Unoriginal

I’ve been battling a lot of negative emotions lately regarding pursuing photography. I let too many negative comments get in my brain. I started feeling completely unoriginal. What makes me so different? Aren’t there a million people out there in the world, especially in Southern California, pursuing an artistic vision in photography? I’m just another lame fish in the sea. I don’t know if my stuff is really THAT good and I don’t know where to start.

Evil, and totally not like me to think.

It was swirling in my mind and I couldn’t organize my thoughts. Mostly the reoccurring feeling of unoriginality kept overwhelming me. I talked to a couple good friends about it that are also in artistic/creative industries, and they shared some good words, their thoughts, and also lifted me up in prayer. The next day Scotty sent me a link to this guy Austin Kleon's blog and his post titled, 9 ways to Steal like an Artist. It is brilliant.

http://www.austinkleon.com/2011/03/30/how-to-steal-like-an-artist-and-9-other-things-nobody-told-me/

It answered a lot of those questions I was battling, and also eased my mind a bit by sharing ideas, suggestions, and how to persevere through those feelings and come to resolution. He quotes everything from Jay-Z to the Bible! Seriously, is this guy my steeze or what? Haha. Ya, he’s married…no surprise there.

I was also inspired by the comments of readers who, like me, really needed to read it.

Here are some of my favorite points and quotes:

-Goethe said, “We are shaped and fashioned by what we love.”

-You’re only going to be as good as the stuff you surround yourself with.

-Steal things and save them for later. Carry around a sketchpad. Write in your books. Tear things out of magazines and collage them in your scrapbook.

-Ask any real artist, and they’ll tell you the truth: they don’t know where the good stuff comes from. They just show up to do their thing. Every day.

-Dramaturgy!

-Fake it ‘til you make it, as in, fake it until you’re successful, until everybody sees you the way you want, etc. Or, fake it til’ you make it, as in, pretend to be making something until you actually make something. I love that idea.

-People love it when you give your secrets away, and sometimes, if you’re smart about it, they’ll reward you by buying the things you’re selling.

Focusing.

Again. 

Here we go!