How Can Friends Effect Your Creativity? 5 Ways My Friendships Improve my Art
Sometimes I think people get this romantic image of artists, all alone, in their studios and think that that’s how people like me live. And while I AM a total introvert, the truth of the matter is that I couldn’t do it with out my friends!
Here are five ways that my friendships improve my art:
They challenge me to think outside of the box of my normal day-to-day routines.
have a weekly standing creative date with my pals Amanda and Amber, where we share what the week has had in store for us while we make art and do something good for our souls like yoga, nature bathing, reiki, etc. Meetups like this help me connect to the best version of myself—a person who is a good listener, that’s creative and intuitive and full of ideas. I always leave feeling refreshed, renewed and inspired!
2. They challenge me to learn new skills (and sometimes even teach me new media and processes!)
My friend Katie is an incredibly talented product photographer—and she’s brought me on to assist on many of her photoshoots in the last year. She’s allowing me to practice prop styling, and has taught me a TON about photography! Practicing these skills has definitely impacted the composition of all my artwork, especially collage.
Their unique perspectives on life impact my own views of the world—which always leaks over into my art process.
Spending time with my people means I get to hear first-hand about things I’ve never experienced, like motherhood, immigrating to a new country, being an only child, falling in love in Paris, different cultures, different languages, and different politics. Being able to hear and empathize with all different versions of the human experience helps me to experience this life we’re living even deeper. Which makes my artwork deeper and more varied as well.
4. They encourage my work and share it with people they know.
This is an easy one to think of, but that doesn’t make it less important. My friends introduce me as “a talented artist” to their friends, and I blush a little. They hang my work on their walls; they invite me into the spaces where they have influence- to lead workshops, display my art, and share about the projects that I’ve got in progress. They help me have more opportunities to share and create my work.
5. They improve my life
Yup. They just make it better. All this talk about just wanting to hide in my studio for days or weeks or months…when all of that is over and I finally emerge—I want to meet with the incredible humans in my circle because they just make life more enjoyable. They make it better. They make it fun. And that makes me want to create even more.