Restless Artists

I read an interview the other night, about a Swedish music artist (Yohio) who was talking about how much was going on and how little sleep he had. That he was exhausted but kept on writing songs, staying up all night. It got me thinking of something. You see, I'm one of those people who fall completely into what I do, and forget everything else. When I'm involved with something, I don't get hungry, I don't get tired and I forget all time and space. It's only when I go idle that hunger and fatigue kicks in, which isn't really a good thing. (I even put an alarm on, just to be sure I get the sleep I need.)

What I'm trying to say, is that artistic, creative people can't be idle. I can't handle having nothing to do, I go completely nutty. (Another reason why I'm called Sherlock by people... *deep sigh* At least I don't go painting on walls and shooting.) I walk back and forth like a restless horse and annoy people until I have something else to do, and then I'm all into it again. Boredom isn't my thing, laying down on the sofa to just watch tv isn't my thing, watching movies isn't my thing. I have to have something to work with, some kind of crafting. Weather it's creating things in clay, sewing, writing... I think that although I'm probably an extreme case, people who are as busy as some artists are simply can't handle having nothing to do. They hate being idle, and actually feel good being busy.

The problem with the whole thing, though, is that there's a difference between being busy and being busy. Being busy with something you like, something that interests you is much less straining than being busy with something you enjoy, that you chose yourself to do. It's also a lot easier to focus on the latter. I find it a bit funny that my 'nothing' is not the same as most people's 'nothing', because 'nothing' is 'something', but not with any artistic or educational value. Like playing a game. While I enjoy games, I don't get stuck with them for hours, and I still get restless. They keep me amused for a while, but not for long.

I wonder if this is how most creative people who get somewhere are...it'd make sense somehow, because we get so much done.