What’s Your Creative Edge for 2016?
Happy New Year, creative friends! I love this opportunity to hit the refresh, reset, refocus button. Frankly, it takes a few weeks into January before I feel I have solid footing on the new year.
But it’s never too late to consider your current creative edge.
The theme of my 2015 Annual Report was Thriving at the Creative Edge. At the beginning of the year, I posted a rallying cry to identify, focus on and live at your creative edge.
Rather than goal setting, or choosing a word of the year to focus my efforts, I prefer to think about my current creative edge. If you’re looking for a way to be more creatively satisfied this year, read on.
What’s a creative edge? A creative edge is points us toward a specific and actionable focus. It’s that place in your writing, art or professional work where you:
need to improve skills
feel uncomfortable and out of your depth
are hyper-engaged
learn the most
grow rapidly.
When someone comes to me for help getting ‘unstuck’, I invite them to find their current creative edge. It takes courage and commitment to be at the creative edge. But it’s the best place to be, because it’s where we create, where we find our originality, and where we grow as artists and people.
It’s often the place we avoid. An edge I’ve been avoiding is learning software to help me with my illustration. I know I need to know how to use Adobe Illustrator and/or Photoshop. But I blow it off year after year because I don’t want to spend more time at the computer. I prefer to be at my drawing, painting and essay-writing edges.
Still, when I reflect back on 2015, I see that I was at my creative edge a lot. I worked on many projects that forced me to learn, be alert and grow past my perceived limitations. It wasn’t always easy, but I saw a direct impact on my coaching and teaching. My own art, business and personal edges contribute to my edge as a coach. Even if we are working in different genres, I am right alongside my clients in taking risks, trying new things and hitting ’send’.
So many things happened for my creative work in 2015 that I couldn’t have anticipated. A word of the year or a set of goals wouldn’t have helped me navigate all the unexpected things that happened. But my creative edge was both focused enough and and broad enough to help me feel an ongoing sense of engagement, challenge and satisfaction
2016 Creative Edge
My creative edge for 2016 is Visual Communication. I know that sounds like a college course. For me, it points me in the direction of communicating my ideas using fewer words and more illustrations. I’ve been experimenting with micro-essays that accompany my Instagram art posts and have really loved it.
With that focus in mind, I will continue to build on 2015’s creative edge. My focus last year was making things I could sell. I produced my Writual Blessings deck as well as a series of paintings that I sold. I have several ideas for things I want to make in 2016 and beyond including and illustrated book, a series of greeting cards and prints, and card decks.
Define your creative edge
What was your creative edge in 2015?
How did this creative edge grow you?
What is your creative edge for 2016?
My 2015 Annual Report is a round-up of how things went at my creative edge this year. It includes revelations, resources and a deep dive behind the scenes of my creative, coaching and travel adventures. Get your copy here.
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