Entering a new piece of art can be tough - especially for those creatives who have some experience. You want it to be good. And that gets in the way of the open play necessary if you want to dive into something new.

There is a sense of permission that we need to give ourselves to make something that is not all that good. Or maybe even really bad. You have to risk the unknown - and sometimes it will surprise you in a really great way - and other times not so much. That is ok.

So you can see in the video below that I revel in the process of slamming and shoving - a very physical way of entering a piece - which allows me to skip entirely that pristine white canvas or paper or page or space. 

And I can slide seemlessly into pushing the clay around until I find something that is intriguing or catches my attention - and then I slow down and start to dance with the clay. 

What I said to my co-working group (I had started this process in a co-working session - look for a link below - it is a wonderful group!) is that I had started with "I don't know how to do this" and gotten all the way to Ugly. This is a place I celebrate because it is a way of entering and really being open to discovery - there is absolutely nothing to lose - nothing precious. So I have complete freedom to create. 

This is all in service of staying in the not knowing as long as possible so that I can invite the creative unconscious to play. Only later do I figure out what I have been up to and what it all means to me. 

There is a message that we get as creatives that in order to sell well we have to have a singular voice, a brand that is recognizable. Ok- it might be easier for people who are getting to know your work to recognize you, and it might make people feel more comfortable with that sense of recognition. But it does not serve the world and it does not serve your own creative exploration to limit yourself.

We all have very different sides to us. It would be disingenuous to limit yourself to only one part of yourself in your creative work. It is like the woods I was walking in in this video, where it had recently snowed: it looked very different that day than the day before, expressed itself differently, but was in fact the same patch of woods that I know and love. It changes with the season, with the weather, with the quality of light and with time passing and parts growing and dying. As do you and I. We are affected by all the things happening to us through our lives, and we naturally express ourselves in a variety of ways.

The thing is that our audience needs the diversity of who we are because they too are complex beings. Our integrity and authenticity in this is a gift to them. It does not serve anyone to stay small.

I say go ahead and do all of your work and when it comes time show it, create the record, put together the look of poetry, create an exhibit, you can curate a unified body of work and talk about how of the pieces fit into a whole in your writing. Trust that it will be naturally unified because you are a whole person and all of the parts of you fit together, all of what you are learning and growing with fit together. You may not know how they do while you are making them, But when you look back over time, the connections are going to be the key to your greatest learnings.

I would love to know your thoughts about this idea- have you felt the pressure to limit yourself? What is your experience and what is your fear? Please comment below!

Warmly,
Val 
PS if you know anyone who could benefit from hearing these words, please pass this along or share it in any form you have!

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Today, after removing the front wall, the collaboration blossomed into something really beautiful. It was like the gallery took a huge breath of air and sunlight and opened its heart to us. ​