Key Ingredients - Reconnect to Creativity
“There, caught between the dream of action and the fear of failure, shadow artists are born.”
In week one of The Artist’s Way, author Julia Cameron introduces readers to the archetype of the shadow artist. Shadow artists are those who – for various reasons – dismiss or diminish their creative potential. Instead of embracing their own creativity, they tend to be found “shadowing declared artists” as a way to stay connected to this essential part of themselves. Professionally speaking, they typically chase pursuits that society has deemed sensible while relegating their creativity to hobby status (at best) or ignoring it entirely (at worst).
When I first read and worked through The Artist’s Way in 2022, I remember being captivated by this shadow artist archetype. I recognized myself in Julia’s description. Like most of us, I was a creative kid. My friends and I would put on plays, make up never-before-played games, and I can’t even begin to tell you the number of hours I spent messing around in Adobe Photoshop. Even in college, I found creativity in writing papers and connecting ideas across disciplines. (Shout out to the London Interdisciplinary School who is embracing this version of creativity in a big way.)
But somewhere along the way, I disconnected from the creative side of myself, prioritizing logic and analytics instead. And the farther removed I became from my own creative dreams, the less capable I believed myself to be. Julia writes, “As a rule of thumb, shadow artists judge themselves harshly, beating themselves for years over the fact that they have not acted on their dreams. This cruelty only reinforces their status as shadow artists.”
If we are going to truly become champions of our Ideas, we first need to reconnect to our creativity and relinquish our status as shadow artists.
Speaking from experience, this is easier said than done! There is a reason why Amie McNee claims creativity as “the missing pillar of self-development.” (source)
The act of making something that didn’t previously exist is a one-stop-shop for facing your fears of the unknown, trial & error, failure, rejection, what other people think, etc. The process will ask you to acknowledge the scarcity stories and narrow definitions you carry around time, talent, productivity, and control. And what’s funny (or at least intriguing) is that these fears can be dredged up for projects as seemingly simple as painting a still-life, throwing clay, taking a dance class, or baking a new recipe.
So, how do you start reconnecting to creativity?
You begin with a beginner’s mind.
Assuming you’ve been leaning into curiosity as we discussed in the last newsletter, you’re well primed for a beginner’s mind. This concept of the beginner’s mind is said to be based on the Zen Buddhist concept of shoshin. It’s a state of openness, wonder, and humility. In some ways, the beginner’s mind is quite child-like and playful, free of pre-established rules and assumptions. Legendary record producer Rick Rubin describes it as, “Living in the moment with as few fixed beliefs as possible.” (source)
When you’re willing to let go of (or at least temporarily set aside) your fixed beliefs, you can step freely into a place of creative possibility. This is an essential muscle to build as you learn to discover an expanded view of who you are and the impact you can make in this world.
So, I invite you to begin. Draw, dance, write, garden, cook… whatever the form or medium… Create. Say goodbye to your days as a shadow artist and make something from nothing. See how it challenges you to grow as a person. See what it teaches you about your capability.
BONUS Challenge: Observe how much time you spend consuming vs creating. If you (like most) spend a higher percentage of time consuming input (news, social media, books, podcasts, etc) rather than creating output, see if you can shift the balance for one week by spending more time joyfully making things.
