You. Are. Out.
Thank you Heidi Klum. Anyone else enjoy talent-driven reality show competitions? Ace of Cakes? Project Runway? Top Chef?
Yeah me too.
A huge part of my fascination with these shows is the time constraints the participants are forced to work under. Build a house out of banana peels in four hours? Create an artificial limb out of chia seeds overnight? Anything is possible.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to take part in Season 2 of Work of Art. I can’t give away any details, but let’s just say the artists were forced to create new works under extremely limited time and budget restraints. Were all of the works of art… art? Not really. But the challenges forced the contestants to work outside their comfort zones and push the limits of what they considered possible. In chatting with the artists behind some of my favorite pieces, a common theme kept appearing: “I’ve never tried X before but now I’m really enjoying where that’s leading me.”
In the real world (totally different from MTV’s The Real World) we tend to procrastinate creating anything new. We check out blogs, create boards on Pinterest, watch tv, go on coffee dates with friends, ANYTHING to keep us from actually CREATING.
This week I’m going to take a lesson from my Work of Art friends and give myself some super tight time constraints to complete the tasks I’ve been finding most daunting but ultimately most fulfilling. Who’s with me?
Are you in or are you out?
Hi! I'm Monica and I believe in choosing, living, and sharing our own stories.
This is awesome, Monica, and it’s something I’ve been wrestling with. I have all these ideas but haven’t put any of them into motion… yet. That stops now! Or I START now! Either way, I’m setting some hard cut-off dates to make what I want happen HAPPEN. I can’t delay any longer! Thanks for the post!
Thanks Laura! You go girl! Set a timer if you have to! Pretend the cameras rolling- ACTION!
Well, I’m in! I love a good artsy challenge. Sometimes when I’m feeling like I’m in a rut, I give myself a bizarre set of materials to work with (scraps of felt, ink pencils, or cheesy scrapbooking paper, anyone?) and see if I can produce something I love.
Thanks for keeping us creative folk on our toes, Monica!
Adriana~ Bizarre material are brilliant! Work it lady:)
Let me confess something: those shows totally stress me out. I can’t stand time constraints, and I get all wound up and nervous watching those shows. But your exercise, on the other hand, is good stuff. I’m totally down with writing or creating for a limited chunk of time and seeing what I can do.
I totally hear you about the stress factor! Plus the way they edit those shows makes me feel like I’m on acid or something;)