Do You Need Permission?

Hey there Frogs & Toads, I’m glad to see you’re looking a lot healthier!

You wanna know what I really love about creativity? It’s the proof.

There are, of course, many ways to connect with yourself, and in turn, the world around you, but creativity is the only one that offers tangible evidence. Sure, people often view prayer or meditation as more “important,” but those practices don’t leave you with something you can hold, share, or point to. Creativity offers tangible confirmation because something gets made that didn’t exist before. That’s irrefutable proof of your connection to yourself, God, the Universe, Nature… whatever you wanna call it.

Creativity is simply your ability to listen to that connection and allow it to guide you in the act of making.

That connection is omnipresent, and everyone has the ability to hear it, benefit from it, and make their own proof.

So whether you’re feeling blocked, burnt out, overwhelmed, uninspired, or just disconnected, the Doc is here with your medicine. And this stuff doesn’t come in pills, capsules, or even syrup...

Administering your dosage is simple: it comes in the form of permission.

You’re allowed to start.

Whether you’ve never done it before, it’s been years, or you just haven’t found the time lately; go make something. Use your brain to come up with an idea, and then make it real. If the idea isn’t ready, start anyway.

You’re allowed to be bad.

Please, suck. Be absolute dog shit, for all I care. Art is supposed to be imperfect. Let the computers make the perfect stuff—we make human stuff.

You’re allowed to have feelings.

And you’re allowed to express them. Art is a great way of saying things without sayin’ ‘em, if you know what I’m sayin’.

And you’re allowed to be a dumb, silly weirdo.

Oh, and if you’re an artist struggling with any kind of creative block, imposter syndrome, perfectionism, or self-doubt, I’ve got even more good news for you: Introducing Creativity+, the cutting-edge new system where you go back and re-read the permissions part, and then start working on your next idea.

Did you make something recently? I’d love to check it out!

Hit REPLY to this email and let me in on what you’ve been creating.

As for me, I made one painting and three epoxy resin collage frames of varying sizes this week. So, one finished piece (painting + frame), which I gifted to my best buddy Kenny for his birthday, and two Works In Progress. 

I love collaging (!) because I’ll sit down and rip pieces out of a bunch of magazines, then trim them with a precision blade until I’ve got a solid pile. I never know exactly how many or what shapes I’ll need. I just look for interesting images for an hour or two, and then, at some point, I get the feeling that I have enough, so I shift to assembling. And what's crazy is, like some sort of divine puzzle, I always have the perfect amount of images that I need, and they always fit together perfectly to complete what l'm trying to make. And it happens every time, and every time l'm like wtf mate! 

Making these really took me back to a time of Air Alert ads, SLAM-UP posters, Eastbay catalogues, and And 1 mixtapes. What a privilege it was to be a basketball-obsessed teenager in the 2000's. I still think I'm gonna dunk someday.

Anyway, check these bad boys out… 

While on the topic of getting creative—I’m thinking of starting a weekly virtual art hang over Zoom. I think a major pain point that creatives deal with is just prioritizing creative time. Some people prefer more of a scheduled, structured environment.

So, if there was a “every _____day at ___ o’clock” meet up over Zoom, with the intention of supporting one another, tossing ideas around, and getting creative, would you be into that?

If you have specific ideas for what you’re looking for, what you’d enjoy, or what you think could be cool, I’d love to hear ‘em - hit REPLY.

That’s all for this week. Until next time, I hope you all have a creative week, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t prescribe.