Take A Break
It's OK
I teach illustration at the college level. One of my classes is about creativity, and I ask students to document their lives through drawing, the food they eat, the interior of the bus they’re riding. You get the idea. I tell them to swap screen time for sketchbook time.
I don’t always follow my own advice.
A few weeks ago was spring break, that glorious stretch of time away from campus, the window administration specifically asks us not to assign homework. I remind students anyway that it’s a great time to catch up on their drawing and that tucking a sketchbook into their bag on whatever adventure they take will be worth it.
This year, I left the country for spring break, traveling with family. We had a packed schedule: cathedrals, museums, palaces, and of course restaurants. My daily step count skyrocketed. And I drew exactly twice: once on the ten-hour flight to our destination, and once on a two-hour train ride through the countryside.
Does that make me a phony? Am I not practicing what I preach, failing to scribble the wild view of the plaza from our hotel window, the platters of unfamiliar food, the faces of our guides? Probably. Or maybe I realized something: it’s okay to not always be focused on making art. We tell artists to surrender their lives to their craft. That’s probably not healthy.
As I wandered through various cultural wonders, I noticed two kinds of visitors. Some documented everything through their phone cameras, capturing every ceiling and cobblestone. Others tucked their phones away and simply looked, soaking in the moment, present without a lens between them and the world.
On this trip, I chose the latter. I kept the pen case closed, with one exception: figuring out the bill. And I survived. I took a few photos, sure. But being with the people I love and actually seeing what was in front of me mattered more this time around.
I’ll have plenty of time to draw now that I’m back
I read somewhere (maybe in the book Mixing Work with Pleasure) that when travelling Hayao Miyazaki would often get lost just staring at a building or a tree or at people, and then later confess he was memorizing elements of the scene to draw later. That approach isn't exactly 'taking a break' but a good reminder that even when not drawing or taking photos you can absorb things that become part of your art later.
We go through cycles. There are profound gifts in being in the moment, without a lens or sketch pad between us and the world. Sometimes we just need to go there, just like you did.
On the other hand, you’re helping your students establish a way of looking at the world, perhaps a new way of looking at the world, to establish a new habit that they might find is the most rewarding habit they've encountered. They can choose, but only if they know what options exist. You're merely exposing them to options, so their choices can be meaningful.