Ever since Taylor Swift got up at the iHeartRadio Awards and said:
“When I was 12 years old, I had the luxury of spending thousands of hours working at my craft—practicing, making mistakes through trial and error—and that was all completely unobserved. That was just me and my craft.”
It’s been STUCK in my head. I can’t “unsee” the contrast between what the online space has taught us vs. the luxury that crafts have had in the past.
This online space has conditioned us to:
“document it all”
“share the process”
“and do it all consistently”
Because “that’s how you’ll be found and ‘successful.‘“
But if we’re constantly sharing when do we have time to practice? To try new things? To be messy without that perfectionistic side of us yelling in our heads?
A year ago I started creating DITL Vlogs for myself
I don’t post them. I just take cinematic videos during the day to capture our memories, the little moments, the things I don’t want to forget.
I knew that if I posted them anywhere public it’d change what I’d create.
The cute moment of my daughter floating in the tub would be edited for external consumption.
The seemingly insignificant shot on our walk would not make it because it might bore others.
So I chose to make just for me, in a private icloud folder that only family can see too. And it’s felt freeing.
But when Taylor named this concept while accepting her award my mind was blown… because she’s so right…. where do we go now to practice our creative writing, our podcasting, our video making… WITHOUT POSTING IT?
Personally… I don’t have that space
I do create my vlogs.
I watercolor in a notebook.
I started a pottery class and made pieces for our house.
But where am I playing with my writing? My youtube videos? My speaking?
…… the answer is nowhere… yet.
I picked up this book the other day and as synchronicity would have it…. the first line I read said:
Sketchbooks have been integral to Artist's’ processes for hundreds of years. A sketchbook is a place to record ideas, experiment, and try out new things. It’s not a finished work of art, and it’s not made to be displayed publicly; it’s a private place for an artist to grow creatively. Sometimes sketchbooks can turn out incredibly beautiful- but they don’t have to be beautiful. They can be messy or meticulous, scruffy or structured; they can be anything you need them to be. Your sketchbook is for the benefit of you, the artist.
My kids are getting into sports and dance now and it hits me every time I’m there too.
They have practices, a space to try new things and then they also have a space to share their growth, to move forward.
So I guess I’m wondering… where do you go to practice- just for yourself?
To get messy with your craft.
Try something new.
To deepen your relationship with what you love most?
I’d love to hear what you do because clearly… I’m “asking for a friend”🤣
