This blog is short because it contains one important
message about creativity that I think could provide invaluable for me and
perhaps for you, too.
I heard it on Grayson Perry’s Art Club,
which I’ve been enjoying on Channel Four for the past few Mondays (the last one
was on June 1st). Each week the public were asked to send in their
own lockdown art on a specific theme, some of which was chosen to be part of a
future exhibition. Grayson and his partner Philippa Perry both worked on
pottery in their studio (I did have workspace envy), and talked to artistic
celebrities. (That bit was slightly annoying because celebrities - usually
comedians - have to be shoehorned in everywhere on TV, but that’s the way of
things.)
I was interested in the varied creative
ideas that people offered and the interviews with members of the public that
Grayson did via computer screen. They were both insightful and emotional. In
particular there was an inspiring blind artist who responded in her work to the
shadows she encountered, and an autistic boy who made very imaginative monster
figures.
I even tried some performance art of my
own, filmed by my bemused son, and though it didn’t get to the show it provided
a morning of fun.
Grayson wasn’t afraid of trying new ideas
and perhaps failing.
“I
did feel quite vulnerable making that,” he said when he tried drawing a
portrait of his wife and making it into a plate. “We have to be open and be
prepared to fail.”
One of Grayson Perry’s comments really
struck home with me, and it’s one I intend to hold on to.
“If
we get imposter syndrome it means we’re trying something new.”
I love that. It turns the imposter syndrome
(that familiar feeling that you can’t do something) on its head and makes it
into a positive forward-engine instead of a roadblock.
Like most writers I know I regularly wonder
how on Earth I’m going to do something I’ve said I would do – even after years
of writing. In fact, as Grayson Perry points out, it’s a consequence of
propelling myself forward by trying new ideas. I do sometimes fail and get
ideas knocked back regularly, but I do strive to be forward-thinking. In fact if
I didn’t get that imposter syndrome feeling at some point when I’m developing a
project, perhaps it signals that I’m being a bit too smug and liable to coast along
producing the familiar.
Next time I think 'I can’t possibly do
this’ I’ll be translating it into ‘Well
done. You’re progressing, not
stagnating!’
Moira Butterfield
www.moirabutterfield.com
Twitter @moiraworld
Instagram @moirabutterfieldauthor
Moira’s latest book for children – A Trip to the Future - will be published in July by Templar. It's illustrated by StudioFago and it is filled with the new because it imagines the science, engineering and creativity of the
future based on today’s scientific breakthroughs. It's for children aged 8+ who are learning science, design and
technology and it aims to inspire them to think in new ways,
