports back to our email list. Sign up now for the inside scoop!
Background:
To spark my artist side, I’ve taken a transformational singing class recently. I’ve LOVE IT, but I haven’t been able to hold time for my artist self consistently outside of class and want to see what a jumpstart of hours will do for me.
My Experiment: To spend 3 hours a day with my artist side.
Monday
Today my art was built-in via a singing lab I’ve been taking over the last 7 weeks. It was our final class together and an initiation into the next level of freedom in our voices and lives. A series of intense, endurance based exercises followed by a blindfolded free voice in front of the class led to the biggest breakthrough I’ve had in 2018. I can tell that everything that happens after this is going to be different because of the experience. THIS is why I do art.
Tuesday
I did not get to spend time in the way I thought I would today! Despite getting home late, I woke up early to finish reading and making notes on a manuscript for a client, then I led my women’s creativity group, gave feedback on the manuscript and worked on ArtistCEO. The podcast took way longer than expected so I didn’t get to “my” art at all. Luckily, the podcast is art to me and I had to summon all of my powers (and Shannon’s feedback!) to turn an episode that was always a little off into something that really works. I was up until midnight finishing it!
Wednesday
I broke my 3 hours up into two sections and started by listing all of the creative projects that were on my mind. I had a list of 8! I narrowed that down by taking off the 5 projects that were more business creative than strictly artistic and chose one of the artist projects to work on, a performance of my poems. It felt really good to get a clear vision, imagining myself walking through the show and finding some powerful images and the through line that the piece had been missing. I now feel ready to take the next step and find a venue!
In the evening, I practiced the songs I’m going to record for an EP and transposed a song to a lower key on guitar! I haven’t done that in years! Felt good to dig in and do the technical work that allows my voice to have more freedom in a lower key.
Thursday
I totally failed by not having a clear plan for my day. I tried to write in the morning, but was way too distracted and didn’t make it happen. I did a Facebook live instead, which was creative, but a little more on the business side of things. My evening plans were set as well, so I ran out of time. I had to realize that 3 hours probably wasn’t realistic every day of the week, and that maybe I could create a different definition for spending time with my artist. What if it wasn’t actually art-making, but more like a state of mind?
Friday
Similar to Thursday, I was trying to fit more in than was truly possible. I had a meeting with Shannon, then three healing/creativity unblocking sessions with clients, which honestly just felt so good. A nice reminder that the kind of work I’m bringing more and more into my life feels just as creative as making art. I left my office glowing and then got to see my friend play guitar on Broadway in Dear Evan Hansen. We went backstage after the show and though there’s certainly a bit of yearning to get on my own stage again, it wasn’t overwhelming. In the past, I’d often cry thinking about the years of performance I lost because of my vocal pain, but now I’m more forward-focused.
Takeaway:
A strange combination of the singing class initiation, my energy levels, the new moon and this experiment led to one of the best weeks in recent memory (though I'm not sure my daily recap captures that!). It really highlighted all of the areas and projects that have energy around them and are ready for more (which all happen to be creative or within my creative business!) and made what needs to go very clear (my social media work).
I don’t know how it will all unfold, but I think what I learned is to push myself to give more time to the projects in business AND art that feel dreamy. Like, if I can just give it that extra hour of focused work (and maybe two hours of just being in the vibe/mindset of the artist, no matter where that is) then I can really move things forward without sacrificing my quality of life (and hopefully, income)!
Here is the video where we announced my experiment! Tune in to the ArtistCEO Facebook page Mondays at 3:30 for our experiment announcements (while season 1 is being released).
