How many projects are you juggling right now?
At the moment, I'm working on small woven pieces, papier-mâché sculptures, several crochet blankets, and a few fun paintings. My poor dog will probably never forgive me!
I've been working in several sketchbooks since the summer; I have about 15 boards with layers of acrylic on them; and a few oil paintings on the go!
A Jack of all Trades? Possibly.
Master of none? Maybe.
Bothered? No!
I've often hear artists who work in a number of media question the breadth of their practice and berate themselves for not being focused on mastering one area. But I genuinely believe that exploration of media, subject, and technique actually enhances our creativity, rather than hindering it.
I was encouraged to read recently that studies on multitasking in the arts suggest that having multiple creative projects on the go can actually help you become more deeply engaged in your work. The key is mixing things up enough to keep it fresh—so you're not just stuck in one lane.
Now, I’m not saying we should drown in a sea of unfinished projects or spread ourselves too thin. But the research shows that a mix of different creative endeavours can spark new ideas, keep us motivated, and boost our overall output.
So, while the world of productivity loves to preach about focusing on just one thing, when it comes to creativity, it turns out that juggling a few projects might be just what we need to keep the inspiration flowing! I truly believe that they inspire and influence each other in unexpected ways.
Those of us who enjoy spinning multiple creative plates are in good company. Here are just a few artists I admire, known for working across different mediums and exploring a variety of creative processes.
Frida Kahlo
Kahlo is best known for her deeply personal and vivid self-portraits, but her creative output extended far beyond painting. She also explored photography, worked on set designs, and created sketches, journals, and drawings. Kahlo’s body of work spans multiple forms, and her emotional and political themes were expressed through every medium she explored. Her diverse practice was an integral part of how she processed personal pain and identity.
Louise Bourgeois
Bourgeois is renowned for her sculpture and large-scale installations, but she also worked extensively in drawing, printmaking, and textile art. Her work often intertwined her interests in psychology, sexuality, and personal history, using different mediums to explore the same themes. Bourgeois’s ability to move between sculpture and drawing allowed her to create a vast, interconnected body of work, where ideas in one medium could influence and deepen her work in another.
Shirin Neshat
Neshat, an Iranian-American artist, works across film, photography, and video installations. While she is most famous for her black-and-white photographic series and video work that addresses themes of gender, identity, and political conflict, she also creates large-scale installations that fuse visual art with performance. Her approach demonstrates how moving between different forms allows her to address complex social issues in unique ways.
Tracey Emin
Emin is a British artist known for her raw, autobiographical artwork that spans a variety of media, including drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, and installation. Emin’s work often explores themes of vulnerability, sexuality, and personal history. Her famous work My Bed (1998) is a mix of installation and performance, and she has continued to experiment across forms. Her creative practice thrives on the intersection of different mediums, allowing her to explore her subjects from diverse perspectives.
Mickalene Thomas
Mickalene Thomas is an American artist who works in painting, photography, and video, often blending these mediums to explore themes of race, gender, and beauty. Her signature style incorporates rhinestones, enamel, and acrylic, and she often mixes portraiture with collage techniques. Thomas’s ability to seamlessly transition between painting and photography—while using elements of collage and installation—gives her work a distinct, layered depth.
Judy Chicago
Known for her iconic feminist artwork, including the Dinner Party (1974–79), Chicago has worked across a variety of mediums, from large-scale installations and sculptures to prints and drawings. Her diverse body of work addresses issues of gender, sexuality, and the representation of women in art history. Chicago has also written extensively about her creative process and women’s role in the arts, showing how her projects—both visual and literary—feed into one another.
Yoko Ono
Ono, best known for her conceptual and performance art, has worked across many fields, including music, poetry, video, and visual art. Her work often incorporates interactive elements and invites viewer participation, allowing the audience to be a part of the creative process. Ono’s diverse creative practice—whether through her Instruction Paintings or avant-garde music—demonstrates how multiple artistic endeavours can combine to challenge conventional boundaries of art.
Eva Hesse
Hesse, a German-born American sculptor, is celebrated for her pioneering work in materials like latex, fiberglass, and plastics. But she also experimented with drawing and installation work throughout her career.
Hesse's ability to move fluidly between sculpture and drawing allowed her to test the limits of both materials and ideas, creating works that were both physically engaging and deeply emotional.
Cindy Sherman
Cindy Sherman is an American photographer and conceptual artist who is best known for her series of self-portraits, in which she assumes various personas and identities.
While photography is her primary medium, Sherman has also worked in film and video. Her experimental approach to identity and representation is most fully realized through her extensive body of work across different visual forms, each influencing the next.
Niki de Saint Phalle
de Saint Phalle was a French-American artist who worked in a variety of mediums, including sculpture, painting, and film. She’s perhaps best known for her large-scale, colorful Nanas sculptures and her work in public art. Throughout her career, she moved between painting, sculpture, and performance art, with a focus on feminist themes and social commentary. Her diverse approach to art-making allowed her to create immersive, multimedia experiences.
Kara Walker
Walker is known for her powerful cut-paper silhouettes, but she also works across a wide range of media, including large-scale installations, film, and drawing. Her diverse body of work challenges and expands the boundaries of her original medium. She often speaks about how moving between different forms and practices is integral to her process of confronting complex themes like race and history.
These artists show that being fluid in one’s practice—switching between mediums and constantly experimenting—can not only keep an artist’s creative energy alive but also deepen the meaning of their work.
They prove to me that creativity is not confined to just one medium, and that a broad approach to making art can offer richer, more profound results.
So this holiday season why not try a new project or dust off an old one? You never know where it may lead. Go on - embrace your creativity and make whatever the fudge you want!
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