The most important and easiest step is that you need time to consume art. Ira Glass, an idol of mine who is the host of This American Life once defined people who create need to first and foremost have good taste. I completely agree.

The thing that separates regular people from creatives is they can define a good and a bad work. Each creator defines it differently. But in order to define your taste you need to make time to take in other people’s content. You need time to consume what inspires you? Is it a storytelling radio show? Is it Andrea Arnold’s decision of handheld cinematographic style? Or Charles Burnett’s casualism? Carolina Arévalo’s capability to assemble dots to look like the universe and the act of conception at the same time? Or is it just a sunset?

No matter what it is you need to consume and learn to notice details and differences in what makes something inspire you and what doesn’t. This way you can know why your creations are in your definition “good” or “bad.”

By Totemworlds

Whether you’re a writer, filmmaker, painter or music composer, the lessons in this article will help you become a better artist.

In the previous article we talked about creating art in a playful manner, keeping a regular creative habit, and seeing the value in being bored. Now we’re expanding into other mindsets that hold us back as artists, and prevent us from creating our best work.

Where you create is important

To create our best work, then we must create in a space that’s not only comfortable, but inviting. No matter how humble or impractical your space may be, it should feel like a sanctuary, a place that allows you to create with ease.

I want you to think about your creative space. Bring into your mind’s eye the place where you make your art. Is it indoors or outdoors? Is there a desk in front of you, or is it just your instrument? Do feelings of joy, peace, or excitement come up when you think of this space? How about your instrument? What kind of feelings arise when you think about it?

If feelings of anxiety or fear come up instead, something isn’t right. It’s normal to feel tension or resistance when you first sit down to create. But if these negative feelings linger, the space where you create may not be optimal. Try improving your space to make it more inviting: perhaps it’s a matter of making everything look neat and tidy, adding a few decorations or artifacts that inspire you; or perhaps the change must happen inward, by consciously working to improve our relationship with this space.

Above is where artist Xnuht records his music. He shares that even though his space is humble, it is also “full of magic.” And his work surely reflects that.

No matter where your working space happens to be, it is special. So always try to summon feelings of gratitude when you start working:

“I am grateful for having this space to create. This is an artist’s sanctuary.”

Say or think these words as you prepare yourself for a creative session. If you have an instrument then say your grateful for it as well. Practicing gratitude is a powerful technique that cleanses any form of negativity. This technique is especially helpful if you work at home.

An inviting working space will allow you to relax and…

Surrender to the process

Having an inviting working space is important, but so is our mental state as we create. In the previous article, I wrote about how we sabotage our creativity by focusing on the end product rather than the process. It’s good to strive for perfection so long as we don’t lose sight of what’s truly important.

Think about your latest work, and how it came to be…

When inspiration first struck you, it probably came as a set of powerful visions and/or feelings: abstract forms which you then gave shape to. Everyone’s experience is unique, but regardless of how it felt, this experience motivated you to put in the work.

And though the end product probably ended up looking (or sounding) different from its initial conception, the link to that experience remained. And what’s so great about your work is not the object itself, but the experience that propelled you to create it in the first place. Does that mean quality is not important? Of course it is, but artists tend to focus too much on the tiny details rather than the big picture (and the big picture is what your audience will first see).

The truth is, your audience will focus mostly on their own experience; they won’t be looking for the tiny mistakes you made, but their impression of your work as a whole. Therefore, you shouldn’t obsess over perfection but over that magical experience you felt when inspiration first struck you. Surrender to it. Let the process take center stage, let it change you as a person, and let the result of this transformation seep into your work…your audience will appreciate it.Your technique will improve in time, so don’t let it stop you from expressing yourself and those magical experiences that move and transform you.

“At its essence, art is an alchemical process. Alchemy is a process of transformation.” Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way.

End of Part 2

You can find the first part of this article HERE. Thanks for reading and be on the lookout for the third and final part of this series.

Follow Totemworld’s work on Youtube and Instagram.

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If there are other questions you want answered in a blog post, let us know at info@fourwindfilms.com. In addition, we work with a large, diverse community of crew and artists working in most aspects of the filmmaking process and are always happy to help make connections. And of course, we are always building our community! Send us your work for review or feedback.

Fourwind Films’ blog

Where you create is important

Surrender to the process

End of Part 2