Our Creative Expectations

Hex; mixed media installation at MASS Gallery 2019

Thanks to everyone who checked out my webinar How to Start Making Things Again.

This was my first time running a webinar which was a trip. If you told me 5 years ago I would be hosting webinars, I would have laughed at you. Mostly because I didn't know what a webinar was but also because the word webinar just sounds so terrifically lame. Turns out it's just an awesome internet-hang where we get to talk about our creative hang-ups. I loved it.

In other news, I encountered some very wise souls in my workshops this week. We talked about shitty roommates, bad drivers, but most importantly, all the expectations we place on our creative work. Have you ever noticed this? Somewhere along the line we've made this master list of all the things we expect our work to do.

Our work has gotta be:

Something that's deeply personal...
But also reflective of our political climate...
Inspired by nature...
But also about religion, god, and the patriarchy...
It's gotta be funny...
But also deadly serious...
Oh and also, someone needs to want to buy it and hang it above their couch.

Damn.

When this expectations-tangle happens, I find it most helpful to think less about what you want your work to do and more about how your work can be in service to you.

I think about my own studio practice as a habit I've put in place to help me stay grounded. I want it to meet me where I'm at, wherever that may be. Because I want my art to be, first and foremost, in service to my life. Not the other way around.

So, it's worth considering - how can your work be in service to you right now?

Can your work help you process something difficult?
Meditate and go inward?
Poke fun at the absurdity of it all?
Or create imaginary worlds?

There is absolutely no wrong answer. It's about where you feel the most compelled to go. So get going. You're brilliant.

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