Some Inspiration
Hello everyone!
THE GAP by Ira Glass from frohlocke on Vimeo.
I wanted to pass along some inspiration to close out the week. This video touches on something I've been very close to my whole life-- the gap between taste & skill. This video is for everyone, especially all of you. Maybe you have been dancing your whole life, or maybe you are trying to work up the courage to take that first remedial class after a long hiatus. This video is for all creative people who have ever doubted their work. Please watch!
THE GAP by Ira Glass from frohlocke on Vimeo.
Ok hopefully you took the 2 minutes to watch it. I've watched it a few times since discovering it yesterday, it has such a powerful message. As I type this now, I can just see out of the corner of my eye some art I started making two years ago. In fact, here it is:
The background is done, all that's left is the grass on the right and the rest of the tree branches. It's about 65% finished. The thing is made from hundreds of hand cut pieces of fabric in different colors and patterns to make one large image. The background isn't exactly what I wanted and I'm not thrilled with the transition to the red/pink colors. Instead of finishing it, I just stopped working on it. I have so many projects like this that I've just abandoned in frustration and never looked back. I took this one out of the drawer in hopes that I'll be inspired to do something with it.
Part of it is that I've gotten so far in my head about it, I start to doubt myself and my work. I've finished several of the fabric art pieces and I've gotten rave reviews and people wanting to buy them. I'm just not quite to the point where I'm feeling right about it, but giving up isn't constructive at all.
Ira Glass, the man who made the video is entirely right. When it comes to shaping talents from beginner or amateur status into what your mind knows it can become, that old saying is right. Practice makes perfect. The more you work to make what you see in your head a reality, the easier it will become to fine tune the tools and technique into something that fits your own impeccable standards.
It's not just painting or fabric art or writing, either. This concept is for everyone that has a vision, a talent, a passion. When you close your eyes and imagine yourself performing on stage in front of a packed auditorium to your favorite song, do you imagine any of the flaws you have in the studio right this moment? Do you fall out of your turns, or execute perfect triple pirouettes to the delight of the audience?
As late starters, unconventional dancers or remedial ballerinas we all dance for a reason. The reason is different for everyone, but somewhere in there comes a need to explore an art form we all love. We may never be the prima ballerina we envision in our minds, but that's no reason to stop. I wish I had known that when I was a teenager.
Looking back through old posts at the beginning of this journey, I laugh at some of the ideas I had and naive things I said. About this time in 2012 I remembered an old passion, and I had a lot of time to sit and think about it while I waited for the summer to end. I must have talked myself out of it 100 times, but luckily I was able to convince myself 101. I performed last June to the best of my ability at the time, and I was thrilled to have done it but disappointed with the end result. This coming June, I'll do it all over again, with twice the class load and a lot more practice. I hope to be pleasantly surprised with my progress at that time! I know now that I won't give up. I'll give myself to the character I'm portraying in each number no matter how uncomfortable I feel at times. Keep at it, aim higher than the time before, but it's OK to take a few steps back once and awhile.
I'll leave you with this:
No matter what stage you are at right now in the process, sometimes it's necessary to challenge yourself to move outside of your comfort zone. Strap on your shoes, and step out onto that highwire.
Don't let comfort and routine stop you from feeling for the edges of your skill set. Work for that extra fraction of an inch, attain it, and ask yourself for a little bit more. I really needed this video in my life. I hope you enjoyed, sorry if it got a little sappy back there.
Happy Dancing, I hope the season is treating you well!
RB
Looking back through old posts at the beginning of this journey, I laugh at some of the ideas I had and naive things I said. About this time in 2012 I remembered an old passion, and I had a lot of time to sit and think about it while I waited for the summer to end. I must have talked myself out of it 100 times, but luckily I was able to convince myself 101. I performed last June to the best of my ability at the time, and I was thrilled to have done it but disappointed with the end result. This coming June, I'll do it all over again, with twice the class load and a lot more practice. I hope to be pleasantly surprised with my progress at that time! I know now that I won't give up. I'll give myself to the character I'm portraying in each number no matter how uncomfortable I feel at times. Keep at it, aim higher than the time before, but it's OK to take a few steps back once and awhile.
I'll leave you with this:
No matter what stage you are at right now in the process, sometimes it's necessary to challenge yourself to move outside of your comfort zone. Strap on your shoes, and step out onto that highwire.
Don't let comfort and routine stop you from feeling for the edges of your skill set. Work for that extra fraction of an inch, attain it, and ask yourself for a little bit more. I really needed this video in my life. I hope you enjoyed, sorry if it got a little sappy back there.
Happy Dancing, I hope the season is treating you well!
RB
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