How we choose what we do, and how we approach it...will determine whether the sum of our days adds up to a formless blur, or to something resembling a work of art.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
Sometimes it seems that my life is a formless blur, especially when I lose my focus in a flurry of chaotic busyness, and I'm plagued by a steady stream of necessary yet unenjoyable tasks that don't seem to get finished, stalling creative projects that would give me a lot more satisfaction…if only I could get to them.
This isn't art, this is a tedious mess! And worse, I've lost my flow! Art for me is soul food. Art-making is mediation in action. It nourishes my craving for beauty, clarity and harmony.
By beauty, I mean aesthetics, that is, the beauty of meaning-making, when all the parts come together to create a whole, or when clues are combined to solve a mystery.
It's about finding elegant solutions to problems we face. It's the profound simplicity we discover on the other side of complexity, once we've dug through our messes.
One of my first influences in art, was my grade school teacher Fritz Brantner, a well known and influential artist in Montreal who encouraged us to make abstract art. Abstract art taught me to distill the world around me into its essential components, and get to the heart of the matter. This has become an important problem-solving skill in business and life in general.
How can we bring more artistry into work? What principles can we live by and put into practice so that we do make life and work a work of art?
Intention
Artists begin their work with intention and purpose. They have some idea about the end product they want to create, whether it is a song, a poem, a painting or a movie.
A student filmmaker I know made the mistake of shooting a film with cast and crew before he had worked out his script. What happened? Endless re-shoots, wasted time and effort, and a mess of film to edit into some kind of cohesion. He learned it's a lot easier to create when you have a well crafted story to tell in the form of a script. It provides a clarity of purpose that keeps creativity on track.
When I paint, I don't always know what the end result will look like, but I do start with some kind of intention, such as capturing the inner essence of an idea or emotion that evoke a feeling of well-being and peace in the beholder.
Dr Csikszentmihalyi, a psychologist best known for his research on creativity, and 'Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience' says that the metaphor of flow is one that many people have used to describe the sense of effortless action they feel during a peak experience.
Athletes refer to it as "being in the zone," religious mystics as being in "ecstasy," artists and musicians as "aesthetic rapture."
Flow is characterized by effortless concentration and enjoyment. We are completely absorbed in an activity and time disappears.
Flow
To achieve flow in a task, we need the right balance of skill and challenge. If a task is too challenging we experience fear, and if its not challenging enough, we experience boredom.
In my experience, being in the flow includes the natural oscillation between action and reflection, or as Frank Sinatra put it so eloquently: "Do, be, do, be do."
Reflection and contemplation might involve meditation, journal writing and day dreaming. To establish more flow in your work, the first step is to prioritize and focus on what is most important. Write down your list of priorities and to extend the metaphor, create a flow chart that includes who you can delegate to.
Devote your best thinking time for tasks that most need your creativity and focused attention. And don't allow interruptions. Use times when you don't have as much brain power to catch up on email and phone calls.
Skills Development
Artistry can be defined as having mastered a skill sufficiently enough so that you don't have to think about it. Artistry is the bridge between concept and craft. Once you have mastered a skill you can transcend technicalities and focus on creating, inventing and innovating.
Artists constantly work their craft by developing their skills. In order to take on more challenge and stay in the flow, you may need to learn new skills.
Mastery is what separates the virtuoso from the technician, in music, dance, theatre and art. Don't get caught up in creating a masterpiece. Focus instead on developing your craft in whatever art form appeals to you.
Slow down and become absorbed in the process. When you relax and enter that place of flow, you will notice your mind quiet down, and creative imagination start to bubble up.
Aesthetics at Work
How we experience a product or service, impacts our buying decisions. If I don't like the smell or the noise level of a restaurant for example, I won't stay. Aesthetics have become increasingly important as a means of creating brand appeal, to create an emotional connection with customers to gain loyalty rather than compete against price.
Apple transcends commodity hell by designing beautiful products. I have the latest Macbook, and I love everything about it: The look of the OS X environment, the whooshing sound of an aircraft taking flight when I send email, the satisfying spring of the keys as I type, and the easy functionality of the software. In other words its an example of great design. My Macbook appeals to all my senses and is a dependable tool for my creative output, enhancing my creative flow.
Questions for Reflection
Artistic qualities such as seeing with new eyes, sensing and perceiving, mastery, elegance, finding beauty, meaning, balance, harmony, emotional truth, melody, rhythm, and composition, can be applied to all aspects of our lives.
Reflect on each of these qualities and ask yourself which ones are present in your life and which ones are missing. How would you describe the rhythm of your life and work? How could you achieve more elegance in your work (as distinct from glamour)? How can you enhance the aesthetic experience of your customers?
How would you describe your life and work, if it were a work of art? What qualities would be present? What elements need to come into play to create a more satisfying composition? What is your art? Is it leadership? Parenting? Teaching? Entertaining? In what ways can you make your work a blessing in the world?
Act
Creative expression is one of the keys to living artfully. Imagination without action doesn't make you creative, it only makes you imaginative. It's action that brings ideas to life. So if we think about work as a work of art, work is meaningful when we add to the quality of life to those around us.
Work is a vehicle for our creations to be a blessing to the world. With imagination, observation, reflection and practice, you can transform the mundane into beauty and artistry.