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I love making things, but don’t know what to do the rest of the time

Faithful Forces

All Tools
FAITHFUL FORCES@2x

The Context

Linklater said in his documentary about independent filmmaking that movies are a universe that you can count on, that won’t let you down, and that you can visit it anytime you want to. Do you have a place like that in your creative life? A venue of your own from which you can never be dispossessed? Creators who are fortunate enough to have such a destination, physical or not, to treat as a place of rest and recovery, have a true blessing. In a world that isn’t always as dependable as it should be that changes faster than we’d like, that little universe sounds soothing.

The Tool

two color

Faithful Forces

FAITHFUL FORCES — The custom universe can you count on to help inform your artistic spirit

Maybe that’s all home is. The place where we can be ourselves without fear of rejection. Not necessarily the place where we live, but the place where we know we are loved. If you don’t have something like that, then treat this as an opportunity to start building your faithful forces. All of the rituals, people, practices and places that keep your creative life stable and fruitful when the world’s circumstances get a little too overwhelming, those are your faithful force. Pollack comes to mind, who once joked, painting is no problem, the problem is what to do when you're not painting. This is where many artists get tripped up. They forget that job number one of expression is creating a self to express. The creative product is subordinate to the creative moment, the creative moment is subordinate to the creative process, and the creative process is subordinate to the creative life.

Scott's Take

Scott's Take

In my experience, everything from yoga to books to support groups to playing guitar to my marriage have served this purpose. Because in all of those venues, I feel loved, by myself, by others, by the universe, and that frees me to be myself. If there was ever a tool to attribute any of my success as a creator to, this would be it. The faithful forces provide a dependable source of refreshment from which all ideas flow.

The Rest

Remember, if you want to write something worth reading, first you have to do something worth writing. What universe can you count on to help inform your artistic spirit?

The Benefits

Create a self to expression in your work
Build a sacred space were we can be ourselves without fear or rejection
Create a dependable source of refreshment from which all ideas flow
Keep your creative life stable and fruitful when the world’s circumstances get a little too overwhelming,

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