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If you are an artist or creative who has an inner voice that is saying that it is arrogant to want to have your work seen by others, to take up space, you need to hear this.
That inner voice is trying to protect you from being ridiculed or thrown out of the human collective. It is fearful. It is an important voice, but it is doing its job inappropriately at this point. It is getting in the way of something important. We need your work. We need the heartfelt, vulnerable, soul searching art work that you are creating. So turn to that inner voice that is fearful of being judged and listen to it. Give it gratitude for the work it is doing to protect you, give it a hug, and let it know that you are handling it. Put that voice to the side and get to work!
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It is really common for people who are making creative work to look at their work the next day and be bummed that they do not like it as well as they thought they did. Or all they can see is the mistakes and things they wish they had done differently. If this is you, does this mean you are not a real artist? I talk about it in a little more depth in this video, but in a nut shell: No. What it means is that you have a fairly sophisticated critical awareness of your chosen material, be it music, writing, visual art or whatever. You have been listening to really great music, looking at visual culture, reading books all your life. You know on a deep level what good work is, what you are turned on by. This is good -- really good. The problem is that your own skills in creation have not caught up yet to your base of understanding. Be patient. Keep working. The thing you really need to do is give yourself permission to play, to follow what is compelling to you, and to let yourself be a beginner, or exactly where you are in your process. Thank your internal critic for holding out hope for that high standard. And for being such a perceptive aid in helping you make improvements over time. You will get there if you keep going. Really. Keep going. So many creatives find themselves procrastinating on things they want to do. We have all been there and it sucks.
First the most obvious- it does not help to berate yourself! It actually makes you feel bad and creates an internal friction that makes it harder and harder to get anything done. It saps energy. So when you start to hear the berating internal voices saying things like you are lazy and incompetent, it is a signal that you need to look at some questions: 1. Am I giving it the time that it needs? This is both the amount of time and a time of day where there is the energy and focus. If you are trying to get yourself to do it at a time of day when you are exhausted for example, your inner rebel will wake up to protect you. 2. Are you thinking of it as one BIG thing? If you break it into steps and focus on just the first thing, you will not feel as overwhelmed by it. 3. What is competing with it for time? There might be other priorities that you need to weigh. What is the most pressing thing that you want to attend to? Maybe it is OK to wait for this other thing to be complete. Or maybe you can have a more realistic understanding of how long it will take. 4. What is it about the thing that you are trying to do: Do you need more support, either co-working/accountability or to talk it through with someone? Do you need to do more research or learn some skill in order to move forward? Listen for the message that your resistance is trying to give you! You may need to think about what you can edit out of what you are doing with your time, or figure out a way to budget your time so that you can get the self-care, rest and nourishment you need in order to do the thing you want to do. Remember as you ask yourself these things to bring a sense of compassion. Say to yourself "OK, I am not bad, so what is it that I need in order to move forward?" Coming back to your creative work after a hiatus is hard. Whether you have been having another career for a number of years or just got off track for a while, it is hard to re-enter.
If it has been a short amount of time you can sort of pick up a thread from before. Which can be challenging if there is no energy there. But if it has been a while you may need to give yourself space to be in the not knowing because so much has changed, your values and interests might have changed, your aesthetic might be different. It is hard and it is worth it. You have lived a lot of life and the creative process is so great for helping you process the learning that you have been in. How do you know how to start, how to enter? This is my suggestion: Start with easy small things. Throw away art, or doodles. Get things lubricated by letting yourself be drawn to what you enjoy, what you find compelling right now. The magic that happens is that when you have made a few of these things your creative immagination starts to kick in and pretty soon bigger ideas are calling for your attention.
It is a time for a lot of work to bring the deep winter growth out to the light. This process cannot be rushed- don't expect the garden to be in full bloom right away- and don't expect that all that rich internal work of winter is going to suddenly emerge fully formed. There will be mud, and lurching and things to clear out of the way. What: Taproot Spring Workshop When: April 29 from 1-3 pm est Where: Zoom Who: artists and creatives of any sort, any background and any level of experience who like to play in the imagination Cost: $25
Join me as we feel into the flow that is going on inside us, clear the channel of whatever is getting in our way, and bring a sense of patience and ease to our creative work. The Spring is well underway, the juices are flowing, last year's seeds are sending out delicate hopeful little roots, the buds on the trees are getting engorged and preparing to open to the world. Bring your journals and we will do some visualization to invite our deep inner work to direct our attention. This will be a very safe container for personal exploration and reflection. As we move fully into spring, this will be a wonderful way to find grounding, affirm your place in the world, get yourself aligned in your direction, set intentions and prepare for the year ahead. So much healing to be done and as artists and creatives, our voices are a balm to our cultures. This will also be a great way meet other creatives who value the process of discovery that can happen in creative play. This is not a promotional event, but I will leave a little room at the end to share my offerings and take questions. It is spring in New England and this means mud season and maple syrup. And of course I have to think of the anaogies to the creative process!
It is messy and not all that organized in early spring- when things are just beginning to wake up. And this is so true for when new ideas are starting to come together- some of it is mud, but there are those crocuses and snow drops- those little gems! The sap is flowing long before the buds on the trees begin to open. So letting yourself feel the energy flowing in your body and your psyche- that sense of hope and wonder coming back to life. And be patient with yourself as the new growth, from the deep work of winter, is getting ready to reveal itself. Watch for Taproot Spring Workshop for Creatives (and really anyone who loves creativity and inner growth) - Thursday April 29th 1-3 pm est registration coming soon on my web site! subscribe to my newsletter: http://eepurl.com/buTz61 check out my facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/taprootartsinsight Learn more about co-working with me: http://www.taprootartsinsight.com/virtual-coworking-for-artists-and-creatives.html More about coaching with val: http://www.taprootartsinsight.com/life-coach-for-artists-and-creatives-919262.html Can I interview you? It would be so helpful for me to hear what is going on for you so I can understand how to be of better service to artists and creatives and I would be happy to offer a coaching session in exchange. For more information check this link. https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=12649280&appointmentType=2437684 Our cultural understanding of what it is to be a successful artist or creative might be oppressing you and stifling your ability to make your work and get it out into the world.
When you think about getting your work out there, do you feel weighted and resistant or light and energized? If the answer is that you feel weighted or resistant, or any other similar feeling, you might be working under an understanding of success that is not in alignment with your values. In our broader culture we are taught that success means critical acclaim, high price tags, massive audience, high-end galleries, and making a solid living on your art work. All of this implies a judgement; is your work good enough to merit this - are you a good artist? This kind of judgement is counter-productive to making the heart-based work that is so essential to our well being. If you are making for the context of critical acclaim, money and reputation, your connection to the vulnerable work of the heart is going to dry up. That kind of work is vulnerable and raw and does not do well with judgment. If, on the other hand, you approach putting your art out into the world from a place of generosity, then the vulnerable, rich, exciting, raw work of the heart will have more ease. So think about your values, what is important to you in making the work. How do you want your work to interact with the audience? For example I value a deep connection, where my work might be healing or help people see the deeper parts of themselves. When I think of getting it out with a sense of generosity, I feel much more light and excited. It is worth it to get the work out there. My notion of success involves continuing to make with pleasure and depth, having a way for others to connect with the work on a deep level, and making work in the context of a life that is balanced and happy. What are your values and how do they relate to how you want to connect with your audience? How do you want to re-write the idea of success?
There is a challenge in bringing your "heart work", the creative work that comes from a very deep place in you, out into the world.
There is an inner voice that is very judgmental and says, "it is arrogant to want to be seen, it is selfish to want notoriety and appreciation for your work, it is arrogant to think that your work is worth that and you are trying to take up too much space." Yikes! So painful and destructive! OK, I get it that you want to be conscientious and not be a hog or arrogant. This is good. Don't block others or be so self-focused that you are not appreciating the gifts of others. But let me say something radical here: It is a disservice to not to put your work out. It is a disservice to you and it is a disservice to me. This is the thing, as humans we are collective creatures, we learn from each other. It is how our cultures are resilient. Each person has a particular perspective and way of thinking, and a particular set of gifts, and we need all of it in order to continue to grow and develop. If you have been making art and having a hard time getting it out and some of it you like a lot, it is time to get it out! Don't worry about liking all of it. If you are reaching and growing as an artist, you need to be making some crap - it is part of the process of discovery. Show the work that you are proud of. If you are making art from the heart, following what is compelling and allowing yourself to work at the edge of discomfort and the edge of understanding, this is very vulnerable work. And it is the most important work for us to see. As a culture we need that work. That voice that says don't be arrogant or a hog of space is not trying to hurt you! It is trying to protect you, but its technique is not working in your favor any more. As collective creatures we need to belong- it is a basic human need. That inner voice is trying to keep you from saying or doing anything that will cause you to be ostricized; judged and excluded from the community. So don't try to shove that side of you away. Instead turn to it and thank it for all the effort in protecting you. Let it know that you have done the work of developing really solid work and that you are not going to be ostracized. You are going to be OK and you want it to stay with you. There are people who need your work! I would love to hear from you! Warmly, Val
No really- what does it mean to you?
The reason I ask is that I think many artists and creatives are not even aware that they are holding an image of success as a standard that only makes them feel bad and is not anywhere close to what they really want in life. What if you defined your own sense of success based on your own values and desires? You might feel a weight lifted and a sense of possibility and hope come creaping in! Success might be more attainable if you really look at what matters to you and don't get lost in what you think it is supposed to be. Today these are the things that I am thinking about that define success for me:
I would love to know what success looks like for you when you base it on your true values. Please comment below!
Can I interview you? It would be so helpful for me to hear what is going on for you so I can understand how to be of better service to artists and creatives and I would be happy to offer a coaching session in exchange. For more information CLICK HERE. Why is it that the things that you make that are easy and simple and may be just warm-ups - something you do to get your juices flowing- just fun things- those seem to get more affirmation from people than the things you work really hard at and feel more like your serious art?
It's kind of crazy, isn't it, that the light stuff seems to touch people more than the stuff that matters, that is real art. It's a good question. There are layers and layers. The one key thing I want to get across is that you may be undervaluing the work that you find easy and fun and really just a pleasure to make. I can't do what you can do so when I see it, it feels like a little gift. I can feel that sense of pleasure that you've put into it. You are engaged in a process that doesn't have a weightedness to it, but has a sense of investigation and play in it. That feeling gets conveyed - that lightness of being, that pleasure. As a viewer I want that! I'm living my life, it's intense and challenging and I see this little moment you've given me - it's like a breath of fresh air. I need that as a viewer. Often the more intense work that we do, where we are trying to convey something important and make it good, can get stiff. That efforting makes us tight and that gets conveyed. As a viewer, I don't want that. So I wonder if there is a way to bring that lightness of investigation that you do with those easy things to the work that you do that feels more serious to you. Can you bring that sense of play, light investigation, the sense of not knowing what you are doing and following what is compelling to you? Even the most serious work, when I get the feeling that the artist is playing, being curious and not trying to get it right, I get drawn into it. So I think as artists we need to give ourselves permission to trust our impulse, what gives us pleasure and is compelling. If you find yourself getting worried or fearful that you are not getting it right or the 'judge' is there demanding that you do a better job with it, this is information for you. You may be heading into a 'trying too hard'. We may get more out of it as viewers if you let yourself not know what it is that you are doing and let yourself bring that sense of impish curiosity to it. I think we're going to get to deeper work that way, honestly. You get to a deeper understanding if you let go of knowing what it is that you want to convey. The thinking mind can be over-controlling. I hope this is interesting! Please share your thoughts with me! Here or val (at) taprootartsinsight.com. Subscribe to my email list here: http://eepurl.com/buTz61 |
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