art and fear

(Pic #1) “Little Monsters” – My first sketch with a stylus on the new iPad, using an app called “Pro Create.” Totally freaking.

Learning something new can blast you into a supercharged creativity zone.

New tech? Color me paralyzed. It happens every time I’m introduced to a new fangled gadget or upgrade. Heck, for the longest time I even balked at learning the tech of blogging. But my fearless techie friend Amy sat me down in 2010 for weekly sessions until I was able to “enter through the back door” as they say, and troubleshoot my own writings and photo layouts. I went kicking and screaming, but she swears I was just a big baby with irrational fears of technology.

(Pic #2) Illustration by San Diego artist Beau Hufford, using the Pro Create App.

Fast forward 8 years: I’m still kicking and screaming, but the difference is I’m starting to use my fear to make each new artistic experience an exciting adventure. Yesterday, I bought a new iPad, and it was my first day using a stylus (on the screen of any device) — and it felt weird. But exhilarating. My good friend and life-long illustrator (Pic #2) Beau Hufford told me about the insane Pro Create App, and I had to jump in.

I expected to be frustrated and clueless when I started, and guess what — I was right. But the joy I felt in teaching myself something fresh and new far outweighed any angst. In fact, I couldn’t put the pen down. I couldn’t stop exploring all the digital paint brushes, fat and skinny lines, magic markers, and a tool that shoots out spray paint in real time.

The cool bonus in learning new things like this is that it’s good for your brain. According to CCSU Business & Development, “practicing a new skill stimulates neurons, which forms more neural pathways and allows electrical impulses to travel faster across them.” That means we learn better. It can even help us stave off dementia.

And oh, by the way — these innovative artistic experiences end up being way cheaper than therapy.

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(Pic #1) Weekly sketch, oil stick and acrylic on board

The benefits of artistic panic: how it can either paralyze you, or be the catalyst for something wonderful.

I meet with a group of artists once a month. We share our latest pieces, critique each other’s work and generally give each other the kind of encouragement all creative people crave. I never want to let these women down, or bring a crappy piece of art to the table. As a result, the night before we meet, I often feel the pressure starting to build when I realize “I got nothin’.”

By morning, I’ve decided I am going to cancel on the group, rather than face the shame of striking out artistically. At that point my husband usually says, “Just go, but don’t bring anything, it’s not a big deal, you’ll bring something good next time.” Before you say, “Wow, she married an idiot!” understand he does it because I am insanely competitive, and that is just the kick in the butt I need to get moving. It always works. I always come up with something, and I am always grateful, and hate him for it.

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Apparently, I’m not alone. In fact, I’m in pretty good company.

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(Pic #2) Aaron Sorkin: Oscar, Emmy, BAFTA, Golden Globe award-winning writer

Oscar winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin was interviewed recently in advance of his new movie, “Steve Jobs.” Sorkin, among other things, was the creator of NBC’s critically-acclaimed hit, “The West Wing.” The interviewer asked how he came up with the idea. Sorkin explained that when he had written the movie, “The American President,” the script he turned in was more than twice as long as a normal movie script. He had written several scenes which took place between senior White House staffers, but really had nothing to do with the main point of the movie, the love story between the President and a lobbyist. Naturally, those scenes were cast aside.

Sometime after the movie came out, Sorkin agreed to a lunch meeting with some executives from Warner Bros. Sorkin thought it was a “touch base, let’s meet and say hello” lunch. To what he described as his “horror,” a few minutes into the lunch one of the executives said, “So…we understand you want to pitch us an idea for a TV series.”

Sorkin says he panicked. He had no ideas, had no pitch, but was too embarrassed to say that. Instead, grasping at whatever straws he could pull together, he remembered those wasted scenes and said, “Yeah, it’s about the inner workings of the White House; it revolves around a group of senior staffers.” The folks from Warner Bros. said, “Great — let’s do it.” Out of Aaron Sorkin’s insecurity, and fear of coming up empty, the show considered by most one of the great TV dramas ever made, was born. The moral for Sorkin at that meeting, for me on Friday nights before my group convenes, and I’ll bet for you from time to time, is this: Fear is fine; insecurity is fine. Giving in to them, is not.

The Fear Factor: Make It Work For You

Fear: That Unexpected Source of Creativity