3 stages of sharing your creativity

then.

It’s 2020. I’m a mum of a newborn for the second time and lost in the newborn motherhood fog. But there is still a voice inside saying ‘Hello? Remember me? Your creative side?’ That voice was quiet at first, but then it started to get stronger. Until I couldn’t ignore it anymore. I started sewing like crazy again, making collages, sketching, take photos, writing.

That creativity needed to GET. OUT.

But, get out to where? What was my outlet? Was making a pile of WIPs (works in progress) enough? Was making a bunch of sketches in a dusty notebook the end?

now.

Flash forward to today, and I am still busy creating – yes, quilting, collage and sketches, growing my creative business.

But I am also busy getting my work out into the world. Sharing my creativity. Why is this important?

Well, this didn’t happen all at once. In fact, it took time. And after reflecting on it, I think there are 3 stages to sharing your creativity that are intimately related to each other.

And these stages ultimately hold a payoff that is far greater than the worse case scenario that you can imagine.

So, what are they:

1. Getting past the fear

How do you get over the hurdle of fear? Everyone has it. If you have ever made anything and had that feeling or that thought of, what will they think, then you have experienced this.

Are you worried about:

Criticism
Being ignored
Not being good enough
Not being edgy/conforming, on topic/off topic, current/retro, on trend /pre-trend/post-trend enough?

OK just reading all these strung together should give you the hint that basically, all of those things are impossible, so let them go.

Ultimately, your work is for you. By you. Yes, probably someone will criticize your work, yes, probably you will be ignored by a lot of people, yes, you will be xyz…

So? Who cares. That is all peripheral noise.

Just be you. Just do you. Make what you like. And you know what the magic of the internet is? That someone somewhere else will most likely also like it too. There are a lot of needles and a lot of haystacks.

Be a needle in someone’s haystack.

Imagine when someone discovers something creative that you have shared and just – CLICK there’s that moment. Maybe you’ve had it too. When you see something and are like ‘Yes! Oh my gosh YES! Totally!’

What if you could create that moment for someone else? Wouldn’t it be worth moving past your fear for that?

I wrote a bit about Fear vs Joy in one of my emails. You can read it here if you missed it.

I frame it as what am I missing out on by not sharing? And the things that I would miss out on are the two big factors which underpin the next two stages of this process.

2. Creating connections

This is what it is all about.

Before sharing my work, I was a stay-at-home mum living in a small isolated town in northern Italy. No one in my circle of acquaintance was interested in design, art, quilting (what’s that???)

I probably wallowed in this for a bit, lamenting my disconnection from the worlds I wanted to be a part of and move in. What to do about it?

It started late one night on a deep trawl through social media. I discovered a group of improv quilters, based in Italy, but connecting with quilters all over the globe. I was sparked. I connected. I had my ‘Yes! Oh my gosh YES! Totally!’ moment.

I had found a needle.

This started it for me. Maybe finding me was a needle for you (I hope so!) Then, I started connecting with other quilters, on Instagram at first. Now through my journal and course. Quilters, designers, creatives, makers, like you.

These connections have made my world richer, I have learned so much, I have shared so much.

Which leads to stage 3…

3. Growth

Imagine if you stay as you are now, in whatever space you are in (stay at home mum in a small town like me), someone isolated in your community because you don’t share these passions for design, art, creativity, this drive to create your own business, with anyone in your circle of acquaintance.

What will your life be like in 3 months, 6 months from now? Will it have changed? What about in a year? In 5 years? In 10 years?

Now, imagine if today, instead of wallowing in your fears, you share some of your creativity with the world. You move past those fears, and you reach out into the ether and plant a seed, bury a needle in a haystack.

And imagine that this needle might stay hidden in that haystack for a while, until someone discovers it late one night on a deep social media trawl, and they have their ‘Yes! Oh my gosh YES! Totally!’ moment. And it was your creativity that did that?

What if you amplify the possibility of having your needles found, and share more of your creativity, and start leaving needles in more haystacks, and increase the possibility of ‘Yes! Oh my gosh YES! Totally!’ moments for people?

And then you get a message in return that says something like….

Sparked my creativity!!
Julie

Your video was so interesting and informative.
Diane

What would your life look like in 3 months, if you started getting messages like that? What about in a year? Would you still be wallowing? Wondering? Or would you be sharing, and seeking and making more connections?

And if you receive some feedback on your work? Maybe it steers you in a whole unexpected direction, and opens up a whole new field of opportunity and exploration, that sitting in your room alone you would never have considered.

You develop as a designer, a quilter, a creative, not in solitude but in connection. You grow as a creative business through connection, sharing.

I reached out at the beginning of the year to Bonnie Christine, a surface pattern designer and general all-round legend of the creative business world to see if I could create a workshop for her membership Flourish. I thought carefully about how I could contribute to her audience, what I had that I could share and add to her audience’s skillset and knowledge. I delivered that workshop, and was so overwhelmed by the response.

What if I hadn’t had the courage to move beyond my own fears and reach out? What if I hadn’t offered my contribution? Would Leah C. have written

You opened a door for me, and I love the view!
Leah C.

do something

So, again, what have you got to lose by NOT sharing your creativity?

Well, I hope you can see that there is a lot to lose. Connection, growth, shared experience.

So, what are you going to do about it?

Someone, somewhere is searching for a needle. Will you help them find it?

Afterall, needles are integral to making a quilt. And the more needles, the more stiches, the more stitches, the more quilts.

If you would like to be a part of a small online community of like minded creatives, come and join us here – Design Q.

Let me know in the comments, what are you going to do today that will move you closer to sharing your creativity with the world – maybe even the act of leaving a comment here is already that step. I can’t wait to see what you share.