I've been watching a wonderful photography class on CreativeLive given by Jennifer Thoreson. It's been fantastic. And there's something about her process that I want to incorporate into my own.
She works for a year or two on a single project, series. And then she takes the same amount of time off. She worked for two years on her most recent series "Testament" for two years, and now she's on a break. I love that. I love that she doesn't feel that she has to work continually, non-stop. She gives herself a much needed holiday from her passion.
For the longest time, and even still now as I'm coming to terms with the decision I'm about to make, I felt that I had to keep creating, always be creating, in order to keep my skill up, in order to keep pace with all the other artists out there. But I've found that it's actually causing me more stress than benefits to my work. Because I felt that I had to create a new image every week I was starting to worry that I wouldn't have a unique idea for the following week. And often times I didn't. And that worried me.
I don't want to force myself to create. I don't want to worry if I'm going to burn myself out trying to keep up with others. I want to have continuous joy in what I do. I want to be able to attack each project with fresh eyes and invigorated body. I can't do that at the pace I've been going. And so I've decided that after the completion of this current series I will be taking a break. I won't create, or force myself to create, until the following spring, where I will hopefully be ready to photograph my newest series full of life, joy and purpose. But I won't be completely absent. I'll still be writing here.
It's OK to take a break. And so I will.