Howdy,
I get can so off course so quickly it can be frightening! You all know what it's like to be in a creative mind, so much so that you have a million projects on the go. Well lately the amount of projects I tried to get done all at once was, well, mental. You see it's ok to have a lot of projects on the go, my problem comes when I inevitably try to finish them all at once, or, I try to apply the same level of attention to each of them. I constantly fall into the cycle of treating myself and my time like I'm a machine. Then of course, there's new project ideas and I've had a few of them lately and I'm excited about them so I try to give myself time to work them out but then I START them and that just adds to the plate. Like I said, mental.
This is where we need other people on creative journeys around us. Unfortunately I don't have much of that in my life any more. I do miss those days in art college where there's a big bunch of creative minds in one room all bouncing ideas off each other but those spaces just arent as practical when you're a little older. At least not so much for my life. We do need a champion in our lives, someone who can remind us of who we are when we go off course. Someone who can ask us when will the book be finished, when is the new song out, what was the meaning behind that painting? Someone as invested in our creativivty as we are. They don't have to understand it, or even like it that much but, to have someone like that around is I think can be quite essential.
Having someone like that in your life won't stop you from going off course obvioiusly but, it will stop you from going off course for LONG periods of time. When you have someone who just reminds you who you are and can point you back “home” you'll stay centered a lot more. I suppose I'm writing this to remind you and myself to remain open and maybe even to seek other people on similar paths. So if you're reading this today think about who is a creative “champion” in your life? Who notices when you stop drawing or making things? Think about this for a while and if the answer is “no one” then it's time to open up your life a little and make some space.
Let me know how it goes.
Big Love,
Ryan James x
www.ryanjamesartist.com