On Putting Bad Art Out into the World

I reread Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert this January. It’s my fourth re-read of the book I think, but is always a great way to start the New Year. Gilbert does a great job of explaining why prioritizing creativity leads to a more fulfilling life for anyone, because we’re all creative beings. She also gives great advice on fostering a creative practice, and it’s a good refresher for someone who wants to create art for the rest of their life. 

One of the things that stuck out in this read (it’s something different every time), was a section discussing the importance of publishing and creating “bad” art. Art that doesn’t fit your 5-year plan, art that isn’t “good” but just for fun. Not only the creation of fun art though, but putting it out into the world, because you never know who might need it. 

Inspired__ also talks about this on her platforms. The world needs your art is literally the title of her upcoming book. I feel that I’ve been very careful with my creative pursuits. I’ve chipped away at a specific project, neglected other hobbies and crafts because they weren’t ever going to make me money, and were just for fun. 

This blog is one step closer to focusing on just creating as much as I can this year. I just want to put myself out there. I want to connect with other people, and if I write a rambling blog post that no one reads and that doesn’t have stellar SEO keywords and headers, it’ll be ok. Because it does something for me. 

My creativity doesn’t care if I’m working on only things that make me money. It cares that I show up. That I try new things. That I fail, and still try again. It cares that I hold up my end of our relationship, and my promise to simply show up. 

So here’s to putting our imperfect art out into the world. As a recovering perfectionist, it isn’t easy, but as someone who wants to create for the rest of my life, here I am. Showing up.