Art should never be painful torture or likened to walking headfirst, eyes closed into an ocotillo. It should be as easy as pie – simple and distilled through a joyful expression of the self. In a perfect world, creativity and productivity get married and have children that grow swiftly into perfect works of art. As reality would have it however, the world is filled with imperfection and nothing quite falls into place as we may have planned. But don’t let that discourage you. Because art still should be as easy as pie and sometimes we just have to work harder at making it taste just right.

I’ve had some pressure placed on me lately. Perhaps you know the feeling? Of course I’m not talking about stone upon stone at a Salem witch trial, but sometimes it sure can feel like that. It’s not always deadlines and roadblocks that infect us with the silent bully called stress. Life, misunderstandings, superiority complexes and even a botched order can take the steam out of our creative drive. What do you do though, when it’s the people around you – your colleagues, friends, associates, workers, employers, superiors, and or minions? How do we change that sour pudding into sweet frosting that inspires us to create?

There are no simple answers to the upsets of our daily functions as artists. Each story shares its own unique perspective that is dowsed in personal experience. The only commonality is that negativity in whatever form it rears its ridiculous head will undoubtedly lay waste to your motivation and enthusiasm. I’ve seen it be enough to completely deflate the will of the most powerful artists while inflating the egos of the perpetrators. One thing I do know is… the human ego is fragile in every form, no matter how hard we try to not allow the ego to control us.

So how do we stop this needless suffering?

We accept life, the self and let go of the ego. We look inside ourselves and accept responsibility for our actions defeats and shortcomings. We decide that we won’t provide fodder to the starving wolves that feed upon our failures. We stand strong and decide that we will do the best we can. We express ourselves through our art by taking the deleterious words, actions and deeds around us and simply ignore them. D you know that story about “which one you feed will be the one that wins”? Fill your life with joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth and compassion and you will find that creating art can be as easy as pie.

So when life burdens you and affects your art: stop, breath and let go of thought.  And if all else fails, eat some homemade pie. (It couldn’t hurt).

Remember: grow; learn; conserve; preserve; create; question; educate; change; and free your mind.

About: Kelli Klymenko is an artist, teacher, marketing director and free thinker experiencing life in one of the most inspiring and picturesque places on earth with his fabulous wife and children.