| Wrestling with a sketchbook: |
The Steemit community is alive with creatives sharing their work, and striving to create new, high quality content. The majority will have existing work that they want to share and receive feedback on, though that body of work may have limitations for a user who wants to post regularly. What happens when 'writer's block' hits for musicians, writers or visual artists on steemit?
It's no coincidence that those posting lengthy details of their artistic process rise to the top; artists benefit widely by reading how like-minded individuals are producing work and refining their making skills. As the community draws more closely together, we can forsee a set of creatives who not only support each others posts with upvotes and resteems, but also provide critical and constructive feedback conducive to the development of the practise of the individual.
Whether it be a painting, a story or a new vaporwave track, as a fellow creative your input is invaluable as an alternative perspective.
So what can we do as artists to ensure that we consistently publish content that is true to our style and form?
Keep sketchbooks/notebooks - Many of you will already do this, though it's more common for visual artists to keep them to draw in, particularly if they've had an arts education. However even as a writer or musician, keeping a notebook is a rewarding way of documenting your experiences and reflecting back on these later. The culmination of these notes, however trivial, can inform a later piece of work or inspire the appearance of new ideas.
Document your process- Creative 101, as obvious as it sounds, I stopped documenting my process during university, as I felt that it created undue pressure to produce a perfect final piece. I regretted this later on when I found that I hadn't taken any good pictures to remind me of a mistake I made, or how I overcame a particular issue. It's easier to improve your creative skills when you document your failures, even as a note hidden in a folder of your computer somewhere. Only the artist themselves can change the nature of their work, and hiding from failures isn't a good way to progress!
| Paintings in the studio 2014, at least five of which went undocumented aside from this photograph |
Ask questions -The community is here for the exchange of ideas, the comments section can be as important as the post itself. Start asking others about the materials they used, how they came about their ideas, or what fuels their creativity. One of the greatest sources of inspiration is through conversation with others, and can be the birth of great ideas.
All images and artworks are my own, if you found this post useful please resteem - links to your posts regarding this topic are very welcome!
