I’ve been thinking about critique for years. About encouragement. About ego. About growth. This series is my attempt to put language around what actually helps us become better creatives. The Practice of Becoming implies this is ongoing. Not mastery. Not arrival. Not “ten steps to excellence.” It suggests a workshop that never closes, lights left on, tools within reach. I want this to be an ongoing practice in my life. This series explores what helps us grow as creatives. Not just technically, but internally. I’m less interested in perfect answers and more interested in better questions. My current goal
Author: Lewis De Joseph
I feel I’ve always been a Creative. I started with photography. In my early 20s I went to the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, Where I took several classes for the creative and technical sides of the camera. Then I built a darkroom in a spare bedroom and took classes around that part of this creative medium. Then the digital era came upon us and transformed the medium, in ways that I could never even have imagined. For several reasons I was slow to embrace it. The cost of entry was very high back then; I didn’t even
Creating Growth Challenging Our Creative Growth I was in my Monday Flow group last week and the gentleman that hosts it referenced something I said the week before just as we were wrapping up. We were talking about growing creatively and I shared a philosophy that I learned many years ago. Since I’ve evolved my own thoughts and ideas on the concept. I’ve tried to follow it, live it and apply it to all aspects of my life. I’m a chef by trade and can get in the kitchen and just go. I’ve worked just about every aspect of
It is Simple… A daily routine, Just do it, and Start from the beginning. Just Show Up Outside of my photography, I’ve never been this active in my creative life. With that said I’ve decided to challenge myself. And in a fortuitous coincidence it just happens to coincide with the beginning of the year. I’m going to choose a guiding statement, make a commitment, select a mantra. Given everything I’ve written, wrestled with, confessed, reclaimed, and recommitted to this year, one word rises to the surface again, and again. It’s already living in my work, my practices, my vows
I didn’t go to the crossroads, they always seem to come to me! Looking back at my recent work, pursuing my creativity, I find myself at a crossroads. I’ve been a photographer since the 80s. Quite a few years ago, I chose to pursue ways to use my photography in other mediums. I started with encaustic, then collage and then I found myself collecting art supplies. This past year I’ve joined a few, perhaps to many, online classes. Six months ago, I joined a class that is getting ready to start this January. This is called Wanderlust. I’m excited to
An Essential Aspect of Creativity is not being afraid to fail. – Edwin Land “The cord that binds us.” That was a song I remember singing in church: Bind us together, Lord, with cords that cannot be broken. Bind us together with love. There is only one God, one King, one body. Now don’t get me wrong I’m not advocating or proselytizing one god, one belief, or any particular religion. But there is a connection between us. All of us. Whether that’s a spiritual thing or an evolutionary one I don’t know. Perhaps it’s something Carl Jung called
“This life is yours. Take the power to choose what you want to do and do it well. Take the power to love what you want in life and love it honestly. Take the power to walk in the forest and be a part of nature. Take the power to control your own life. No one else can do it for you. Take the power to make your life happy.” ― Susan Polis Schutz In my last post, I wrote about exploring new creative paths beyond photography and shared some of the work that’s come out of that journey. It’s
“Trees are as close to immortality as the rest of us ever come.” ― Karen Joy Fowler Lately, I’ve been immersed in several creative classes. Since starting them, I’ve been exploring new mediums alcohol inks, colored pencils, acrylic paint, and collage. It’s been a journey of rediscovery and play. When one of the assignments called for photographing and painting trees, I jumped at the chance. I went for a hike here at work, camera in hand; we have over 1200 acres. A few days later, some friends visited, and we spent time wandering around Grey Towers, a nearby National
Finding My New Tribe If you read my last post, you know I’ve been searching for a creative home, a place to connect with others who understand what it means to live a creative life. Well, I think I may have found the beginning of that tribe. It started when I came across a gentleman on YouTube who goes by Way Walker. He’s an author, artist, and the founder of a creative collective called The World of Creatives. His videos immediately caught my attention they’re thoughtful, challenging, and full of heart. He talks about creativity not just as a skill
“Hey, you Don’t tell me there’s no hope at all Together we stand, divided we fall” Pink Floyd – Hey You Anyone who knows me knows that I’ve been searching for a creative community for a long time. Over the years, I’ve been part of a few. One of the first was the NEPA Photography Club. This was a fairly decent group that met monthly, had several juried exhibits a year, a typical meeting usually drew around thirty or forty members. It was awesome for a few years. But as the saying goes, it only takes one bad apple. When