Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.

— Henry Ward Beecher

CREATIVITY

WHAT THIS MEANS

Whatever you make carries a signature you did not put there on purpose. The subjects you return to, what you find funny, what you leave out: these reveal temperament more reliably than any statement about yourself. That is why imitation always looks slightly off, and why work made to please an imagined audience tends to feel empty even when it is skilful. Call the inner life soul, character or simply history; it seeps into the work either way.

Gather a few things you have made, in any medium, including emails and meals. Look for what repeats across them. That pattern is closer to your real voice than whatever style you have been trying to adopt.

A QUESTION TO SIT WITH

How much of yourself shows up in the work you make?

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