006 The Joy of Creating for Yourself

The delicate balance between creating for an audience and creating for yourself reveals the importance of intention in our artistic pursuits. Our relationship with creativity changes dramatically when we allow ourselves the freedom to create without the pressure of public judgment.

• Sharing your work allows you to connect with like-minded people and build your tribe
• Private creation provides freedom to explore and make mistakes without pressure
• Intention helps determine which creative work to share and which to keep private
• Some art nurtures your audience while other art nurtures you as the creator
• Creating just for yourself can be a necessary escape in our fast-paced world

Chapters

• 0:05 Podcast Introduction
• 0:17 High School Writing Success
• 1:36 The Power of Showing Your Work
• 2:45 Creating in Private
• 4:30 Finding Balance in Creativity
• 6:27 Embracing Personal Artistry

Transcript

Richmond: 0:05

Hi, you're listening to Pockets, a podcast about finding joy, meaning and purpose in life's simplest moments. I'm Richmond Camero. Let's dive into today's journey. At one point in my life I felt I was a famous writer. I was a teenager in high school and I was a member of the school paper. The club was mostly writing about news, editorials and features. So I thought let's try something different and publish some stories.

Richmond: 0:47

I wrote a story somewhere between 800 to 1000 words not too long, since it's fighting for space in the paper. For sure, a knight was the main character, since I was obsessed with Arthurian legends and Lancelot du Lac back then, there were swords, a princess and perhaps a dragon. I really can't remember the plot now. What I remember is how people loved it. I had some classmates and schoolmates telling me how they find it interesting. Some were even asking for a sequel.

Richmond: 1:20

It was one experience where I felt appreciated as a writer. It's also one instance that made me think that if you create something, you have to show it to the world. If I didn't choose to write it and publish it, nobody would be able to read it. But do you really have to? Do you have to always put your work out there? The answer is not a straightforward one. Austin Kleon has a book called Show your Work, and it literally talks about the benefits of sharing the creative process. He says share what you love and the people who love the same things will find you. Telling about your work to the world attracts who love the same things will find you. Telling about your work to the world attracts people with the same interests. It's a way of building your tribe, of connecting to like-minded people.

Richmond: 2:16

As a consumer, I also admire artists that share their thought process. There's vulnerability being shown and it makes me appreciate the work done behind the finished product. I'm always curious about what's happening behind the scenes, and seeing the process makes me want to follow the artist more. So, yes, there's definitely a benefit of creating for an audience, but there's also a dark side, especially in our internet and social media era. Sharing your work means taking a risk. It means allowing your work to be judged by other people. It means setting the expectations of your audience about the work you'll put out. As a creative, I recognize this risk. I recognize that the reviews posted in my books are out of my control. Whether they are good or bad, with this, intention matters in the process of creation. Am I doing this artwork for the consumption of my audience or am I still learning and discovering this craft? This is where I appreciate the serenity of creating for myself. Creating in private allows me to explore, to enjoy the process of making mistakes, to create, just because there's something reassuring in the feeling that I am a beginner in a certain craft.

Richmond: 3:42

I've always wanted to draw. As a writer, I see drawing as another form of storytelling. I've been exposed to a lot of cartoons, anime and manga that I appreciate how to tell a story in a drawn medium. However, drawing does not come as naturally to me as writing. There'll be seasons when I'm excited to draw and there'll be seasons when I wanted to let it go, saying that it's not for me and I'm better off harnessing my skill as a writer. Then I had this shift of mindset I can enjoy drawing without showing my work to the world yet. So I did. I'm trying to follow some courses, doing some small sketches here and there, and it doesn't matter if my output is good or bad. I'm just enjoying the art for what it is. This is also applicable to other hobbies that I'm exploring.

Richmond: 4:36

It was October 2024 when I discovered bouldering or wall climbing. It was then that I realized that I finally found my sport. There's a mix of problem solving and creativity. I don't need too much equipment and it's something that I could do on my own. I was so excited to share it with the world back then, but I didn't need too much equipment and it's something that I could do on my own. I was so excited to share it with the world back then, but I didn't, because I wanted to first learn it without pressure. I wanted to at least be knowledgeable about climbing before I share it, and I also wanted to know if I still want to do it after some time. And to answer that last bit, I still do and I am consistently climbing.

Richmond: 5:15

Even for writing there There are some things I do for myself. Most of my written outputs are supposed to be shared to the world Stories, newsletters, poems and essays but there are some worlds that I am building as well and stories I am still figuring out. These are hidden behind the scenes for the meantime and are stored in my creative lab. With these examples, how do I decide which ones I share to the world and which ones I keep? As I said earlier, intention is the key.

Richmond: 5:48

I know there's art that would nurture my audience, those that they will enjoy, those that they can relate to, those works in progress that would make them see how I see things as a creative. And then there's art that would nurture me, the art that satisfies my curiosity, experiments that I'm still tinkering, the time I spend sharpening the knife before I cut the tree, these are for myself, to fill the creative well. And sometimes creating for myself is a necessity. It becomes my rest and it's how I take a pause in the midst of this fast-paced and demanding life. It's my escape that, for a moment, I'm doing what I like, I'm in my bubble and I'm creating. In an era where our lives are measured by how others perceive it, may you pursue creating art to water the gardens of your soul. You've been with Pockets. Thank you so much for sharing this space with me. Now go embrace the moments, build your pockets of meaning and keep curiosity a sure guide.