Creative not Crazy

There are two words that start with “C” that are seem to be used interchangeably when talking about artists, but have very different meanings: Crazy and Creative.

“Crazy: mentally deranged; demented; insane.” You lose control over your own mind.
“Creative: resulting from originality of thought.” Original thoughts happen when you let your mind wander and allow yourself to think about things in different ways.

“Oh they’re some crazy artist.” It seems to be one of the common stereotypes. But creating art is a process that is more than random.

Every innovative thing that we’ve ever done has taken someone who is willing to think creatively about things. It’s how we take what we already know and utilize it in a way we hadn’t considered before…whether it’s discovering something more efficient, finding the flaws in a design, seeing the world in a different way, or just experimenting. The process creates something new or original. It also requires guidance and thoughtfulness.

I’m sure that there are creative people in the world that are crazy. But random ideas are rough, unfinished. Artists get branded with all sorts of stereotypes. The majority of artists are not crazy, aloof, or otherwise social outcasts. Most artists I’ve met are creative, smart, sociable, and work incredibly hard to refine their visions and express their ideas clearly to their audience.

There are many ways in which the creative power of an artist is marginalized. Paint fumes, chemicals, drug and alcohol addictions. Being high isn’t the source of creativity. A mind can be creative and sober. It takes work. It takes training, both to be creative on demand, and to recognize when your creation, your thoughts, are being expressed accurately in your work. Artists should take credit for the work that they put into a piece. Never marginalize your work. There will be many detractors to do that for you.

The copious amount of rejection that artists face is, in my opinion, much more likely to drive someone crazy than the occupational title of “artist”. Being an artist takes a lot of hard work and a thick skin. Artists are constantly rejected, whether it’s by a gallery, critic, or hearing someone say that they don’t like the piece that the artist just spent hours, days, or years on. I’ve even gotten the occasional email ripping my work apart. I try to think of those situations as someone who is having a bad day and decided to take it out on me because they’re jealous of my work on some random level. I even have a folder in my email that is titled “They’re just jealous” for these special emails.

Rejection is a heavy thing. I recently read an article about rejection and how there was a study done showing that when someone is rejected it actually causes physical pain by triggering the same part of the brain. And yeah, as someone who’s been rejected a lot, I can tell ya, it hurts.

But on the flip side of things, I’m not going to stop making art just because someone doesn’t like my work. Sometimes I forget and I have to remind myself of all the encouragement that I’ve received from family, friends, and strangers my entire life to continue creating art. I believe that if you believe in why you do what you do, other people will see that in you and they’ll want to believe in you too.

I’m a creative entrepreneur, my title is artist, this does not mean I’m crazy.