If You Wanna Create Cooler & Cooler Things… You Cannot Get Around Doing THIS
Something I KEEP reminding myself lately is:
if I wanna make cooler and cooler shit as an artist (I do!) then I’ve got to make a habit of regularly finishing what I start.
And listen, I say this as a BIG fan of DNF’ing books, paintings, projects, classes, lattes I end up not liking.
DNF = did not finish.
Whatever I start that loses me at some part along the way, I let it go. Shamelessly!
Life’s too precious to force myself out of some sense of shame or duty!
Fuck that.
AND/ALSO
to grow as an artist and a human, we’ve GOTTA get into the habit of regularly finish some things.
And not by indiscriminately making yourself finish each and every painting or essay or poetry chapbook you start… no.
Of course not.
But by using our discernment to let go of what is no longer alive, so we can make space (and time and energy!!) for what IS alive and important to us!!
And when you find something that IS important to you:
do not let your own discomfort or doubt, your fear or boredom, disguise themselves as a Real Reason to abandon it — not if deep down it’s something that truly matters to you!
And in my experience, the things that matter the most, often come with the most friction.
Moving through that friction with loving integrity IS ESSENTIAL to your growth as an artist (and yes as a human).
So instead, we can use those moment of friction and avoidance to slow down and get curious about our own inner landscape and truth:
Is this project or idea still alive for me?
If it is, what does ‘finished’ actually look like?
Is there a way I can simplify things, so it’s easier to get done?
Because, chances are, in the discomfort of
“Can I actually pull this off??”
or
“Will anyone even care??”
we’ve cleverly, unconsciously, wayyyy over-complicated the project.
Some sneaky part of us does this in hopes this confusion and overwhelm will keep us spinning and stuck — and thus successfully avoiding ever actually bringing the art to life.
Ask me how I know.
But my friend there is a WORLD of difference between:
“I don’t really care about this anymore.”
and
“I care about this SO MUCH it terrifies me into doing everything I can to avoid and delay actually getting this shit done!!”
And learning to actually NOTICE the difference and make a different choice is a SKILL.
I created Creative Finishing School as an excuse for us to work on this skill together in community!!
It’s a five-week class for taking a creative piece, project or idea from:
“I’ll get to it one day…”
to passing your phone around at Thanksgiving showing off the COOL ART YOU ACTUALLY CREATED WITH YOUR HANDS!!!
We’ll work on choosing the right project, giving it an easy-enough-to-get-done container (aka SIMPLIFYING), working through the messy middle together, and staying with it after the initial excitement wanes.
You don’t need the perfect idea — hell, you don’t even need a specific idea!
If you KNOW you wanna end 2026 with more art made, sign up and I’ll walk you through the whole process.
Class starts October 19.
Early enrollment pricing runs through September 30. Scholarship spots are available.
All the info you need is right here.