Finding Passion in your Art
Written by Joshuah Vogel and Anni Lopez
A feeling of passion swells as you set up to play your instrument, film a movie, or paint. There is something that makes spending time with your art valuable. Comfort, distraction, pleasure, memory, connection, expression. The beauty of getting lost in the art and sharing emotions only knowable to the mind through the language of music, painting, film, dance, and acting is like no other.
But what happens when all the glorious feelings and motivations start to flee? Those exciting feelings no longer seem exciting, and those values that were once so powerful are now frail and have little meaning. Perhaps you feel drained or have formed a disdain for your art. Maybe you start asking yourself troubling questions like “Is there something wrong with me?” or “Am I meant for this?”
At an arts academy, such as Interlochen, it can be challenging to allow yourself to feel burnt out. To make it apparent how normal of a situation burnout is, the Interlochen Times has gone on this journey to help fellow artists in the hope that we can find the answer to the question, “How do you find passion in the arts?”
Before tackling a concept like burnout or loss of motivation, we first need to understand how potentially damaging these feelings can be. They can be very self-destructive and negatively impact your relationships, hobbies, or even yourself. Telling yourself that you’re “not good enough,” you will find yourself further down in a mental pit. Therefore, it is essential to remember you are at IAA for a reason and to not let your mind play tricks on you.
These emotions can be even harder to deal with on account that most of us are far away from our homes, family, and other relationships. If this is your first year, there is a good chance you are comparing yourself to your more experienced peers at IAA. Additionally, if you have been here longer, there is a good chance you may be comparing yourself to the people in your age group, or younger, and asking why you are not at their level. To struggle with questions like this is difficult just as much as it is normal, but it is not a healthy reason to push yourself to a distressing point.
When asked if he has ever felt burnt out, Mitchell Beckman, a senior Classical Percussion major, stated, “I haven't gotten burnt out, even though my mom says I have. There have just been moments in time where the joy is gone,” Mitch says.
“It's like a fire; that's why it's called burnt out. If there is a smolder in the fire then you can rekindle it. So if I’m not happy, I’m still gonna practice.”
Mitch believes that to feel less passion is a common experience for him, but he does not allow himself to stop. In Mitch’s mind if he stops it makes it significantly more difficult for him to start finding motivation again. So instead of a complete burnout, that small bit of energy he feels is more like discipline forcing him to practice.
As dedicated and disciplined as Mitch is, it is safe to assume that some students at Interlochen are not always like that. For those who want to avoid burnout entirely, the Times spoke with Dr. Leslie Dunner, who along with serving as Conductor of the Arts Academy Orchestra at IAA has also worked in the arts for many decades as a dancer and clarinetist. Dr. Dunner is a very confident, dedicated man with a lot of integrity and grit, but he is also a human just like everybody else and must deal with the same mental hurdles.
When asked what to do about loss of passion, Dr. Dunner took some time to think and replied, “Take a break, recalibrate, and do something that makes you smile and feel all good inside.”
You are not going to want to practice if you are not happy or satisfied, so watch a fun video, listen to your favorite music, talk to a friend or take a walk–do both at the same time!–Something that can take your mind from an “I need to work” flow to an “I’m practicing because I love my art” flow in a healthy way.
Dr. Dunner confessed how easy it is for him to turn anything into work. The buzzing of a microwave is all that is needed for him to start taking apart its musical architecture. Recently, he has developed a newfound passion for music. After so many years of turning music into work, Dunner wanted to feel again and now that he is less critical of the music he listens to and even his own work, he has found motivation and now enjoys what he does significantly more.
Unfortunately, however, it is far too often that there are outside factors that cause burnout. When asked about a block in her playing, Alex Workman, a junior Classical Violin major, explained, “Especially at the end of my sophomore year, I just got distracted by social media and the amount of schoolwork at the time. I didn’t have any motivation to practice.”
“It wasn't until camp and IAA,” Alex continued, “that I was able to get out of that slump…What helps me is to break up my practice into intervals. Just the change in environment is a big thing. What excites me to practice is the idea of getting things done, what I will accomplish for this next hour or how I will improve by my next lesson.”
Even though Alex was able to get out of their “slump,” the overall idea was that if social media is distracting you or you are generally unmotivated and you do nothing to change that, you may stay unmotivated indefinitely. To prevent this, Dr. Dunner mentioned that just getting out of a stuffy room and moving around is a great fix to a stubborn mind. Running, lifting weights, or cardio is a fantastic reboot for the brain and body.
There are many ways to keep yourself inspired by your art, like the previously mentioned walks or continuing to push through your burnout until you find that fire. In any case, do what you can to find the thing that works best for you. What someone else does may or may not have the same effect for you, so if you are struggling to find your artistic catalyst, pay attention to your day and how you feel. Understand who you are and what you can do to find that hidden motivation. Understand that burnouts are your body's way of saying “you've overstepped a mental boundary” and should be looking for rest, emotional repair, or a release of tension. This is not to say that these are one-time solutions and because of that you will need to recover every time you burnout. Stay strong in your artistic practices, and remember why you are at Interlochen.
“Every night before you go to bed,” Dr. Dunner recommends, “think of something that makes you smile, so that when you wake up in the morning you can think of the last thought you had before you went to bed, so it makes you smile first thing in the morning.”