Shapes
Last month I had a bright yellow, square, sticky note on my studio wall that read,
BE YOU!
(This is the second bullet point of my artist manifesto.)
Be you, be yourself, be more of you in everything you do.
It should be easy, shouldn’t it? Just show up to the world daily as a full expression of yourself. Yet most of us have been socialised to hold parts of us back; to hide the bits that might offend others; to conceal traits that draw attention to ourselves and show us up as “different”, out of the “ordinary”, or out of the “norm.”
It’s not safe to stand out.
In February I tried to bring more of myself into every shape I assumed and noticed how uncomfortable it felt when I pushed up against edges and boundaries that I didn’t want to be there.
As creatives, we assume many shapes. Currently, I’m trying to take on the shape of a writer. My shape as a writer is round and organic. I have soft edges. I care about you as a reader. I listen to your feedback. I notice how you respond and make adjustments accordingly. I’m interested in how you receive my writing and want you to enjoy it. I squeeze and mould my shape into a form that pleases you.
My edges as an artist are not soft or rounded. They are jagged and sharp. I don’t care what you think. My art is a pure expression of who I am: it’s my world on a canvas and I won’t adapt it to suit your preferences or the demands of a gallery. It hasn’t always been that way, nor will it remain that way forever, but right now, I make art for my pleasure only. I will not get the sandpaper out to soften my edges just yet.
We can hold many shapes. And those shapes can be contradictory.
In February I also gave thought to the digital shapes I inhabit: the Instagram square, the pages of my website, the long, vertical rectangle that is this Substack message. I try to resist templates and trending music and all the stuff “suggested for you” by the algorithms but I’m only human. I know that popular = accepted and trending = safe.
And who doesn’t want to feel accepted and safe?
Understanding this helps me be more gentle with myself when I don’t bring all of me to my digital offerings: when I listen to the writing coaches and stick to 800 words; when I add a pre-made filter to a photo; when I grab that Beyoncé sample for my reel.
It’s okay to want to feel accepted. It’s okay to want to feel safe.
I know you know how much courage it takes to paint your world onto a 36x48” canvas and show it to the world. If I need to temper that with a little ‘Texas Hold’em’, I’m not going to beat myself up about that.
Changes
The shape of my Substack newsletter is changing.
I’ve realised a couple of things:
I’m not a blogger in the traditional sense: I don’t enjoy writing about my work as I make it.
I can't continue delivering two newsletters in the final week of the month, the week when paid subscribers receive their messages. It’s too much for me to write and too much for you to read.
So going forward, this first newsletter of the month will take on a different shape.
Studio View will no longer exist. Instead, my fabulous free subscribers will receive a brief intro to the manifesto theme of the month (which in reality is what I think about every month so IS my studio view) and this will segue seamlessly (haha, hopefully!) into the supplemental writing for paid subscribers.
There will be a paywall in the text, which I don’t like, but I’ll do my best to make the message a complete read for everyone. Let’s see how it goes.
May we find the courage to move in and out of shapes as we need. May we honour the boundaries of the shapes of others. May we be gentle with ourselves when we adopt shapes that feel uncomfortable but bring us safety and security.
Until next time.
JC
“Like a monthly mini-mentoring session.”
I love your manifesto.
Shape shifting is a good practice. X