Episode 22: Embracing the Ordinary
Wanna hear me sing and play guitar? Well, it’s your lucky day! 🎶
In an effort to bring art-making out of the stratosphere and into ordinary daily life, in today’s podcast I offer up a brief non-performance — an unpolished practice session with my nascent flamenco guitar skills and my Spanish-language singing voice. I also explore some of the obstacles that block us from normalizing creativity as an everyday activity. And the paradox that occurs when we make art part of our routine.
As a Recovering Perfectionist and now a dedicated Imperfectionist, I’m learning to de-escalate the stakes for making art. We don’t need to quit or avoid trying because our work is not destined for Carnegie Hall or the Museum of Modern Art. We also don’t need to hide our awkward beginner stages from each other. Instead, we can choose to make the awkwardness normal. Expected. Common. Not a big deal.
Ok, on to today’s episode! (It’s a 34.5 minute listen.)
Episode Notes
The essay I reference, about my experience singing solo in front of adults for the first time, is here.
Click here for a description of heART❤️SCHOOL, a free exploration happening via my blog and podcast from August ‘21 through May ‘22. Here’s how our acronym — the collection of monthly themes — is shaping up:
Agency
Ritual
Transitions
Spaciousness
Creativity
Home
Originality
Ordinariness (today’s word!)
(Next month we’ll wrap this adventure up with our final word. 🤔)
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Homework
I pose two questions in this episode, for you to ponder/journal about/notice and reflect on:
What is your “biggest small thing” (or your “smallest big thing”)?
What is your daily practice? (Because you’re practicing something, intentional or not.)
Hear more explanation and examples by tuning in to the podcast.
Love and Appreciation
I love bringing you these podcast episodes and blog posts. I’m sure I get as much out of the act of creating them as you do by reading or listening, because everything I do or write or record is a Note To Self. I need all the reminders, the encouragement, and the support I can get.
It’s unpaid work that I give freely and happily. If you find value in it — soul-affirming messages that help you feel less alone, perhaps — and the thought of sending me a small donation brings a smile to your face, then I invite you to “buy me a coffee” by either clicking here or on the button below. (There’s an option for a monthly donation as well.) If it feels like a “should” then please skip it! 🤪
Keep tapping into your creative courage,
Pam
P.S. The next online gathering of the Doodling Lunatics 🖍🌙 is on Saturday, April 9th at 10:00 am Pacific Time. I hope to see some returning doodlers and to welcome in some first-timers, like maybe YOU. Mark your calendar now to gift yourself the simplest of art activities. With Ordinariness as our theme, I’ll lead some draw-along-with-me demos of common household items. Think kindergarten-style more than fine-art-style. Get ready to let your inner Imperfectionist play! 🙌🏽 I’ll send out the Zoom link when the date gets closer. (Look here for the back story of the Doodling Lunatics 🖍🌙.)
You won’t get kicked out for drawing wobbly lines, I promise. 🤓
P.P.S. I’d love for you to forward this to a friend who could use a dose of creative encouragement and/or a doodling opportunity. 😉 If you’re the friend receiving this, then Yay and Hello! 👋🏽 You can click here to subscribe.