Creative Fellowship

Starting a Creative Fellowship

When friends push each other in art

cre·a·tive fel·low·ship noun. A group of friends who work together on some sort of art or creative pursuit.

Being a part of a creative fellowship has been one of the biggest contributors to any success I’ve had as an artist. It has had such an impact on my creative endeavors that I can’t stress enough the benefit you can get from it. It’s not just sitting around painting; this turned into a group that took ourselves to a different level, involving creating, presenting, promoting, growing as artists and learning what we did an did not want from it.

In general, the people in such a group don’t necessarily need to work on the same project or same medium, but they do need to work in the same space at the same time. Long distance is not as effective and should be avoided. Even if the creative endeavors are web-based to begin with, there’s something irreplaceable about working in the same space, commenting on each other’s progress, eating a sandwich together. Holding each other accountable. Telling them that you don’t buy their BS and to get to work already.

You’ll learn things about each other that you never knew.

“Oh my God! You’re bipolar too?!”

“So, this is what it’s like to spend lots of time with somebody who suffers debilitating anxiety.”

“What happened to you in your childhood that you have six storage units of stuff you never look at?”

Dabbling, playing. Fifteen-minute sprints. Discussing what kind of project to work on next. Questionnaires. Thought-provoking conversation over dinner, and then drinks, until they close the damn restaurant.

Then, out of the blue, somebody goes full triple-dog-dare on the group. “Let’s give ourselves a deadline. Let’s plan an exhibition. Then we’ll have to be serious.”

One person flinches. Another sits quietly and considers. Excuses come pouring in, a litany of things that will have to be done first — cleaning, moving furniture, buying curtains — which will obviously keep them from being successful. Better to wait until next year.

“But why?” one asks. “This isn’t the MOMA. This is just us, in a studio.”

“But still…”

“I’m having trouble breathing all of a sudden.”

“But what are we?” Everyone gets quiet. A decision is made.

Challenge accepted.

Everybody sleeps fitfully that night, with the specter of a commitment looming over them.

Then, it gets real…

Thank you for reading.

My novella, Carmela’s Outside, is now available. It’s a light read, a nice story about cats who live together, and one cat’s struggle to re-discover her life, outside. Visit RatherEarnestPainter.com to see more of my writing and art work.