Process: Cara Search Discusses Project Management
Betsy Podsiadlo | 6/30/23
In industry terms, “WIP” typically stands for “Work in Progress.” But after talking with Brooklyn-based visual artist Cara Search (@cara.search), perhaps a more-fitting name for this section of The Newsletter ought to be “Works in Process” because Cara relishes discussing her portfolio-building mechanisms.
Cara spent our time together breaking down the intense moments in which she has been stuck at a computer trying to make the finished files work the way she wants. It’s a struggle we all face. There are certain elements of any artistic practice that feel tedious or overwhelming simply because of their connection to the success of the finished work.
As we discussed the ups and downs of the creative process, Cara explained how she tracks each step of her work through a custom designed Airtable. In doing so, Cara honors a core part of herself by taking the time to build out systems that support her other passions. “I have been learning that for me processes and systems are part of who I am as an artist and person,” Cara said.
Cara charts her process from the moment an idea is born to its completion. This might include building a brief for herself, including what could make an idea work well for certain audiences and industries. Cara also uses her Airtable to organize photos of her sketches and different stages of the work, thus tracking progress all in one place.
According to Cara, this began in reaction to a quote from This American Life host Ira Glass about bridging the gap between our desired taste and our ability to create the art we dream of right now.
“All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take a while. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.” - Ira Glass
Cara’s example of putting in the time to set up infrastructure for her own practice is especially inspiring to learn from. All too often it can feel as though processes and systems belong only to artists who are working at a scale large enough enough to justify their use. But Cara proves that we can give ourselves the gift of designing our work in a methodology that suits us best and lends greater assurance in our own work’s value.
Follow Cara on Instagram and check out her prints on Etsy.