I absolutely love being a creative! It is one of the most inspirational jobs in the world. What is funny is, when I was younger, I thought Music Class was a waste of time (sorry Ms. Moore!) Of course, I had excellent rhythm and pitch from singing in the Junior Choir at my church and as the child of Pentecostal parents; I had drums and tambourines for toys at home. I will say I’ve always known I was going to be creative. I really enjoy being able to inspire people through music and other ancillary means of creativity.
There are most definitely difficulties with being a creative – especially during COVID-19. I will share just a few of the challenges I have found and would love to hear what challenges some of you have had
1) Finding Inspiration. I typically find inspiration from being outdoors, and driving on the highway. I will go out on a limb and say 75% of the ideas for songs have come from being on the highway (especially through mountains). There is something about being out in Gods creation that gives me great inspiration. The scripture in Psalm 19 says "the heavens tell of Gods glory, and the firmament declares his handiwork." I am an advocate for receiving information from what God has already created. Seeing stars, mountains, trees and animals really gives me inspiration. Of course with COVID-19, my travel has been cut to a bare minimum. So I have been trying to find inspiration in other ways.
2) Getting Rest. If you are a creative, you probably can share this sentiment. I do NOT get a lot of rest! A lot of times, I am up late with an idea, on the keyboard, organ or laptop creating. Even if I am not actively working, I hear melodies ALL. DAY. LONG. Actually, two days ago I was dreaming and I was WRECKING a church with a song LOL. Don’t you know I woke up out of my dream and wrote the lyrics down with the scale degrees of the melody? Yes I did! So even while I am sleeping, the Lord is yet uploading songs in my spirit. So rest is something I don’t get much of.
3) Financing. We all have big dreams of course. Sometimes, we have more dreams than we have money. This doesn’t really need much more expounding. It is hard to be productive while lacking exactly what is needed to finish the task. That’s one of the downsides of being an independent artist- not having the label to fund your ideas. So sometimes the projects take a little long to come to fruition. However, I am grateful to have produced three albums thus far. From open to close.
What are some things you all find challenging as a creative? Let me know! I would love to hear from you!