One of my favorite things about being a creative is watching your work grow and evolve into what it wants to be as opposed to what you intended it to be.
It’s happen(ing) with this One blank Sunday series. OBS started as a “set my writing intention for the week,” but has morphed into a more intimate look at my process and struggles of writing + creating in general.
And it’s happening with my book(s). i’ve been trying to write a book for the past couple of years that really wanted to be three. So this past week, i’ve made the wild decision to just do it – write three books instead of one. (If you’re interested, you can read more about my trilogy of me here.)
But sometimes my art devolves into its simplest and rawest form.
My Miss Diva USofA give-up is a prime example. i started the process early and even shared it with you (here, here, here, and here). i had all these grand ideas – costumes, choreography, mushrooms and hookahs, Alice decorated Skyy bottles, table decorations – lugged them all with me, bought + cut + painted a huge mirror made out of styrofoam insulation in Oklahoma, and used none of them.
People wondered why.
Because it didn’t feel right in that situation in that particular moment in time. And for me, being a “good” creative means honoring any direction the art wants to go – including the exact opposite of what you’ve spent time and money preparing for. And even though my give-up wasn’t anywhere near what i had planned it to be, it was exactly what it needed and wanted to be: stripped down to its essence: me, the music, and the performance.
By following the direction of my art – of bending to my creativity – i ensure that i am always putting work out into the universe that i am deeply proud of. It’s when i try to resist – bend my creativity to fit me – that i become disappointed, frustrated, and egotistical about my art.
And that’s not the kind of artist i want to be.
Creativity, like life, is fluid. Â i want to be that kind of creative – fluid and flexible – not stiff, rigid, and stuck in a singular way of being or performing.
But that also means that i won’t always make everyone happy. i’m okay with that too.
Because i am not for everyone – and chances are neither are you.
Find how your creativity flows. Know the kind of creative you want to be. Be flexible enough to let your work live in the moment, but rooted deep enough to know who you are and who you are for.
i am always for and about the art. How about you?
Love, light, + the work,
b
P.S. i’m super excited to announce that later on this week i’ll be releasing the first excerpt of book III – My Life in Drag. But my core tribe is getting access to it first – TODAY. Sign-up for the book only list here. Or if you like what you just read, sign up to receive more creative (email only exclusive) missives from me here.