Creative bravery

Creativity bravery is the essence of good art--don't you think?

The risk, of course, is that you expose your deepest feelings, thoughts, and values to the ridicule, judgment, and misinterpretation of others. But that's why you do your work for yourself and yourself alone. It’s only when you can push away your shame, fear, and insecurities and say with confidence, “I don’t care what anyone else thinks, I’m going to do this my way,” that you can let fly what lies within and create something that is truly unique, truly expressive of you, and ultimately truly healing.

Still, it’s not easy to put yourself out there and keep at it.

There’s a great little book on developing creative bravery: It’s called “Art and Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking” by David Bayles and Ted Orland. I read it frequently, underlining new passages each time. It has so many inspiring pearls of wisdom in it!

When I’m feeling bad that one of my projects isn’t panning out the way I planned, for instance, I think of their counsel that “vision is always ahead of execution.” Or that “In a general way, fears about yourself prevent you from doing your best work, while fears about your reception by others prevent you from doing your own work.”

As Mary Tyler Moore has been quoted as saying…”It’s none of my business what anyone else thinks of me.” Your creativity is FOR YOU.