DEC 19, 2019 AT 10:02 PM I asked my dad a few years ago, when did he finally start feeling like a grown-up? When did he feel like he knew what he was doing? He put his hand on my shoulder and said, “I’ll let you know when it happens to me, Babe.” We’re all figuring this thing out.
My insides tie a little knot when people comment about how I’m “so lucky to have talent”. It makes me squirm a bit because, the way I see it, everyone has their lane. We’re all learning all of the time. We’re all armatures in our unique ways. We're all learning.
Creativity is a mystery, so, naturally, there are all kinds of theories about how it works. One thing I know for sure is that creativity to me is not a Lone Ranger, downloading-new-ideas-in-a-vacuum kind of thing. When inspiration comes to me it’s always within a community, in my context, seeping into me through books, conversations, teachings...and always reflecting my culture and communities.
Musician, Brian Eno, says he finds his greatest creativity is birthed when a group of creative individuals who make up what he calls an “ecology of talent”- artists, curators, thinkers, theorists, spiritual seekers - get together to support each other. I fully agree. My theory is that real creativity DEPENDS on diverse humans coming together, being open to flowing in the Spirit, having conversations, collaborating, and nurturing each other’s ideas.
Much of art-making happens in quiet, focused times and places; like a prayer, like a meditation. But for me, those times are more like break-out sessions where I can let out what’s been growing within the beauty and hardship of shared life - inspiration I’ve received in the other 90% of life.
I’m excited to see how we as a group can inspire each other and collaborate, make beautiful new things, and put them out into the world together; albeit as imperfect amateurs. (Quote photo credit: Show Your Work, Austin Kleon, https://austinkleon.com/show-your-work/)