8 Ways to Be an Anti-Fragile Artist
welcome adversity and disruption
These are ideas from my live online cohort, How to Be an Artist if You Have a Life.
As you build a rich and complicated life, your world grows beyond exclusively art related concerns. This, paired with the many challenges life throws our way, means you have the near constant opportunity to not work as an artist.
Not only do your daily routines, responsibilities, and priorities shift, but your very identity evolves. If you try to continue your art practice as though you are static, you’ll feel constant frustration.
These ideas are specifically aimed at becoming a more Durable Artist. One that welcomes adversity and disruption.
Put your work in public. Don’t use everything not being perfect as a crutch to keep it to yourself.
Definitely do not pause what you are doing because the timing is not perfect. It never is.
Moving fast (reducing the time between idea and execution) works because you can cycle through ideas and learn faster.
Moving fast, even if you fail, is a win because you learn quickly and you have opportunity to iterate and rapidly improve.
Adaptation is how all species thrive. Why are you resistant to change?
Lowering expectations and building consistency works because you focus on the process (Anti-Fragile) not the results (Fragile). This focus on process leads to better results.
I stole this from my kids. They learn this in school, much more useful than the “practice makes perfect” I learned as a young one. Build habits of working in small ways without expectation. The progress adds up.
Do daily warmups. Use tiny studio sessions based on a time of day or a happening. You can draw for the first 15 minutes of your lunch, when the kid goes down for a nap, or every time you are waiting for an appointment, in line, etc. Bonus - No phone!
If you move fast, you will often fail. These setbacks provide so much information. Analyze and improve your failures.
Use the HAT Framework to protect your mental space.
Comment below and I will send you my free ebook that explores these ideas in depth.
****If you have not heard the term Antifragile, check out Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
Practice makes progress---YES. I'm almost 65 and I'm still learning this shit. But I do think in the last couple of years it's finally started to sink in that I just need to ride the waves. That it's always changing. That there is no perfect way. That I just need to keep moving forward as best I can.
Being less precious is critical! It simply feels better to spend time making something ugly than to have sat, looking at the phone or the tv while your soul slowly crumbles. A big part of my practice is cannibalizing ugly shit to make it cool in a new arrangement.