NOV 26th 1-2-3: Let Friction Be Your North Star
1: Let Friction Be Your North Star ( 3 minute read )
As an ‘artist’, or ‘creative’ there tend to be aspects of our work that we love.
The reasons why we do what we do.
Whether it be,
Simply improvising over some music and exploring your ‘on the spot’ creativity.
Creating a rough outline of a reference image and then embellishing details from a different art style for fun.
Or it might just be sitting down and writing word after word to create sentences with syntactic cohesion, there are the parts of our crafts that bring us pleasure.
On the other hand, there are also the parts of art that are much less pleasurable.
These two sides are a part of life in general, and are a part of much more than just art.
In my experience the parts that bring me pleasure are typically the parts that I have an innate sense for, and the less enjoyable parts are typically those that don’t come as naturally.
But to be truly great at something you MUST enjoy doing the things that don’t come naturally as well as those that do.
The approach to ‘enjoy practicing in your weaknesses’ is a skill in and of itself.
This is a skill that, if you truly want to grow, must be practiced.
First ask yourself whether whatever you’re trying to grow in is something your serious about or if it’s just a side hobby ‘for fun’.
Ask yourself whether you really WANT to grow.
I believe anyone can achieve anything so long as they Truly Want it.
Then begin the next steps.
Step 1
We can learn to develop this skill by first learning to identify the points of ‘friction’ within your work.
The friction comes from the things that you just ‘don’t want to do’, or the things that make you roll your eyes and skip over.
The things that seem ‘boring’, or make you give push back.
For a musician, it might be practicing your scales to a metronome and building a natural sense of your subdivisions
For a visual artist, it may be just practicing complete control over your values, or maybe working on your sense of perspective or anatomy.
For a writer, it could be just building the skill of outlining your work beforehand, or practicing to write in different points of view.
Step 2
Once you’ve identified your points of ‘friction’, the next step is sometimes grueling yet simple.
You think less and do more of whatever brings you discomfort or ‘friction’.
Do it until you know it like the back of your hand.
Do it until it comes easily.
Then do it some more.
Step 3
The final step to developing this skill is to start from the top and work your way back here.
Constantly seek to identify your points of ‘friction’, and become aware of them.
Conquer those weak points.
Then seek more weak points, and grow.
Make ‘Friction’ your north star.
Your guiding light.
I tell you to do this not because its going to be easy, but because it’s GOING to be make you grow as an artist, and it WILL be one of the most fulfilling things you can do for your art.
In time this process should become innate, and you will have developed this skill into your artistic process.
Trust the process, and elevate your creative process along with your art!
2: Creative Prompts From Us (ex. Write a short story, a poem, a song, or draw a quick illustration of these! Let your imagination run free.)
I. Take one ‘practice’ within your field of art that you find most boring, and practice that for 10, 15, or even 30 mins. Set a timer if you must, but begin strengthening your weak points
II. Create something within your field of art that is speaking from the perspective of someone within a different field of art. For example, if your a musician then write a song about being a photographer, if your a writer then write about being a visual artist. Just choose a form of art outside your own, and express that experience within your own field.
3: Inspirational Quotes From Others
I. “You have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself. “
-Miles Davis, American jazz trumpeter and bandleader
II. “I know you’ve heard it a thousand times before. But it’s true - hard work pays off. If you want to be good, you have to practice, practice, practice. If you don’t love something, then don’t do it.”
-Ray Bradbury, American author and screenwriter
III. “What happens when you get a big break and you haven’t prepared yourself? That becomes the biggest mistake you’ve ever made.”
-Quincy Jones, American record producer and composer
Thank you so much for reading!