Not long ago, I made a pact with myself to be more brave with art and design, and life in general. I think I’m making baby steps — decent psychological progress toward standing more confidently behind my own ideas when presenting them to other people. But what’s struck me lately is the sting of disagreement, uncertainty, or rejection; even though I think I’ve got a pretty thick skin when it comes to criticism of my work, I guess when you start putting more of yourself into and behind it, you still bleed when someone else comes along and says “I don’t think that’ll work,” or “I don’t get it,” or “Yuck.” Ouch.
It looks like I’ve reached Be More Brave, Stage 2: shake it off and get back on.
You know what’s tough? Collaborating with non-designers/artists, which is not to say non-creative people, but people who tend to visualize things in black and white. Which is to say, they are quite literal when it comes to designing and decorating. Which I suppose is the opposite of imagination.
Normally, I can deal with this. It’s easy when they accept that you’re both creative and smart, and they trust your creative instincts to pull everyone’s ideas together in a cohesive, tasteful way. But some people get blinded their own perception, and they go and take your description of (blank)-inspired and interpret it to mean (blank)-themed. And they tell you so! You say, “I was thinking of a nautical-inspired design,” and they come back with “Yeah! I like the idea of a nautical theme!” MEGA-CRINGE.
I mean, I’m thinking about a design that layers textures and patterns and colors to evoke the idea of something, and they’re picking and choosing from every motif known to culture and making it fit a predetermined color scheme, which MUST NOT deviate from tradition. I just — it doesn’t… no.
And that’s why I’m suggesting that we take the word “theme” and burn it in effigy, and then forget it ever existed. Ever. Can we?
Still, I’m not sure whether it’s harder to work with someone who’s stubbornly fixed in one creative direction or someone who passes all control off to you because, to them, you are a creative GODDESS. I’ve always been one who liked working within parameters. I like the challenge of meeting a set of requirements in the most creative way I can think of.
The total lack of direction tends to throw me off; the total refusal to have anything to do with coming up with a direction makes me want to tear out my hair and jab out my eyeballs and run screaming like a banshee through the countryside. I’m not magical. Even mediocre design isn’t as easy as an incantation.
And yet, I suppose it ought to be flattering because is it not the hallmark of greatness to appear effortless and completely natural, as though what you have created was always meant to be just as you created it? That would be fantastic and also weird because very often, I believe I really have no idea what I’m doing.
To be trusted completely or hardly at all? To be free to roam about or to be met with resistance at every turn? It probably doesn’t matter: both are equally challenging. It seems the most important thing is to remember that thing about being brave. Shake it off. Get back on. Kill “theme.” And live creatively ever after.