30 Things I Do Instead of Making Art

Christina Jumper
2 min readJan 28, 2023

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Photo by Jessica Ruscello on Unsplash
  1. Look at my old art to “inspire myself” (but really feel sorry for myself because I “wasted” the creativity of my youth)
  2. Think about how I can never finish anything
  3. Eat a sad quesadilla and burn tongue
  4. Organize my art supplies until they look too pretty to actually use
  5. Complain about how capitalism is KILLING my creativity
  6. Sit in the same spot for hours because I haven’t decided between Project A and Project B
  7. Look for jobs involving art until I convince myself that I’m destined to go back to work at Starbucks
  8. Think about all the art I would probably make if I worked at Starbucks again
  9. Remember that being an artist will probably mean I will never have health insurance
  10. SELF-SABOTAGE, BABY
  11. Avoid unpleasant feelings instead of making art about it
  12. Think about thinking about updating my portfolio
  13. Spend hours on subreddits where artists criticize other artists’ art in the hopes that it will make me feel better about MY art
  14. DOWNWARD SPIRAL
  15. Watch cat videos on Instagram while my cats stare at me from across the room
  16. Decide to shave my legs but spend the next hour trying to find just the right shower playlist
  17. Pass on self-care because I haven’t made any ART and I am under the impression that DISCOMFORT results in ART
  18. Realize that I’m being silly
  19. Splash cold water on my face, as a treat
  20. Suddenly think about all the crooked picture frames in my apartment
  21. Decide to rearrange my entire studio at 7pm because I’m not being creatively stimulated and it must be the fault of my environment
  22. Burn myself out thinking about work
  23. Buy more pictures frames online (you know, for all the art I’m making)
  24. Feel guilty for contributing to capitalism
  25. Realize how late it is and stress about all the things I could have done that day if I hadn’t been so worried about (not) making art
  26. Lie awake thinking about how I should be making art right now because EVERY MOMENT MUST COUNT
  27. Write down ideas for art to make myself feel better
  28. Get stoned and impress myself with my ideas (as though they will turn into anything tangible)
  29. Make a list and post it
  30. Stay up too late than is appropriate for a 30 year-old checking for new likes and not moisturizing

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Christina Jumper

writer. artist. anxious mess. cohost of pickles and vodka: a mental health podcast.