Creating for yourself vs. creating for an audience
It’s all happening.
Dear Reader,
In today's world our lives are documented in photos. Every day we take pictures of various events and things we see, and for some of us, that includes our art. Do we live in the moment anymore and just exist there? Or, must we freeze time so we can share it with the world? As artists, do we create for ourselves or do we create for our social media audience? I think most of us would say that we do a little bit of both.
Creating for yourself
As a person who sells the things that I make, it's easy to get caught up in considering what will sell. After all, this is my business, so in order for it to be successful I need to turn a profit. However, I'm a person who leads with her heart and her intuition, so there's literally no way that I can create otherwise. I try to spend time every day making things that bring me joy, whatever that might be. This changes day-to-day, and that's why I do so many different things. I think it's important to follow your creative energy and impulses. Not only does it keep things interesting, but it expands your creativity. Not following trends is another way that I create for myself. If I need inspiration, I look to shapes and silhouettes of the past, I take a walk with my dog and notice color combinations, textures, etc. Inspiration is all around us.
Creating for an audience
When we take that first vulnerable step of sharing our art with the world it's a monumental act of courage. Maintaining your identity within the confines of social media is crucial to sustaining your own integrity. It can become very performative, where you spend more time documenting your process than you do with actually creating. Wondering what type of photos the algorithm will prioritize, or considering taking more videos instead of photos, even though your heart is really more into photos, and they showcase your work better. All of these considerations and all of this time and energy spent with the dwindling hopes that someone will see what you did and your media will perform well. All at the expense of posting into the ether and depleting yourself in the process.
But where does that leave us?
I will always create for myself first and my "audience" second for many reasons. Mainly, because I believe that it keeps me more authentic, and then when I do share my art with the world, no matter how it is perceived, I know that it is truly a reflection of me.
However, I miss the constructive criticism of art critiques and writing workshops where you would gather with your peers and share your creations. People were pretty honest, and it was a great way to push you to your creative limits. I will continue to create for myself, but perhaps it's time to foster community connections and start sharing with other creatives in real life.
Thanks for reading,
Christa
Thanks for reading-I’m glad you’re here.