Art Fairs & Prowling Lions

The other day Brooke and I strolled around Hale Farm and Village sipping coffee and checking out the artists, artisans, creators, crafters, designers and all around creatives during the Made in Ohio arts and crafts fest. If you're a creative then you'll understand what I mean when I say that I felt inspired, affirmed and jealous.

You know what I mean.

Of course you do. You're a creative. You have something brewing (beyond the Highlander Grog coffee) and regardless of which stage you're in with your art (stalling your start, hobbyist, part-timer, independent or full-on full-time professional) it's nearly impossible to wind through 160 tents, booths and live-action smithies, without feeling that range of emotions. You want to be in the action. You have to!

The question is, which thought will consume you?

Will inspiration push you to create? Will affirmation propel you forward toward your next goal? Or will jealousy prowl around your heart, mind and soul like a roaring lion terrorizing your creative mission?

Two thoughts on my time at the market:

1. I need these experiences. They're like a tsunami of motivation toward my creative pursuits.

2. I'm encouraged and challenged by the sheer number of artisans willing to put their hand to the brush, chisel, wire-cutters and blowtorch, infuse their creation with their unique talent and boldly share it with the world around them.

So, what are you waiting for? Create what only you can create. We need it.

Bind & Loose the Paint

There's so much freedom to create, write and design the type of art we want to pursue. There really is.

I was reading about "binding and loosing," no, not leather straps and that sort, but about "forbidding & permitting." This is an old Jewish concept that engages the freedom teachers had/have to interpret the law. Jesus shifted this a bit, He gave that freedom to His disciples (unofficial teachers). He invited them to interpret the law (not change it) in order to freely live in grace and truth. Rebellious.

What about art?

Artists do the same thing. We take the rules inherent in writing a story and we press them to tell the story we want to tell. Or the song we want to write and sing and share. Or our movie script, maybe it's beyond the modern format. Or the way a guitar looks and feels and plays.

Short of creating a piano and calling it a drum or mixing a deep shade of blue and calling it orange, we have the freedom to bind and loose the rules of our medium in order create something new and inspiring and true.

What do you have yet to learn in your creative field? After all more we understand our craft, the more freely we're able to bind and loose with confidence and success.

Overproduce

Years ago I read somewhere that Rivers Cuomo of Weezer has a stock pile of songs. Lyrics and music and melodies and finished products and collaborations and songs sold to other artists...

In fact, whether you like them or not, Weezer has produced two full-length albums this year alone (I know, I know, one of which is a batch of cover songs, but let's be honest, Weezified cover songs often go down so smooth).

Of course not all of our creations will be great or even good, but producing more and more is part of the process that often reveals the really, truly, amazingly fantastic stuff we do release. And yes, your version of ratcheting up production on your projects will look different than my production time.

Overproducing often connects us with a larger tribe, the audience we're seeking to engage in our art, our work. Oh, and by the way, it definitely beats under-producing (remember that book you started 10 years ago).

Create a creative rhythm. Put your creative pursuits to work on schedule, everyday. Produce and then produce some more.

Overproduce, what have you got to lose?