I recently started a little art group for support and idea sparking and growth with a few art people I know. This has been a great exercise in realizing some hopes and dreams that have been floating around in my mind. It is one thing to think things another to actually do them.
All the group members have valuable input and it is vastly easier to group think plans than just be alone mull things over.
The biggest difference is action. It is hard to say you want something to someone else and then not do all the steps to get it . If you are alone, you will find a million excuses why something can’t start yet or some other reason for inaction.
I highly recommend making a group of creatives for yourself to benefit each other. There are literally dozens of reasons for doing so,
let me list a few,
Networking.. You have no idea what someone else might know
Bolstering It is easier to do something hard if you have a cheering squad in the background.
Critic It is important to get an objective opinion. If some ideas are bad, let them go.
In the box thinking . The magic of a small group is you can focus . Restricting your number to a few is easier to have time for everyone to really talk.
Out of the box thinking really needs go go back into the box for awhile for thinking about HOW to do what you want to do,
Group think is better than just one person thinking.
Various points of view are helpful because that is what your target audience is going to have. Finding a niche is great but it doesn’t mean that your niche thinks exactly the same .
Growth and Goals. It is hard to come to group and not have done something in the way of progressing toward the goal you said you had out loud in front of us.
Tweeking ideas can be done efficiently in a group . Groups are not perfectionistic and you will avoid falling down that hole. (example I spent 5 months trying think of my mission statement but I wrote it out in one night with a small group.
Avoid feeling alone with your problems. Hearing what others are striving to do and having to overcome is inspirational and sometimes you need a little boost,
Stories. you hear the different ways people go about doing something and it can help you with what you might be stuck on.
Encouragement You can see yourself as not just a little thing but actually a big deal .Really seeing other artists lives helps you see that you are important too and on a mission that is not to be taken lightly. Artists have pretty amazing powers and you are in that group so you must have amazing powers too.
Mirror. I hold my painting up to a mirror to see them differently. More removed.
A group will do that too when you bring your work to show.
Artist are a soft belly sort of people and it is good to protect each others belly emotionally.
These are just a few reasons. Go make one today.
Art is a weird job. You paint or draw or sculpt and create things that have never been made before. You don’t know how it will turn out. Its a surprise to you when it is done. You are almost like a baker watching the oven to see how what you made will transform into a delicious treat.
