Having an SLR doesn’t make you a photographer. Knowing Photoshop doesn’t make you a graphic designer. Maintaining a kickass Tumblr where you mostly link to posts by Merlin doesn’t mean you’re a writer. And if your keyboard and turntables are covered with dust, they’re not tools for making music; they’re clutter.
Here’s the rub, kids. You can read all the blog posts on creative productivity that you want; you can round out your music collection all day, every day, courtesy of any number of mp3 blogs that offer you free immediate access to every type of sound you might want to hear. You can even craft well-written reviews of films and art installations.You can blog about blogs and write posts about other posts, linking all the blogs you love to get their writers’ attention and ensure that you never go a single day without posting. You can surround yourself with amazing, challenging, charismatic people in funny hats and skinny jeans who like to talk about exciting ideas and throw projects back and forth.
But until you’re making work yourself—a lot of work—you’re not an artist. You’re not a creative person.
Get off the Internet for a bit. Go draw. Choreograph. Take your viola or your accordion to the park and make up a song. Do sculpture portraits on the subway. I don’t care. But do something. Do it now. Go on.
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amen!
Great reminder—thank you.
so true. an artist is someone who does stuff. it makes so much difference to life one you start and continue with this.
“once” not “one”
spelling = not requirement for artist, except writers ;)