Day 3: The never ending experiment of making art
It's day 3 of my public writing challenge, and I already feel stifled!
That's precisely the reason why I started this writing practice experiment - because the creative block I feel around being vulnerable is something I want to conquer. To beat my fear of failure.
(Isn't that partly what a creative block is? Fear of judgement or failure?)
Anyway, everything we create, is just one grand experiment in the end. Art-making, in and of itself, is an experimental process and will never truly be finished.
Let's not forget the ideas that will come during the creative process, demanding our attention after we have finished whatever it is we are working on in this moment.
A work might look or sound finished, but it's another stepping stone in a long line to the next piece of work, the next and the next and so on.
We'll never arrive, because we've committed to keep learning.
Each drawing, script, and composition represents what has come before and catalyses what comes next. You learnt from yesterday's work, which acts as a test bed for what you'll create tomorrow.
Your work, therefore, summarises your life experience to date. Where you decide to place the next line in your drawing, daub the subsequent blob of paint on your canvas, or select a better word for your manuscript, each decision is based on knowledge gained over the years.
In creative mindfulness terms, I would argue art is a physical or audible representation of our present moment too.
My own fear of judgement makes a process like this all the more excruciating and demanding. But the curiosity, I feel, to see what happens is enough to keep me going.
It's just an experiment, right? And if it’s an experiment, there’s no right or wrong outcome. So let's see where it takes us.
Until tomorrow ;)