“Pitch that tent, camp for awhile and then head back down that path again.” – Dave Conrey

Sometimes you get stuck and don’t know where you’re heading and so you just kind of sit there and you just don’t move. After watching a video on YouTube from Dave Conrey, an artist from Long Beach, CA, I thought more about this aspect of being stuck and that no matter what, you have to keep moving. You can stop for a little while, but you really cannot stay there too long because once you stop, it’s very hard to get back on track.

In all creative outlets, it is really important to not have full expectations sometimes. In other words, don’t just say, “ok, I have to do this to get to that,” and then you just force it to happen. You may end up having a piece of work that is unsatisfactory. Dave talks about being okay with just accepting the fact that you’re not going to necessarily have an outcome right away, but that it is okay to be open-ended.

Creative people have a lot of expectations of themselves because once they create a certain piece of work that they are super happy about and feel extremely happy about it, the next piece that they work on whether it is a photograph, a written piece or artwork, the next one may not be as good and then you start over analyzing your creative process. With that mindset we end up being dissatisfied.

We need to be open to making mistakes and painting over those layers over and over and over again to keep going, to keep trying, to keep making over and over and over and not stop until you are satisfied. Sounds a bit repetitive, but stick with me here because there is relevance.

I am sort of new to this whole creative world in some ways, although I have always been artistic, creative, crafty. I never stuck to one thing and have explored many interests that I never really considered myself to be a relevant creator. Lately, I have surrounded myself with a community of artists and creators that are more free-minded and free-spirited. I am a free-spirit, however, I tend to put boxes around things and I do set my limits. I’m a realist more than I thought. I like things to be in order, but not in the sense you think. It’s more about me recreating something that is true to what I see.

This new exploration for me is a little scary. It’s like that path in the forest that you take that really isn’t a blazed trail, but there are a few blades of grass down. You say, “ok, sure, I’ll take a walk down here,” and have no clue what you’re going to encounter at the end of that path. When I was younger, I had no problem taking that unpaved path and just said, let’s go! However, in my later years of life, I am more cautious but I’m still curious and I think that’s the point. We cannot lose the curiosity. We shouldn’t lose our sense of wonder.

I think a big part of being a creative person is to never stop going, even if you don’t like the journey at that present moment. Even if you have to rewrite it, you may have to take thousands of pictures until you get that one perfect picture that you really love. You may have to paint layer upon layer upon layer on that canvas until you find the synchronicity of it. You may have to mold that clay several times until you get that piece just the way you want it to be. I think that’s how creative people are…they’re never satisfied, but what they keep doing is trying and they don’t give up. Once you give up, that’s when you’re no longer creative and you end up being an observer.

There’s nothing wrong with being an observer, however, if you are a creator, you tend to take what you observe and do something else with it and that’s the difference between an artist, creator, musician to those that are happy falling in line enjoying the work of others.

It’s crazy, but I have been so influenced by people I’ve interacted on Tik Tok and I know I have mentioned this a few times already about this social media platform. To all the naysayers out there, please read this carefully. Tik Tok has enabled people to connect with others around the world in a positive way. I have expanded my circle of people to open my eyes of how I can think differently or how I could approach things in my life differently. I have been inspired to do something I didn’t think I was capable of doing before pulling the trigger, so to speak. Just picking up the pencil and doodling just to get myself going…these people, my Tik Tok family, have really helped me by giving me that little push I needed.

I may not be the person that becomes famous for my writing or my photography or my drawings for that matter. But what will make me happy is that I’m throwing out into the universe my thoughts, my photographs, my writing and seeing how it inspires others. Maybe it doesn’t do anything or maybe my creations will be seen by one person and that person will then realize that they will try and do something they were afraid to do before.

That is the whole idea, the reason why I am doing what I do. To quote/paraphrase a person I follow, Shane Leketa (aka @liquidshano1973), he says the ripples we start become big waves eventually and so just dropping in that little rock and creating that little tiny ripple eventually will expand and will reach those that need to see it.

I truly believe that my purpose in life, right now, is to share all my ideas with others and see what happens, meanwhile knowing that all the thoughts that are in my mind are actually being put to use, as opposed to keeping them inside only for me.

What are some things you share with others?

Please comment below. I’d love to hear from you!