Creative Mondays #045 – The Process
The other day I was in my office doing some work when I noticed some gear I still had out from the last video shoot I did. The tripod, boom mic, surge box, videos splitter, etc. I thought to myself, “I should really put this stuff away.”
My brain instantly said, “Yes, but you are shooting another video in just a few days. You want to drag all this stuff back out again?”
I countered my brain saying, “It’s not about cleaning it up and dragging it all out again. It’s about the process.”
Now, I’ll freely admit right here and right now, I don’t know what I meant by that. I assume I meant, getting into the habit of putting stuff away in order to have a clean creative environment. But that phrase, “It’s about the process.” started rattling around in my head and I started applying that thought towards creativity. I simplified the thought and came up with, “Sometimes it is not about the end result, it’s about the process.”
It’s this thought that struck a note with me because of a creative corner I find myself in right now. I have an idea for a creative project that I want to work on, but I find myself without the taler to fully realize it. Basically, I need a puppet built for it and I have the idea of how I want the puppet to look and even have made some sketches of it, but I am not a puppet builder. Sure, I dabbled in it years ago, but I don’t have the skill to pull off the puppet in the manner and quality I need it to be for this project. My friends who are puppet builders are currently working on other projects, so I’m out of luck in that respect. I’ve toyed with going to buy supplies for it and attempting it myself but I talk myself out of it by saying my time would be spent better pursuing other creative ventures.
“Sometimes it’s not about the end result, it’s about the process.” It’s sort of like that saying, “It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.”
Thinking about it, I think there are creative projects we as artists should attempt to tackle and simply not care about how the final result will turn out. We should be open to ‘the process’ of getting it done and the things we can learn simply by doing. Yes, the end result of me attempting to make this puppet may be something I never want to show anyone, But I’m more than sure I will learn a few things along the way about the process that I can use in future projects.
I’m sure there are some who would say that ALL creative projects should be looked at this way and I can see their point. Throw out all care for the end result. Trust in your skills and just create. Start a project, no matter how big or small, and work on it with no care about the end result. If it stinks, you can hide it away. If it turns out amazing, show the world. The important thing is seeing what you can learn about your creative process while you are creating it.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go clean up this equipment and then consider working on this puppet idea I have.
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Do you take the ‘it’s not about the end result, it’s about the process’ approach to your art? I’d love to hear how this has (or hasn’t) worked for you in the comments below. Let me know and have a great week!
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Life is a process. Art imitates life. There is growth in learning, trying, failing, trying again and succeeding. Looking back on the past year and seeing growth has occurred provides motivation for the future. Each small step along the way helps to define the final result. Analyzing and perfecting those steps each time they are repeated creates positive change, improved workflow and pride in accomplishment. There is nothing that can be done in this world without going through a process.