On experimenting and the creative process

Editorial

Apr 7

I believe all artists face the same issues when it comes to inspiration and creativity. Sometimes, we beat ourselves up because we found our work deprived of any creativity or inspiration, we tend to stick to what we know how to do well. We can also get stuck in over thinking the creative process, about what we should be creating, what others will think about it, and what they would say about our work (like I've explained HERE)... The truth is, we get so caught up in thinking about others that we don't even create anymore, and the irony is :

"We all spend our twenties and thirties trying so hard to be perfect, because we’re so worried about what people will think of us. Then we get into our forties and fifties, and we finally start to be free, because we decide that we don’t give a damn what anyone thinks of us. But you won’t be completely free until you reach your sixties and seventies, when you finally realize this liberating truth—nobody was ever thinking about you, anyhow.’ They aren’t. They weren’t. They never were…People don’t have time to worry about what you’re doing, or how well you’re doing it, because they’re all caught up in their own dramas. People’s attention may be drawn to you for a moment (if you succeed or fail spectacularly and publicly, for instance), but that attention will soon enough revert right back to where it’s always been—on themselves….You are free, because everyone is too busy fussing over themselves to worry all that much about you.

Go be whomever you want to be, then.

Do whatever you want to do.

Create whatever you want to create—and let it be stupendously imperfect, because it’s exceedingly likely that nobody will even notice.

And that’s awesome” (Big Magic - Elizabeth Gilbert)

Last year, I had the chance the meet Sofia and André from Branco Prata, an amazingly talented duo that taught me how to push myself out of my comfort zone and EXPERIMENT. It was one of the most insightful experiences of my life as an artist. We shot on the top floor of the amazing Galeria de Pari s where we had big windows with gorgeous light coming in. It was the perfect conditions, especially when you shoot on film. However, the aim wasn't to shoot gorgeous images, the aim was to experiment. So they closed all the shutters of all the windows! *gasp* and left just one - ajar. I decided to push the experiment even further by shooting mainly in black and white, something I rarely do. (T-Max 400, for the photo geeks out there!). Ever since this experience, I know that experimenting is key in my creative process and most of the time, it's when we experiment that we come up with our best piece of work. It's the only to expand our limited view as an artist.