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Blogs by Jean Sheldon
Creating can be Scary 5/30/2007 5:35:49 AM
Well, doing the actual creating is not that daunting. That part comes when you share it with others. When you throw your work into the pool of public opinion and stand back hoping there are no sharks.
I’ve spent most of my life working in a creative field. When you mix ego with money people can be downright rude. The thing to remember is that we create, whether with a keyboard, a paintbrush, or an instrument, because it feels good—because it feels great. That feeling may color our opinion of the quality of the piece so the views of others can bring clarity. The bottom line is that only the creator has to love the creation.
How then do you help someone in his or her endeavor? I don’t condone lying, but saying ‘that sucks’ is probably not very supportive. When I first started painting in oils, a ‘friend’ looked at one of my pieces and told me it was ‘one step away from a paint by number.’ Ouch, that hurt. It also kept me from painting for a while, but I finally got over him, and myself.
To comment on someone else’s life or work, you have to be honest with yourself first. Then you know if something other than truth helped form your opinion. When a person tells me ‘I like this, but I don’t like that’, I thank them first for their kindness and second for their honesty. It sounds so much better than ‘that sucks’.
Any challenge a person takes on is already half won, just by facing it.
