011 Fatigue, Burn Out And Tips On How To Rest As An Artist

Welcome back to another episode of the Paint Rest Repeat Podcast. This fortnight we are talking about the topic of REST as an artist. Both Ros and Laura have different takes on this topic. Laura comes from the perspective of an artist with chronic illness and Ros as a mum and also a person who recharges through “active rest”.  Laura opens up about how she came to make “self care” a priority in her life, after pushing her energetic limits and ending up in hospital with a serious health flare. As an artist she now considers carefully what projects and commitments that she takes on.   They discuss the topic of sleep and how Ros as a busy mum of two little people, explains the tricky balance of managing your family's needs vs. your personal need for rest at night time. Ros poses the question to the audience - How can you get closer to the ideal amount of time of sleep that you individually need at night? Ros talks about what Rest means to her in her life and how she takes a break away from her art life by seeing friends, visiting new places, spending time with her children - and trying to be present with them. She shares a tip for women that have a busy mind like herself, when she is intentionally carving out “family time” to have a to-do list handy so whenever ideas pop up you can jot it down for later and go back to being present for her family.  Laura shares how she prioritizes rest, by putting a reminder on her phone like “rest time” as an appointment. She shares a list of low impact activities to give listeners ideas:  Journaling, gentle walks in nature, yoga or meditation, sitting on the couch drawing in a art journal or tablet, or watercolours in a sketchbook, spending time in the garden or front porch drinking a cup of tea, calling a good friend on the phone with no agenda (no planning or organizing) just a genuine catch-up to nourish your friendship, listen to a guided meditation, relaxing in a warm bath, and if you are really feeling burnt out making time for a sleep in and to make that possible if you have kids - organizing care, either from a partner or a babysitter. Reading a chapter of a book, listening to some music, deep belly breathing and patting your pet because it releases all the feel good hormones!  Ros shares a tip to those people that may feel the excuses settling in - such as “but I can't because I have kids.” She reminds herself - ROS - you gotta do it anyway. Laura shares how in the past she felt like a “flawed artist” because she wasn't creating in the studio every day. She would watch all of these artists on Instagram doing art challenges and felt like she couldn't keep up. She came to the realization that she is the kind of artist that needs big stretches of rest in between projects such as exhibitions.  Ros reflects that it comes back to self knowledge and knowing who you are and how you work best. Laura talks about how finding out her energetic type in Human Design as a “Projector” has helped her to manage her days and energy as an artist. Ros relates making time for rest in your weeks like - negative space in your artwork. Ros talks about self acceptance, and how it is okay that we both approach our art life differently and it is okay. Laura shares a quote from Danielle LaPorte at the end of the episode for listeners similar to her - “It takes as long as it takes” reminding you to play the long game with your art business goals.    We hope that you enjoy the show!   Please send us a DM on Instagram to tell us how you found this episode and let us know if you have any ideas for future topics for the show.   This episode is sponsored by: Ros’ Membership Art for the Heart - for more info please visit: https://www.permissiontopaint.co/afh   EPISODE LINKS: Danielle LaPorte: https://daniellelaporte.com/ Human Design - Get your Chart: https://www.jovianarchive.com/get_your_chart   FIND US AND FOLLOW US ONLINE! Follow Laura on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurajaneday/  Follow Ros on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ros.gervay.creative/   And to book a creative kick-start coaching session with Laura or to find out more about her Soul Medicine Painting workshops please visit: https://laurajaneday.com/   For more information about Ros’ membership as well as in-person painting workshops and other offerings please visit https://www.permissiontopaint.co or to see Ros’ paintings please visit http://www.rosgervaycreative.com   Please help us grow our Podcast by leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts. Here is how!   Stay tuned for more episodes being released every two weeks!