First off, I just have to give a shout out to my loving, gracious Father in heaven who somehow rescheduled my dentist appointment so I could drink coffee with some lovely ladies yesterday; He always goes above and beyond all that we ask or think.
Now, I just want to share a tid-bit of what this coffee date consisted of. Take a warm, artsy, coffee shop with an abundance of light, add a latte and some hot coco, and most importantly, three blonde, smiling Waechtlers, and you have my yesterday from 12:30 to 2.
Pictures were snapped left and right, but how could we not, with that big mustard print wall and nature decor hanging from the exposed piping, not to mention the always lovely latte art. It was as if our fingers hit the trigger before we realized we had picked up our cameras once again.
Conversation moved swiftly from one subject to the next and landed gently on our roles as creators. Around the table sat a crochet master, gardener, photographer, and me, kind of a mesh of all those things (still working on finding my one true niche for creating). I praised Emily for the outstanding job she is doing mothering, and raising up her girls, as she allows them to pursue and unravel their own unique callings.
As creators we are always looking to be better, get better, do better. It's not a discouraging trend, but one that spurs us on and keeps our motives fresh and true. We might find ourselves in a place where everything seems to be working it's way smoothly through a course of consistency. We have reached a level of success, a level of brilliance in our art, but how do we keep that flow steady and rising?
I glanced at the shadows strewn across the concrete floors of the coffee shop. I thought upon my ever-growing fascination to create. Sometimes I get stuck on a certain palette of colors and shades, other times I'm mesmerized by straight lines and pointed shapes. It's the patterns we find, the certain details that strike our attention which calls us deeper in, which keeps our interest awake and climbing. That is the secret to protecting your art, your creation, from fading away, or even staying stagnant. As your eyes search for new inspirations your cup, which is already full, will start to overflow.
Ruby, our little photographer (who will soon be replacing her old point- and-shoot with a new DSLR) mentioned looking back on pictures taken and not being satisfied with certain ones in the batch. We discussed making mental notes of the things we notice in our creations that we may like or dislike. I'd even go as far as to say keep a physical list going that holds key words that describe our feelings towards our creations. Ex: too dark, not candid enough, bright colors, warmth, sparks a feeling, etc.
The wonderful thing about being a creator is that as you move forward in your art, you will no doubt get better. The frustrating part is being unsatisfied, in the moment, with what you are creating. A creator's journey is just as important as the creation itself. Good things will come. Opportunities will rise.
Stay inspired. Keep going. Make more.
Now to cap it off, a word from Ira Glass,
"Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. 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 awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
Happy Creating!