All of the images in this post are of toys I’ve made years and years ago. Some of them I made many, many times.
I want to write a post about fear. Creative fear. In particular, the fear of stopping making the things you make right now. Have you felt that fear? That feeling like you have to keep making what you already make, what you’ve become known for making, because if you stop you’ll fade into oblivion, or you won’t sell enough, or anything, and people will stop reading what you have to say or looking at your pictures.
But then, when you have a few hours and you are ready to start making something, you wonder, “Maybe I could make something different? Maybe I could create a new pattern? Or try to make something really big?”. And your mind starts working, visualizing how the new piece might look and you start getting excited. You sit down to start sketching, making little notes in the margin about how this new thing might be created.
And then you pause for a minute and look at the page and it just looks really complicated. It looks like there are probably going to be some big problems in there to solve. It’s going to take a lot of time to figure this out and it might not work at all. And let’s face it, you might not be skilled enough to make this new thing come to life.
And what if you devote these precious hours or the next few days or weeks to it and in the end it turns out to be nothing. In the meantime, you haven’t been making the thing you’re know for, the thing you always make. And after all that effort you have nothing pretty to take pictures of, nothing to write about, nothing new to sell. Those blog stats are slipping, you can feel it.
And so you get up from your desk, and leave the sketch book behind. You reach for the same materials and the same pattern you’ve been using for years and start cutting out yet another one. It’s familiar and, at this point, it’s easy. It may not be exciting, but it’s what they want, what they expect, and you know it will sell.
Has this happened to you? Have you had this kind of fear? My gosh, I have.
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As I work on this book encouraging people to try to draft their own softie patterns, and as I think about the new year ahead, I want to propose that we set aside chunks of time, big chunks, and give ourselves mental space, forgiving mental space, to wrestle with this fear. Start something new, with a fresh sheet of paper and a different set of materials. Let’s not just make what we’ve always made, what is easy, what is popular.
Let’s make something new.
Wonderful post as I hit that point today strangely enough. I was saying to myself I should go back to what I know and what I used to sell.
I am in love with the owl…he’s loverly:)
Oh that Humpty Dumpty! What a delightful way to illustrate ‘fear’.
You just don’t know how timely this is for me. I was checking your blog to see if there was any news as to when your book was coming out, because I want to spread my wings and design something all my own. I need help;
I need your book! But in the mean time, thanks for the inspiring post and a push to step out of my safety zone.
The entire post is so true. I have wasted years and years trying to decide if I had enough talent to do something with my art/crafting. I worried that I was copying other’s work, always work that I loved so much but I couldn’t find my own voice. Then I started a blog and for a year I just puttered around on it. Then this Halloween I decided to post some tutorials and other projects and I sat and sat and sat. I wanted to make some “potion’ bottles with vintage bottles I picked up a year ago and didn’t do anything with. I starred at those bottles for a year, i googled “Potions” trying to find inspiration. It finally hit me- Im not a potion kind of girl. While I love them when other’s make them, my style would be to dress up the bottles to make them cool and whimsical and halloween-y but not poison/potion-y. The flood gates open and I feel confident that my voice is emerging and it will continue to grow if I don’t let fear take over.
Your post was a brave one and well done for posting it. I can empathise with your fear of changing who you are known as. 3 years ago I had a career that I’m sure others would’ve loved, I was well known in my field and respected by my peers but after a decade it just wasn’t me anymore. I had the fear. The fear of not having the income I was used to and of dropping contact with the colleagues that had turned into friends over the years. I huffed and puffed about it for about 6 month then the universe stepped in and made the decision a whole lot easier for me and I left. In hindsight I wish I’d done it sooner. Being creative means being true to yourself, if that means working on new designed 1/3 of the time while you continue supporting your ongoing commitments don’t feel bad about it! At one point you had never made a softie and I’m sure you had the fear then-but it worked out for you then yes?
Sorry about the long comment but I empathise with fear based in uncertainty!
One of the things I love best is when my favorite creators break out of their comfort zone and try something new. When it does not work, they share that frustration and make the rest of us realize it is not only us that isn’t perfect 100% of the time. When they succeed it is so exciting to see what they’ve created!
So I agree – spend some time breaking out of your box… might be scary but it will always be worth it because you will learn something everytime.
Oh wow! I think you just read my mind…
Great post! It’s difficult when your creative growth is tied to your financial growth. When I’ve evolved creatively I’ve looked back over my shoulder to see if “my peeps” were still with me. Sometimes we are ready to move on before others are and they may not get where you are going or ask you to come back to where you were. It is scary, especially when $ is riding on your decisions.
BUT! The good news is that people are excited about what YOU are excited about! Passion is apparent in our work, it’s inseparable! It may not be the same people who were with you at the beginning, but there are a lot of people in this world and those that “get you” will see your passion shining through whatever you do!
Go forth and shine! 🙂
Betz
Amen!
I’ve been thinking about this lately as a kind of crippling perfectionism – that if I can’t be the best at something (art, specifically) or offer a brand new voice, maybe I don’t have anything to contribute at all and I should just avoid it altogether. I don’t think this is true, though, and I think my voice just needs time to grow and to work itself out. And that fear of failure needs to go away.
Oh thank you for writing this post. I’ve been paralyzed by fear as of late. I’ve worried because I’ve seen so much negativity toward soft toys that no one would want my creations. I’ve wondered why my passion lies in whimsies and not something more utilitarian. I need to just “do it” and follow my heart. Thank you for letting me know that I’m not alone in feeling this way.
Best wishes for continued success,
Tanya (theindigomuse)
Oh, I love this post! Thanks Abby.
Thanks for the great post! In the past I’ve worried about trying a new design, since my customers love my original ones so much, and that’s always what they ask for. But last winter I was so inspired by a toy my son got for his birthday, I decided to go ahead and design something totally different. And it’s been, very nearly, my most popular toy! Fear only holds you back, inspiration is so much better!
(my original toy style: http://www.flickr.com/photos/baprime/4417222574 )
(new design: http://www.flickr.com/photos/baprime/5410694385 )
Thank you all so much for your heartfelt responses. It is certainly not unusual to feel afraid to try something new, but I think it helps to voice that fear periodically and then push it aside. You guys are the best.
Wonderful post and perfect timing – now I don’t feel all alone…. I have always been shy about my artwork and craft projects. I want to create things but I have this gremlin inside that keeps telling me to forget about it – I’m not good enough, nothing would sell – so I have been stuck in a day dream unable to move forward until recently. I’ve finally started responding to the gremlin by saying “what is the worse that could happen? People won’t like it, or buy it?” So what?! I won’t know unless I try.”
I’m glad you are standing up to your gremlins too and I can’t wait to see what you try next.
We are so on the same page. This is an on-going issue that I’ve been facing. I love to learn and try new things and (dare I say) step out of my comfort zone. HOWEVER, it is one of the most difficult things to allow myself the time to do it. December is the month. That’s it. I’m doing it. I’ve been wanting to play with completely new materials. I want to push myself to try completely new techniques. It’s time. Who knows…maybe my ‘new’ pieces will lead to a new adventure.
not too long ago, everything was new for me as i delved into soft toys. but yes, now i feel the fear every now and then, as i wonder if i should just make more of the same old, what people want and will buy. and yet at the same time when something new works out right, i feel rewarded for my efforts, and often get good feedback from others, which reminds me that trying new things is good. i am thinking the new year will be a good time for a new evolution.
I finished my toy Rhino a while back. I just wanted to say thanks for the inspiration and the help with the gussets and just getting on and doing it! Soft toys are indeed fun and you helped me discover that!
I have the same fear. It can be paralyzing and depressing. It does help a bit to know that you suffer with this too. I’m on the verge of starting something completely new for me and I’m scared to death, but I’m doing it anyway. ;0)
Thank you for this post. I just completed a piece which is very different than work I’ve done previously, closer to my ideal, desires. Thank you for reminding me that I’m not alone in this fear, and the need to push through it, and then click the ‘post’ button, send it off into the world somehow.
This is such an inspiring post, and very timely for my husband and me, too. Thank you!
Abby,
Thank you so much for this. I’ve been wrestling with my own creative fears. I’m nowhere near where you are because I’m just getting started. This post reminded me of a small outtake from an interview with Ira Glass where he talks about creative thinkers who are just getting started and how people become discouraged when the gap between their taste and what they create seems too large.
Abby, you have both the taste, and the talent, but I’m sharing the link here in case it resonates with other new softie crafters. Since Ira Glass is in radio broadcasting his message is specifically targeted to young writers, but it is relevant to any creative person regardless of their medium.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbC4gqZGPSY
Thank you so much for this, Audra!
Thank you. I find this post more inspiring and comforting than I can express.
I’m afraid of writing now. And this new self-publishing thing. I walk around it and around it and spend a lot of time preparing, but I can’t look at it straight on. I can’t see fear in your toys – that fabulous owl. The amazing snail – which I love. Your brain is unlocked somehow. I’ve felt the push on the door, the straining of the shut parts, but nothing swings open. wow. Interesting.
Your work is amazing! 🙂 an inspiration.