Rec
🎨
this quote really helped shift my perspective about creative work and helps me push through a lot of moments of self doubt to persevere in this process. few things have stuck with me like this has and i think anyone creating anything should read it
Jan 26, 2024

Comments

Make an account to reply.
image
I looked this up and love it “Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it’s normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
Jan 26, 2024
1

Related Recs

Rec
⛓️
it’s hard when you’re *in it* to appreciate everything you’ve done (or really to appreciate it at all, especially if you are in critical-eye-review-revise-repeat mode) but taking a second to just *enjoy* your work will allow you to reconnect with why you’re pursuing creative work in the first place. what do you see in your projects you don’t see anywhere else? what does your previous work inspire you to pursue when you see it as an achievement in its own right instead of a stepping stone?
(also the artist way im going to shill this book until i die)
May 30, 2025
Rec
recommendation image
🃏
100TH REC HOMIES Recently watched a documentary about the LA-based artist, Coulter Jacobs, and there's a shot in the film that briefly lingers on a quote he had painted onto a block of wood: Learn what is to be taken seriously and laugh at the rest* My take on it: The quote isn't anything revolutionary, but within the context of the doc, which focuses on Jacobs' artistic pursuits/struggles and influence within the LA tattoo artist + abstract art community, it perfectly sums up the importance of being forgiving & allowing yourself room to breathe when you're working on your craft. As someone who has a tendency to overthink & give my all with even the smallest of tasks, finding that delineation between seriousness and levity can get very blurry at times, but perhaps that's exactly why that short sentence stood out to me and it may be of use to you too. Whether you consider yourself an artist or not, it's just as good a reminder to not take everything in this life with too much severity. It's a heavy existence already, no need to make it harder on yourself by treating everything like it will utterly make or break your life and/or career. *The quote originally comes from Hermann Hesse, a German-Swiss novelist, poet, painter & Nobel laureate whose works focused a lot on the pursuit of personal authenticity and self-understanding.
Rec
recommendation image
📖
reading this was so refreshing having just read Kafka’s The Trial which is 100 or so pages of what felt like the exact same scene over and over again
But really there’s so much in this quote that you can put into your artmaking! It helps me remember that the idea is king, and any way you can convey the idea is valid. why should the 75 Hours I spend on a painting imbue the idea with any more importance?
Jan 6, 2025

Top Recs from @flop

Rec
🧑
this weekend a man on the bridge dropped his airpods so i picked them up for him then on his run back when he passed me he smiled and waved because we were microfriends. i will never see him again but we had our moment
i just made this term up but it feels right to describe a nice little fleeting human connection
drop your microfriendship stories/recs
Mar 20, 2024
Rec
🍇
lemme just look at all the packaging and various products and vibe. i am not trying to get in and out, i am trying to observe
Jan 31, 2024
Rec
recommendation image
🎨
a new immersive search engine for public domain content. the interface is so cool! i feel like this could be so useful for creative projects
Jul 31, 2024