Creative Musings—Melissa Parman
photo by Melissa @theslowerhome
My first conversation was shared with someone who has quickly become a really great friend of mine. At the beginning of the year, I slowly began to let people into my studio practice by sharing my process on Instagram live. It is a very raw and very vulnerable step for me. One day out of the blue, this amazing soul reached out, sharing her thoughts and joy in seeing the process. Once the IG live was over, she quickly messaged me and our conversation flourished from there.
We shared a lot. A lot about creativity, a lot about fear, a lot about chance, and a lot about motivation.
I knew that I wanted to start this project with her. During our call, she expressed a lot of thoughts she had about creativity and her perspective on how it is often perceived by the world.
The first big takeaway for me was her idea that everyone is creative in their own way. Creativity is about problem-solving, and so many people use this skill every single day. There are certain careers that are celebrated for their problem-solving skills, but we often forget that these skills are directly related to the practice of creativity. She spoke to the word camaraderie and it quickly resonated with me. I wrote the word down and it has sat with me ever since.
The next big takeaway for me was that it’s so easy to be caught by the influence and noise of the outside world. With the influence of social media, people so easily group and associate with the many different types of ‘artists.’ You might think you have to do something one way because you are a painter, or you need to look at the world this way because you are a ceramicist. These thoughts are creating barriers in the art realm and building an unhealthy relationship between the arts and the crafts.
Together, I think that you can create this new world for art and creativity — one where it is celebrated and joined together by an inclusive camaraderie. There are conversations happening all over the world about the same topics, but they often aren’t shared much past the personal realm. The artist and Instagram are idealized and it’s thought you have to share certain things to stay relevant and fit in. But imagine what could happen if this thought process is broken and collaboration begins happening everywhere. The community would flourish and the authentic creative process will remain protected.
From this conversation, I hope to bring into my own studio the light that can happen from sharing in the camaraderie of creativity. Much past the face of Instagram, I want to use my platforms to highlight connections that begin to break down barriers.
