The Creative Process

There is no "formula" for how to be creative.
If anything, it is trial and error.

For the most part, when we are stuck, its not because the task at hand is bad,
it's because we don't fully believe in our capabilities. Or trust the outcome to be to our standards.
Fuck our standards. Let's face it, look at the standard that shows like American Idol and the Voice and all of that other bullshit sets.  You're going to tell me you can't do better than that?

Perhaps being overly trained (and yes, I fall into that category as well) hurts us.  We know too much, we've seen how great and how shitty things can be.

Be the person who escapes the prison of
self doubt and knowledge.

It's like being a doctor and having a child.  They will jump at every sneeze or cough, because they have seen things go wrong.  In reality, it's probably the sniffles, but still there is that burden of knowledge.

I am a generation brought up under the mantra, "Knowledge is Power"
Fuck having power, I say let go!!!
Stop trying to control everything. It's pathetic.

Back to the point... what kind of artist are you?
One that does it for the money, the fame, or to keep art alive?

We all want to be paid for what we do. This doesn't make you a sell out, it makes you a product of capitalism.. being famous is out of someones control, so don't strive for fame.  If the art is good or bad, it still exist and perpetuates the symptoms of criticism. So what is the creative process?

Step One: Let Go!
Lesson Complete

The art of art is simple. It's about self expression; to convey the entire spectrum of human emotions.  I suppose here, having a little more knowledge is essential.  But human emotion is not taught... it is experienced.

Our issue is balancing our being
mind-intellect-head-thought-ideas.... or
body-technique-hand-facility-tools....or
spirit-extension-heart-feeling-emotions.

"Nothing is out of the question for me. I’m always thinking about creating. 
My future starts when I wake up in the morning and see the light…Then I’m grateful"

That is enough to think about don't you think?  So why the hell do we put ourselves through years and years of school... because society says so and the government needs money.  Regardless, we need teachers and I am not saying abandon education... (perhaps I am saying abandon the CURRENT education system)

My biggest point is, look within. Art is not math, it is intangible, it doesn't have a strict wall surrounding it.  From my personal experience, I am trying to write a suite of sorts, but am struggling.  I as frustrated that I couldn't get the right ideas out on paper.  Then it hit me, I am too absorbed in something else right now, a different kind of writing.  I HEAR duo stuff with piano right now,  and I am trying to force my mind to hear and see something I am not ready for.  I will eventually get to that point, but I am not under a deadline.  I remember being in class and having a composition due the next week over the concepts we just learned, I wasn't immersed in the concepts long enough to HEAR them, so the composition came out sounding 3 weeks old. Why? Because I finally heard the concepts we learned about 3 weeks ago.

Of course, good teachers recognize how compartmentalized school is, and accept that not every student can catch on as quickly as others, but it can be a real drag when you want to write something but your mind is just out of balance.

Give yourself time, and everything will fall in place.  To truly master something, it takes practice of more than just the techniques...