Listen to: “Your Art Might Need More Art, Not More Advice“ on:
Your Art Might Need More Art, Not More Advice
When was the last time somebody else’s art made you want to make art?
Not a reel about creativity.
Not career advice.
Not another strategy for building an audience.
Actual art.
A performance.
A painting.
A film.
A novel.
A dance.
A song.
Something that made you sit forward and think:
That. That is why I love this.
I Had Started Wondering If I Still Loved Acting
Recently, I was rehearsing a scene over Zoom for a Christmas film I am acting in.
We have actors coming in from Los Angeles and driving in from different places to film here in Georgia.
And I had been carrying a strange thought:
Do I still like acting?
That is an unsettling question when you have spent so much of your life doing it.
The USA acting industry has been quieter post-strike. There have been stretches where the opportunities coming through have not necessarily been the kind of acting that makes me feel most alive.
Then we rehearsed this scene.
My scene partner gave me so much to work with.
I gave him something back.
There was a moment where the emotion simply landed.
Everybody watching felt it.
And suddenly I remembered:
I love this.
I love storytelling.
I love what can happen between two actors when both are listening and responding and something appears between them that neither person could have created alone.
Sometimes what your creativity needs is not more analysis of your creativity.
Sometimes you need to get around good art.
Information About Art Is Not Art
Artists now have access to extraordinary amounts of information.
How to market.
How to build an audience.
How to pitch.
How to sell.
How to deal with rejection.
How to improve your craft.
Some of that is useful.
I create some of it myself.
But information about art and the experience of art are not the same thing.
There is an old idea that to make good art, you need to see good art.
I think that matters.
Great art teaches us things that do not always fit neatly into a tutorial.
You notice timing.
Restraint.
Taste.
Rhythm.
Silence.
Colour.
Movement.
The way an actor listens before speaking.
The way a dancer uses space.
The way a writer controls pace.
The way a musician creates tension.
Your artistic education is not only what somebody can explain to you.
Some of it happens because you witnessed something excellent.
And something in you noticed.
The Business Around Art Can Blur the Art Itself
This is particularly important when you are a working artist.
Auditioning is not all there is to acting.
Submitting materials for auditions is not the same as the craft of acting.
Marketing a book is not writing one.
Selling paintings is not painting.
Looking for gigs is not making the actual music.
Those things may all be necessary parts of a professional creative life.
But they are not the art itself.
The business around our work can become so large that we accidentally judge our relationship with our art by our relationship with the industry surrounding it.
That is what I had been doing.
I had been asking whether I still loved acting.
But some of what I was tired of had very little to do with acting itself.
Then I acted.
Really acted.
And there it was.
Oh yes. There you are.
Artists Need to Receive Too
My TEDx coach was also an acting coach.
Working with him has reminded me how many layers of craft we collect over years.
Performance training.
Storytelling.
Physicality.
Rhythm.
Intention.
Audience awareness.
Many of those things now appear in my speaking without me consciously selecting them.
That is one of the beautiful things about becoming an experienced artist.
We collect artistic experiences.
Things we have seen.
Things we have heard.
Rooms we have been in.
Artists who have expanded our understanding of what is possible.
Sometimes we need to deliberately put ourselves back in those rooms.
Go see the play.
Go hear the orchestra.
Visit the gallery.
Watch the dancers.
Read the book.
Sit close enough to a stage that you can hear somebody breathe.
Be around people who are very good at something.
Not because it will make good content.
Not because you need to network.
Not because it is productive.
Because you are an artist.
Go Find the Thing That Makes You Lean Forward
So here is my invitation.
Put yourself in contact with some good art this week.
If possible, experience something live and physical.
Use your senses.
Give it your attention.
Look for the moment that makes you lean forward.
The choice that surprises you.
The thing that sends you home wanting to make something of your own.
If you cannot physically get somewhere this week, choose something intentionally instead of simply accepting whatever an algorithm puts in front of you.
Find an artist whose work you respect.
Pay attention.
Artists need input.
Not just information.
We need beauty.
Skill.
Risk.
Story.
Texture.
Sound.
Movement.
Other people making choices we would never have thought to make.
Sometimes somebody else’s art wakes something up in yours.
A Question for Your Creative Life
When was the last time you experienced someone else’s art and came away wanting to make something?
And if you cannot remember, perhaps that is your invitation.
Go put yourself in the room.
Go Deeper with Audacious Artistry
If this spoke to something in you, my book Audacious Artistry: Reclaim Your Creative Identity and Thrive in a Saturated World goes deeper.
You can also download the free 10-week group study guide and walk through the book on your own, with a friend or with a group of artists.
Find the book and free guide at: https://larabiancapilcher.com/book
It’s written for artists and creatives who still feel called to create but are tired of proving, comparing, waiting for permission, or wondering if their work still matters.
Read the book + get the free guide:
https://larabiancapilcher.com/book
This article is adapted from the Healthy Wealthy Wise Artist Podcast episode:
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“Your Art Might Need More Art, Not More Advice“ on:
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With you as you keep creating,
— Lara Bianca Pilcher
Connect with Lara
Website:
https://larabiancapilcher.com
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