There is no idea or creative lull that a good old fashion road trip can’t snap you out of.
This past weekend i took a day trip to see my friend and photographer extraordinaire Carrie Strong for my Miss Diva USofA give-up promo photos. We got THE (and when i say THE i mean 10 THE’S) shot in less than 45 minutes. It took me longer to get in drag than it did to get 10 perfect pictures.
And it got me thinking, ↑ this is what creativity, both collaboratively and singularly, should feel and be like.
Inspirational, unscripted, and simple.
Which is the total opposite of how i’ve thought about and practiced creativity.
i always believed that in order to be a “true” creative you had to dig, forge and excavate an idea out and that the process was a long drawn out one.
But a series of recent events and creations have steered me in the opposite – and more simple – direction.
i went into the photoshoot with all these ideas (and bags of drag): i wanted my hair all wild and standing up all around me with paper characters, 3 different wardrobe changes, lungs and hearts everywhere, tulle (and lots of it), and lots of locations.
i got none of these.
What i got instead was inspiration from trips to unscripted locations (the Myriad Botanical Gardens in Oklahoma and a quaint wonderful little art gallery right around the corner from Carrie’s house). And 10 amazing photos from a pool of at least 25 just as amazing ones.
After we sat down to view them on her computer, we knew we didn’t need to do anymore. We both had already gotten more than we could have imagined.
Art manifested itself because we let go and let it.
For once, i didn’t try to control the creative situation; i let it be what it wanted to be.
By letting go of my preconceived ideas i created art. Good art. Inspired art. Art that i and my friend are proud of and want to share with the world.
Learning to create simply means letting go of all preconceived ideas of what the act of creating to should be: torturous, hermetic, a long drawn out process. Sometimes it is those things, but more often than not what we feel we need months and months to create can be created just as beautifully (and often more exquisitely) in half and even a 1/4 of the time.
Simplicity in creating means letting yourself do it, as is, as it comes out, as it wants to, and more importantly what it needs to be.
Honestly, i had a completely different idea planned for this post. i was going to talk about the 6 hour drive and how i came up with my give-up show production idea – hence the opening line. But it didn’t want to be that. It wanted to be this. And so i let it.
And it feels good.
Here’s to creating as it comes to you – in the present, in the now.
Love, light and creating simply,
P.S. The photo on my home page is one of my favorites from this shoot. You can purchase it (and other 8×10 art prints) at my shop, Haus of Duende.
