If you’re feeling winter blues, blahs, or burnout, I have the cure.
Take an art bath.
We just turned in the new book to agents and took advantage of that very short break to do an art tour: a blitz trip to London to see friends, shows, and art. Also, a great city is always inspiration all on its own: the diversity of people, the architecture, the wild street scenes…
But I’m going to start with kind of the opposite of the city.
You may be familiar with the Japanese concept of forest bathing: shinrin yoku — the practice of walking mindfully in the forest or collections of trees, for meditation, inspiration, and overall well being.
And even if the phrase “forest bathing” is new to you, it won’t be hard to understand the concept. Growing up in California, I had the magnificent redwood forests as part of my life from an early age. But take a walk in trees anywhere, and feel the agelessness and power, the awesome teeming ecosystem that every tree is, the injection of oxygen and serenity. It’s about as close to eternity as we get on earth.
Well, Craig and I have the trees and a river, right on our doorstep. We are so lucky to live in Scotland in the UK, and California in the US, where we have the inspiration of natural beauty around us all the time. So many stunning places within walking distance, not to mention what you can see in just a short drive!
But in the winter, those trees are pretty bare. The river can get alarmingly high. And sometimes you need to mainline some culture.
After the marathon that a book is, and it is! —we needed a massive dose of art. What I think of an art bath.
I am a huge believer in immersion in art as inspiration. Wherever and whenever Craig and I travel, it’s very rare that we don’t hit at least one museum or gallery. Usually it’s lots of them. This trip, I had a book-related goal of experiencing Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms, at the Tate Modern. Here’s what that looks like:
Okay, I’m from Berkeley and altered states are practically a way of life. But isn’t that true of all of us writers? And a completely immersive experience in someone else’s stunning visual imagination —which any installation of Kusama’s is—can be a powerful re-set when you’re feeling stuck or drained.
Our imaginations are as infinite as these infinity mirrors. As infinite as nature. As exuberant and prodigal as spring.
I need to be reminded of that periodically, especially in the long winter months when the palette is, well, more stark. Muted grays and blues and whites are gorgeous, and perfect for going within and finding creativity in your artist cave. Every season has its own stunning beauty and inspiration.
It’s actually been an extremely productive winter for us that way. This book was a great place to live, in terms of the variety and beauty of locations and some pretty wild visuals. (Being a crime novel, there was also som extreme dark…)
But I can only take so much external cold, wet and dark until I am craving color like the drug it is:
On our tour we also did this Van Gogh immersive experience - I could happily have lived here in this beach chair soaking in these paintings!
But—
You don’t have to take a trip to get a dose of color therapy, or art therapy. You don’t even have to leave your couch!
We have access to trillions of masterpieces from all over the world, right here in our laptops.
Just take a beat to let that sink in. Can you imagine the incredulity and envy and awe of any other generation in history, at the sheer access we, you and I, have to — ANYTHING. Anything we want to know is there for us in seconds. Anything we want to see. Any place we want to go— there’s a video to take us there. And the VR aspect of it is only going to get more immersive.
It makes me dizzy just thinking about how any other generation would have felt, at the power and privilege we have.
But I’m also not a fan of just disappearing into our screens. Having art books around the house gives you instant inspiration in a more tactile way (which accesses a different part of your brain and adds to the creative inspiration).
Also, I’m told that even non-artists benefit from letting themselves play with colored pens, pencils, paints, and pastels:
Personally I prefer to do this kind of playing around with clothes, much to Craig’s exasperation. But hey, clothes are art! Also, as addictions go, it could be worse. Much worse.
I bet you have your own art addiction. Seriously! Don’t we all? Human beings are first and foremost visual creatures. I hope you’ll open yourself to embrace that addiction today.
When I first started teaching these Screenwriting Tricks for Authors workshops, one of the key concepts I wanted to get across to novelists was and will always be the power of visual storytelling.
I teach writers to create a Collage Book for each book or script they write. It’s an incredible tool for world building, for creating character, for discovering the theme of your book and your own personal themes as a writer, for deep immersion into your story, and so very much more. And if you’re fired up and charging ahead in your book or script, definitely read more below—
But maybe you’re not fired up. Maybe you’re numb from winter, possibly from some personal issues, maybe from the whole world situation—and you need a serious injection of inspiration.
If so, this post is really for you.
I think of an art bath as less structured, more free form, and WAY less effort than the targeted work/play of a Collage Book.
An art bath is immersing yourself in the great art of other people.
It’s allowing yourself to sink into other people’s visual and thematic worlds—to recharge your batteries, to fill empty tanks, to draw inspiration from the infinite creativity of another artist.
Maybe paintings don’t do it for you. Maybe it’s music. Maybe it’s theater. Maybe it’s dancing (raising my hand, here, to all of the above!). Maybe it’s forest bathing. Maybe it’s family, or animals, or clothes, or Tarot, or knitting.
I really encourage you to find something to immerse yourself in that involves color— and pure visuals. As an artist you NEED to feed your visual imagination. As writers we NEED to communicate the visuals of a scene to our readers or audience.
And spring is coming… but first we NEED to get through the winter!
My prescription? Have an art bath. Whatever that means to you.
I’d love to hear your own coping mechanisms for winter— how you recharge in these winter, burnout months, and what you love to immerse yourself in! Spring is coming… let’s help each other get there!
—Alex
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All material © Alexandra Sokoloff, Screenwriting Tricks for Authors
I am an absolute FIEND for art books, exhibitions and exhibition catalogues. Dave hit the nail on the head when he spoke about the Artist's Date - that was the first thing that I thought of too! Restocking the creative well with as much colour and design as we can soak up. It's good for the soul and makes life worth living <3 Hope you enjoyed SIX - super-catchy tunes! :D
That’s one of the kinds of things Julia Cameron (of The Artist’s Way fame) calls an artist’s date. It’s one part of the creative practice that I’m not good at. Thanks for the reminder! 💝