Do you ever stop yourself from making something because it feels like too much of an undertaking?
Or because you want it to look really good and you’re waiting until you have enough funds or the right resources to make it happen?
For example, maybe you really want to produce a music video, but you don’t have contacts with bands and you only have a shitty camera, so you keep dreaming about it and tell yourself that once you get those things, THEN you can make it happen. In the meantime, you’re not working on much of anything else because you’re waiting for this to someday come together.
It’s all too easy to get paralyzed by bigger future visions and simultaneously shut off the creative process in the now.
If you’re thinking that way I have a new way of thinking for you to try on:
Don’t ignore your impulses. You can make and share projects on a whim, just because it’s fun, just because you’re inspired, just because you’re bored.
Now, don’t get me wrong - There are absolutely times when it’s appropriate to make big productions: to create full-length shows, to write novels, to paint murals, to produce music videos.
(I’m actually in the process with one of these productions now, creating my first dance show. This is completely new for me, as I’ve spent the last 5 years improvising my own dance videos on a shitty camera.)
Don’t give up on those bigger visions. They can totally happen.
The part that gets neglected, in my opinion, is the day-to-day creation process, using the basic resources you already have.
While you’re dreaming up your bigger productions, don’t shut off the little ways you can share your creative self-expression and just make stuff for the pure joy of it.
Especially for those of us with technical backgrounds and artistic training, it can feel scary to do something that is not of the highest caliber or hasn’t been rehearsed a million times.
That’s why I’m in love with a project my friend Denise is doing right now, called #danceinanemptyroom. It’s a great example of doing a project without making it into a big production.
I participated yesterday and got her to share a few words on camera afterwards, which you’ll hear below. We talk about getting over self-judgement, challenging the ego, discovering generosity through art, and passing on a chain of inspiration.
The whole experience took all of 20 minutes, and that included the interview I did with her. We shot the dance video on her iPhone in one take and uploaded it as it was to Facebook. Fun. Simple. Effective.
As a former professional dancer/choreographer who hasn’t been in the studio in 3 years, Denise said that this was a huge step for her - to put work out there that wasn’t polished or planned. But it has proven to be powerful. It’s caused a chain reaction of family and friends of hers who have joined in the dance-making experience, many of whom in the past would have never done something so bold.
Check out our chat and our dance video below, and then share your experience in the comments. I even dare you to make a dance video.
Are you regularly sharing your expressive self?
Or do you get caught up in the glitz and glamour of bigger production dreams that stop you from making stuff now?
Tell it all to me below. I want to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly. It’s all beautiful to me.
love to shitty cameras everywhere,
Jess