PR? I was puzzled (I’m old school) and asked what that was because I only knew of PB (personal best). “I’m setting a PR every day,” he proudly told me. Most of his knowledge was taken off the internet – he was working out his arms and legs on alternate days six days a week, and looking tired, but good. So we can have that power of community consistently, not just during a 6-week challenge.Gym-goers and some personal trainers like to throw jargon and acronyms around, even if they may not fully understand what the terms mean.Ī few months ago, I met a college-going chap who had just started lifting weights and I queried him on his workout regime. Community was the missing piece, and that's why I created the Artist Cooperative. I also knew that more than my "expertise" in watercolor, these artists needed each other. The power of collective creative thinking hit me like a ton of bricks, and that's when I knew stretching into community needed to be an important part of my practice if I wanted to truly test the bounds of my own creative potential. but they also gave me the creative breakthroughs I'd been longing for! Imagine my surprise when those weekly Q&A's were not only a hit with the students. To help with that, I put together a 6-week community challenge complete with weekly emails introducing each module along with weekly live Q&A's in an effort to spur engagement and to help folks actually finish the course. When I first launched Exploring Watercolor 101, the students were excited about the course but didn't stay engaged for long in the Facebook group. Whether you practice Creative Community to help you explore an idea with fresh eyes, or you rely on Creative Community to keep you afloat when forces outside your control are too much to bear alone, keeping that connection strong will help you remember that your creative journey was not meant to be solitary.Īs magical as it is to create tiny moments of wonder for yourself, imagine getting to share that with friends who wholly and completely understand and will celebrate to the ends of the earth with you. When artists like you and me connect over shared experiences, hopes, and fears, our collective ideas and energies gather together in a voice too strong to ignore. When an idea feels too elusive to grasp hold of it alone, or when you can't get your inner critic's loud echoes out of your head, it's time to call in the reinforcements: A Creative Community.Ĭreative Community isn't just a thing - it's a muscle we all need to build that will skyrocket your creative growth in ways you've never felt before. Just remember that Creative Focus isn't about forcing your expectations into reality - it's being confident enough to move forward with what you know, and open enough to embrace the unexpected discoveries that lie ahead.Īnd what happens when you get stuck, or stranded in the overwhelming uncertainty of the wilderness? Do you see a connection between ideas that feels exciting, expansive, and life-giving? Creative Focus is shifting gears from experimentation to implementation, showing your curiosity that you wholeheartedly believe in the paths it led you down. It's not so much the skill or experience you have as it is the mindset with which you approach your art. That furrowed brow and stroke of wild inspiration is intimidating! But in the Artist Cooperative, we know Creative Focus doesn't have to be so serious, and anyone qualifies for it. This is the image most people have in their minds when they think the word "artist" - and it's why most people give up on art so early. You are the only person who can give you permission to take up the space that was always yours - and when you finally have the courage to take yourself seriously, to take a deep breath and say "I am a real artist," no matter how much experience you do or don't have, you'll be amazed at how much more wonder there is to find on this journey.Īnd if you have trouble remembering sometimes? Well, that's where we come in.Īt some point in your creative explorations, an idea will gain so much traction that it may reach a breaking point: It's time to dig deep and focus on compiling your research into a cohesive body of work. I know it can feel impossible when each step into creativity feels like an intrusion, like everyone else has an invitation except you.īut the truth is that it wouldn't matter how many songs of praise you receive from others if you don't believe it yourself. You already have an infinite well that would take you a million lifetimes to explore fully, and the only way to get started is to take that first step. Who you are is a real artist because creativity isn't something you earn - it's something you discover, deep within yourself. Brené Brown famously wrote: "True belonging doesn't require that we change who we are it requires that we be who we are."
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