“Making the simple complicated is commonplace. Making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that is creativity.”
Charles Mingus, jazz musician and band leader
Sometimes it feels as though change is the only constant.
Change is an enormously powerful force, both in our lives and our creative space. And it’s impact is increasing. Facing this is crucial to maintaining a regular creative output.
The problem is, many creative types seek to use their art as a shield against change. They resist anything that comes between them and their sense of a creative haven.
I know a few successful artists who manage to live in such static surrounds. A very dear friend, one of the world’s best-selling authors, resides in a tiny farming community that is basically as isolated from modern civilization as she can get, and still call the planet earth her home.
For most of us, this is not an option.
What is more, the speed of change is accelerating. When I started writing, the time between significant changes was relatively long. Mail was the primary means of communication. Teletypes followed, then faxes, email, cellphones, tablets…You get the picture.
Psychologists often say millenials are much more comfortable with change, where rapid and significant shifts are seen as a constant. Change is a way of life. Millenials are comfortable constantly adapting. So they say.
If you are one of these, please skip over the rest of this lesson. Good on you.
But what I have found in the vast majority of my students is this: They see their creative work as an opportunity to retreat from this constant change. Their art is their haven. They find stability here.
Too often this attitude results in dropping the creative hour whenever change or stress invades. Read more
Notes from Davis 