DOWNLOADABLE PRINT | .01

With a lot of friends in creative fields, whether that be painting, designing, writing, photo-journalism, etc. I see a common pattern in all of us -- we create work in some capacity, we criticize that work to make it the best it can be, probably decide it's not worth sharing, and then throw it into the graveyard.

We stop ourselves and sell ourselves short easily. Then we take breaks, we lose our motivation, and we are knocked out of creative process. The structure of how to successfully follow through with our work is lost. However, so much about the creative process is fluid -- what time we work best, when we need time to rest, how long we pump out work, etc. There is no singular way in which we work successfully -- no magic timeframe, no magical Starbucks coffee drink, no inspirational meditations that will work for all.  I know friends who work best after 9 PM, and friends who feel creative sparks mid-day. Some friends need to have a coffee and take a break in the morning to get going. Some friends go to a bar, have a beer, then go home to work. Whatever the case is, there is no singular solution to working productively while consistently being creative.

However, what I notice is how easy it is for us all to fall out of routine because we are terrified to put our work out there. A common theme I've found is that we will feel fraudulent, or feel like our work is not worth it -- and it's true. I can't think of a friend who doesn't have these strong insecurities. I hardly post my work to this blog itself because of those anxieties. 

What we have to learn is that we are artists, we are designers, we aren't just pretending. If we throw ourselves into our work every day, we cannot hide from it. 

A friend texted me the other day and is looking for jobs in writing currently. After recently graduating from art school she's been working odd jobs. Like us all, she has found that she is constantly asked the question: "What do you do? Where do you work?". She often finds herself saying, "I'm a barista at xyz coffee-shop," like she always has. Then she messaged saying "Today, someone asked me what I do. I answered with 'I'm a writer,' because you know what -- I am." 

It's true. It's not even just going to work. It's something you are constantly thinking about, because -- we love it. I talk with these friends all day, brainstorming, critiquing, thinking about how to better our stuff. And I hardly see it. We are constantly shackled by "I'm not good enough, it's not good enough."

We have to dedicate ourselves to our work fully. We have to not only create it but share it, promote it, love it -- the good and the bad. 

With this series of downloadable prints you'll see this concept repeated through. With these I'm finally publishing small designs that I make consistently, that authentically represent my style, and that I've made to share. 

xo