Henry Matisse said, “Creativity takes courage,” and it really does. Anybody can make anything. But to send it out into the world? You must be an ignorant fool to do that knowing that someone out there will tear it down. Because someone will. But you do it anyway because there’s no way to keep it forever. You may try to keep yourself quiet, but the secret won’t let itself be kept. (Shakira Sison for creativationspace.com)
Beginning with audacity is a very great part of the art of painting. (Winston Churchill)
Like everything else, some people will be better at it than others. However, doing something creative is a most rewarding activity, and will result in a great sense of satisfaction, no matter how good or bad the artist may be.
– British artist and TV presenter Tony Hart, “Tony Hart Reveals His Drawing Secrets” in The Times newspaper, 30 September 2008.
What nobody tells people who are beginners — and I really wish someone had told this to me . . . is that 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, and 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 it’s 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.
Would you not like to try all sorts of lives — one is so very small— but that is the satisfaction of writing — one can impersonate so many people. (Katherine Mansfield)
I’ve never quite believed that one chance is all I get. Writing is my way of making other chances. – Anne Tyler
If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later. Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” ~ Steve Jobs
“Ultimately, we all have to decide for ourselves what constitutes failure. But the world is quite eager to give you a set of criteria if you let it. Failure means a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself to be anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena where I believe I truly belonged. Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I built my life.”
~ J.K. Rowling
“Life is short. Live your dream and share your passion.” (Holstee’s Manifesto)
All artists create for themselves, but we forget how important it is to share our work. Someone out there needs to hear your voice. To hear it will be as magical to them as the moment you decided to create. It’s your job to make sure you are heard.
Do you have something to share? Send it to us!