Hi there, it’s been a while.
I’ve been journaling off and on for some time now. In May of last year, some friends of mine started The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. I had heard of it before, and had always been interested in doing it “some day”, so this appeared to be the perfect opportunity to do so. It was great, but there were a lot of variables in my life last year and I ended up letting my journaling habit fade away due to a few compounded events, but also, maybe not enough grit or stick-toitive-ness. Fast forward to May of this year, when I found myself in a similar pattern, and decided it was time to give it another go.
The second time went a lot better in terms of journaling. I wrote three pages a day (almost) without fail for a span of twelve weeks, it was amazing, and it transformed me in ways that I can’t yet put into words. There is something about writing, just dumping out your thoughts first thing in the morning every day, that forces you to reflect on so many different aspects of your life.
I am kind of hooked on journaling now. Since starting in May I have yet to skip more than a day of journaling at a time, and as of now, I’m not sure the last time I skipped but it must have been back in June or so. Since finishing my twelve week span, I actually haven’t skipped a day of journaling at all. Nowadays, instead of writing three pages no matter what, I make it my goal to at least finish one. It’s a lot more manageable that way.
Why is this important to me? It’s difficult to put into words.
Whether due to delusion, ego, or some deep knowledge of self, I have long considered myself an artist. In fact, it’s become clear to me that everyone at their core is an artist, the only reason this isn’t more widely accepted by society is due to the narrow definitions we have of artistic media. That’s a topic for another discussion.
Given the plethora of media available to us in the twenty-first century, it’s difficult to say what exactly an artist even is at this point.
So I’ve dabbled in a variety of mediums, always thinking I would find one that would woo me over all others and become my livelihood. The problem is, there are so many different types of art that have swept me off my feet in the course of my lifetime. I’ve basically been experiencing choice paralysis for what feels like forever now, and at this point I think I’m just fed up with the restrictive nature of abiding definitions.
I guess what I’m trying to say that I always thought I had to choose a single path, even after reading McLuhan. But not anymore. It started with my journaling practice, and it has trickled into other areas of my life. Now I am facing the crippling perfectionism that has left me paralyzed for so long. In my attempt to express that seemingly inexpressible essence which drives me to create, which keeps me thirsty for living, I am letting myself pursue all of the different media that interest me.
Definitions be damned, I’m going to let it all out, right here on this blog.
Last month, I started some branding projects, created at least three fonts, and have been working my way through the Odin Project (which I am totally stoked about but again this is another can of worms). The basic intent here is to beef up my portfolio so that I can start getting design gigs which further challenge my abilities and that I can get excited about.
As a bonus, the portfolio projects feel like little art projects in themselves. The one I’ve been working on the most is a fictional kombucha company called “Gnome Brew”. I have the basic aesthetic mostly worked out and am now working on a web page to go along with it. It’s super fun and I am especially motivated by the broad scope of responsibilities I’ve created for myself in doing so. It’s giving me the opportunity to display more in depth what I’m capable of, and what I care about.
While building out the assets for Gnome Brew, I ended up creating a font based on a classic typeface called Windsor. It has a quirky hand drawn look to it and I’m really happy with the output. I call it Handsor.
I’m also using another homemade font in the Gnome Brew ecosystem, based on the writing style I used while teaching kindergarten. It’s called “Elementary”, and sometime last week I created a bold version. Type design is something I’ve picked up over the past few years and I am excited to dive even deeper into the nuance of it.
I suppose I should wrap it up here, so I’ll leave with some closing thoughts. Although I’ve held many different opinions on the nature of creativity, and been in and out of blocks and burnouts all of my life, it’s becoming increasingly clear to me that creativity is not just something that you can simply turn on and off. Which is not to say that it is only for the chosen few.
I believe creativity is embedded in human nature.
Creativity is a practice, a way of life. It transcends medium and discipline. The more you apply it to one area of life, the more it becomes reinforced in others. Oh, and while being a bit of a perfectionist can be utilized as a strength, in my experience it also has the tendency to lead to fear and inaction.
Life’s not meant to be that serious. Make something.
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