Shedding fear: Learning to parent your artwork

Whoa!! Sorry! It’s been way too long since I’ve been on here!

The family reunion was brilliant; it was wonderful to relax, spend time with family, and enjoy the beautiful Cape Cod scenery and food all at the same time!

I came home rested, bug-bitten, sunburned and rejuvenated. Then the madness of catching up with work set in, one thing led to another, and well… I just checked the last date of my blog posts, and… yeah, oops!

So on to today’s topic: parenting your artwork. Yep, I’m going there. :-d

Every artist knows that feeling. That picture, that sculpture, song, poem, design… It’s YOUR baby! And it has to be Perfect! No note out of tune, no line blurred, no scratch blemishing the surface… And Heaven forbid anyone say it’s flawed!

Think of your artistic creations like kids. They have lives of their own, and hard as you try, you can’t control them; you can only make them, and guide them, then stand back and hope for the best.

No matter how much you edit, how hard you practice, how many hours you slave over it, perfection will elude you. Get ready to hear the critics speak. Get ready to take rejection. Get ready to bite your lip and listen to feedback with an open mind… Cuz you’re gonna get it. It’s the nature of the business, baby, and believe it or not, it means growth. Nobody is perfect, and consequently, neither is your art. But it’s yours, and if you don’t believe in it in spite of the criticism and rejection, no one will. Just like parenting. Yep, you will have to spend the money, you’ll get bad report cards, you will even get messes and bad behavior no matter how often you scold and nag. Get used to it. It’s all part of artistic parenting.

At some point, be ready to let your baby fly, and let go. Then develop a thick skin, and tough it out; it’s part of being an artist. You will hear “No.” You will hear “Bad.” You will hear “expensive.” And you wil feel hurt, frustrated and angry. There is no way around it; there is no cure for it; and if you can’t tough it out, art is not the long-term career for you. Being a professional artist takes savvy, courage and obstinacy. When the rest of the world says no, you have to be able to look your artwork in the heart, and say “YES!” Believe in your work so completely that nothing and no one can shake your determination. Practice resiliency. Listen to the feedback you get. It’s necessary, hard as it is to hear.

Go artistically where the money is, or you won’t last long. It may mean you have to write romance instead of fantasy, or play pop instead of blues, but if you want to make a living at art, you have to be flexible and roll with the cravings and needs of your audience. Your art defines you, but your flexability defines your paycheck.

Last but not least, the best artists are business people. Know your industry, know the ins, the outs, the whos, the whats and the hows. Know the wheres and whens, and be there. Success doesn’t often come knocking on your door and invite itself in. You have to put yourself out there, and do the work. If you know a ton of music execs are showing up to a friend’s show tomorrow night, show up dressed for success, and with your demo in hand. Let them see your face and know your name. If you hear of an audition, go sit in the rain for 6 hours and dance, then do the same thing the next day before the same judge. Eventually, she’ll realize you’re dedicated, and it’ll be another star in you book with her, even though your style isn’t quite what she’s looking for. She’s more likely to call the face she knows then the one girl who shows up once and does well. Just because one publisher rejects you doesn’t mean your work is bad; it may just not be what they have the budget to sell right now.

So, to sum up, you do have a parental role in the creative process, but know where to be flexible, and know where to stand strong. Toughen up, shed your fear, do the work, follow your dreams, and wake up to reality. Then… let go!