The journey to creativity can be a bumpy ride
By Alina Buffiere
If I showed you my CV it would be needless to say that my journey to creativity wasn’t by any means straightforward. With ‘Creative entrepreneur, Artist, PhD’ right on top and a bunch of chemical engineering diplomas at the bottom, it’s the perfect conversation starter. Occasionally, also an embarrassing one.
Since art is not quite an exact science, sometimes I wonder, how do you know if you’ve made it as an artist? What does it look like? How does it feel? It could be something that happens very slowly, over time, mostly unnoticed. It could also be a massive milestone, past which you can proudly announce “I’m finally there!”. But there – where? And which way do you go after?
Of course, everyone measures success in their own way. For some it means financial stability, fame and recognition, or constantly sold-out collections. For others, the mastery of the subject and medium, the sheer volume of work created, or the ability to bring to life whatever it is they envisioned in the first place. For many of us, it is probably a combination of all these things.
Starting out on my own creative journey, I remember very clearly the naivety of what I thought success might look like. Numerous clients and collectors, engaged Instagram followers, a consistent stream of Etsy sales, and, perhaps, even my own website. Artists I looked up to had just that and seemed very accomplished indeed. Three years in, by the definitions of my younger self, present day Alina would be fairly successful. Yet I still feel like I have barely scratched the surface.
“Maybe simply trusting yourself and enjoying the journey is just the right milestone to work towards.”
Focusing on achievement alone, it seems, leads straight to feeling unsatisfied and sometimes exhausted.
I am not saying that having a destination is wrong. Knowing what you are after is often the key to accomplishing anything in anything. But chances are, it will never feel quite enough. As soon as you get what you wanted, you often want more. Maybe simply trusting yourself and enjoying the journey is just the right milestone to work towards, at least some of the time. So today, instead of chasing the elusive ‘making it’, let’s appreciate this bumpy ride we’re on. For it is a beautiful and exciting one.
Den Haag, Netherlands
