Shownotes
Something strange happens when adults decide to pursue art, and trust me, it’s a wild ride! We dive headfirst into the world of creativity, only to find ourselves tangled up in the pressure of picking the “right” path or medium, like we’re supposed to have it all figured out from day one. But let’s get real for a second: changing your mind doesn’t mean you’ve failed; it means you’re evolving! In this episode, we tackle the oh-so-important permission to change your mind, reminding you that creativity isn’t a straightjacket—it's more like a cozy blanket fort that you can rearrange whenever you want. So come along as we explore how embracing curiosity and experimentation can lead us to the art we were truly meant to make, without worrying about the time we think we might be wasting!
Do artists have to pick one creative path and stick with it forever?
In Episode 11 of Create Anyway: You're Allowed to Make Art, we explore a common fear among new and returning artists: the idea that once you start creating, you must commit to one identity, one medium, or one style permanently.
Many adults hesitate to begin making art because they believe they need to know exactly what kind of artist they want to be. Painter, writer, musician, photographer — the pressure to “pick the right thing” can stop creativity before it even begins.
But creativity doesn’t work that way.
Artists evolve. Interests change. Skills grow. What excites you today may not be the same thing that inspires you five years from now — and that’s a normal part of the artistic process.
In this episode, we discuss:
- Why many adults feel pressure to choose a single creative identity
- How experimentation helps artists discover their true interests
- The difference between quitting and changing direction
- Why creative exploration is never wasted time
- How curiosity can guide your artistic journey
If you’ve ever felt stuck because you’re afraid to start the “wrong” kind of art, this episode will help you rethink that fear.
You don’t have to get creativity right the first time.
You’re allowed to experiment.
You’re allowed to explore.
And most importantly—
You’re allowed to change your mind.
1. The Pressure to “Pick a Lane”
Many people believe that once they start something creatively, they have to commit forever.
Painter.
Writer.
Musician.
But artistic growth often requires experimentation, detours, and curiosity.
Creative identity is something you discover, not something you lock in immediately.
2. Your First Creative Identity Probably Won’t Be Your Last
Most artists start somewhere that eventually evolves.
What you enjoy making today might simply be the doorway into something deeper later.
The mistake is thinking early work defines your entire creative future.
3. Changing Direction Isn’t Quitting
There’s a difference between abandoning creativity and redirecting it.
Switching mediums.
Trying new ideas.
Exploring different forms.
These are signs of growth, not inconsistency.
4. Adults Fear Wasting Time
Many people with careers and families worry that trying something new creatively means they “wasted time” on the previous thing.
But creative exploration is cumulative.
Everything you try teaches you something about taste, patience, and process.
Nothing is wasted.
5. Curiosity Is the Real Compass
The most sustainable creative path isn’t discipline alone.
It’s curiosity.
When artists allow themselves to follow interest instead of obligation, they often discover the work they were meant to make.
Takeaways:
- Creativity is like a chat with yourself, not a boring contract you sign, so let's keep it breezy!
- Changing your artistic direction doesn't spell failure; it's just your inner artist exploring the buffet of creativity.
- Don't box yourself in with one label; let your artistic journey be as twisty as a pretzel!
- Curiosity is the ultimate compass for artists; when you follow your interests, magic happens!
- Remember, every detour you take on your artistic path teaches you something valuable—nothing is ever wasted!
- Growing as an artist means embracing change, so let go of the fear of switching things up!
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Transcripts
Something strange happens when adults decide to pursue art.
Speaker A:We believe we have to pick the right time or the right thing.
Speaker A:The first time, the right medium, the right style, the right creative identity.
Speaker A:But creativity doesn't work that day.
Speaker A:Artists evolve, interests change.
Speaker A:What excites you today might not excite you five years from now, and that's not failure.
Speaker A:In this episode, we're talking about something many artists quietly struggle with.
Speaker A:The permission to change your mind.
Speaker A:Because creativity isn't a contract.
Speaker A:It's a conversation with yourself over time.
Speaker A:Hello, friends.
Speaker A:This is Timothy Keemo Bryant, your head instigator for Create Art podcast, where I use my over 30 years of experience in the arts and education world to help you tame your inner critic and create more than you consume.
Speaker A:We're continuing on with our series Create Anyways series and this one, this episode, we're going to be talking about changing your mind.
Speaker A:Now, it's really important to know that just because you change your mind about something in relation to your art doesn't mean that you failed or it doesn't mean that it was a horrible project, just means you changed your mind.
Speaker A:And we do that a lot as artists.
Speaker A:We get going down a path and isn't quite the correct path for us.
Speaker A:That's education that's growing as an artist.
Speaker A:We'll talk more about that in this episode.
Speaker A:All right, so in our first point here, we're going to be talking about the pressure to pick a lane, you know, to try to think about, hey, what am I going to do?
Speaker A:What's my path going to be when you haven't even started on the path?
Speaker A:Many people believe that once they start something, creativity, they have to commit to it forever, whether that be a painter, writer, musician.
Speaker A:But artistic growth often requires experimentation and detours and curiosity and creative identity is something you discover, not something that you lock in immediately.
Speaker A:So don't.
Speaker A:When you're starting off, don't think, I, I just do this or I just do that.
Speaker A:It can be the main focus for what you do.
Speaker A:Like, for me, when I first started out, I was a poet.
Speaker A: d then about, oh, gosh, since: Speaker A:When I've been doing this podcast thing, I've become a graphic designer for it.
Speaker A:Something that I hadn't thought about doing.
Speaker A:And with the tools that are out there and available right now makes it easy.
Speaker A:So we're always evolving and always Growing.
Speaker A:And now I paint, I draw, I write, I make music.
Speaker A:And all these things influences each other and that is growth as an artist.
Speaker A:I'm not stuck doing just one thing.
Speaker A:Maybe some people think that's adhd.
Speaker A:I don't know what it is.
Speaker A:I don't have the education to figure out what it is.
Speaker A:I'm just doing art and I'm enjoying the process for each of these.
Speaker A:And that's what you should be doing and that's what you should be thinking about when you're starting your creative journey.
Speaker A:Don't lock yourself in into a box.
Speaker A:Break out of that.
Speaker A:Do something that is outside of what your comfort zone says you should be doing.
Speaker A:Now your first creative identity is probably not going to be your last.
Speaker A:And you can take my personal example from this.
Speaker A:When I really thought about being an artist, I was doing.
Speaker A:I just started theater, I was doing.
Speaker A:I'd been doing music, taking music lessons.
Speaker A:And I just started writing in high school, writing poetry.
Speaker A:And my poetry was four line stanzas, four stanzas long, because that's the way I felt that I needed to write my poetry.
Speaker A:It was still free verse, but it was in that format evolved since then.
Speaker A:I enjoy doing tonkas, which is five lines.
Speaker A:The syllables are 5, 7, 5 and then 7, 7, with the first three lines describing an image and the last two lines describing the feeling behind that image.
Speaker A:So just in poetry I've evolved and I read poetry a lot of the times.
Speaker A:I'm subscribed to Poetry Magazine, Rattle Poetry and Paris Review, and I read those religiously whenever they come in the mail.
Speaker A:That's the.
Speaker A:That's my next read right there.
Speaker A:As far as music is concerned, Yeah, I was punk rock, new wave.
Speaker A:Then I got into classical and jazz and hard rock and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker A:I got into art of noise, I got into noise music.
Speaker A:So the music that I create is more techno based, more edm, that kind of stuff.
Speaker A:But my styles and my taste have changed significantly from when I started to today.
Speaker A:Painting, I just did abstract stuff and then now I'm getting more into portraiture.
Speaker A:So you can change.
Speaker A:The mistake is thinking your early work defines your entire creative future.
Speaker A:But there's so many things out there that we can do and explore that don't think what you start with is what you're going to end up with and enjoy the journey along the way.
Speaker A:Let's talk about changing direction and how that's not quitting.
Speaker A:There's a difference between abandoning creativity and redirecting it.
Speaker A:My direction has changed in poetry Numerous times in subject matter, style, format, what have you.
Speaker A:I find a lot of creativity in using different formats, in using different styles of poetry.
Speaker A:And it challenges me to think up new ways to get around the format or to incorporate the format into what I want to convey to my audience.
Speaker A:Same thing with painting.
Speaker A:I used to only do abstract stuff that people were like, okay.
Speaker A:Now I do portraiture stuff.
Speaker A:For a while, I was doing what's called string painting, which was really abstract, but I thought was really cool.
Speaker A:And I still think it's really cool.
Speaker A:And there's drawing and sketching.
Speaker A:That's all part of it, too.
Speaker A:And that, I feel, has increased the quality of the work that I'm doing.
Speaker A:So when we switch mediums and try new ideas, we're experimenting with different forms.
Speaker A:And that is growth, not inconsistency.
Speaker A:It's growth and it's evolution as an artist.
Speaker A:And why not evolve as an artist?
Speaker A:You'll get better as time goes on.
Speaker A:The more things you experiment with, the more things you try.
Speaker A:So this is something significant to some of us because we're a certain age, and that's the fear of wasting time.
Speaker A:We have our careers, our families, and we're trying something new, creativity, creatively.
Speaker A:And we think that we're wasting time because we're switching back and forth between different formats, between different mediums.
Speaker A:But we need that creative exploration in order to grow as an artist, and that exploration is cumulative.
Speaker A:It's going to help out.
Speaker A:I can tell you right now that my music has influenced my writing, has influenced my painting, has influenced this and that the other thing and everything I'm learning is teaching me something about taste and patience and process.
Speaker A:Nothing is wasted.
Speaker A:So, yeah, I change from here and there and everywhere.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:I've only got, what, about five string paintings on my wall?
Speaker A:Maybe six.
Speaker A:But I learned a lot from that.
Speaker A:I learned that it's okay to have white space on a canvas.
Speaker A:It is okay to have some emptiness there.
Speaker A:I don't have to fill up the whole canvas.
Speaker A:I can leave some space be with writing.
Speaker A:I can write long things, I can write short things.
Speaker A:Doesn't matter as long as it has an impact.
Speaker A:With music, using silence to emphasize certain feelings, there's nothing wrong with that.
Speaker A:We fear wasting time.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:It's a common fear that we have.
Speaker A:But you're not wasting time.
Speaker A:You're exploring, you're experimenting.
Speaker A:You're getting better at whatever it is that you're.
Speaker A:Last point I want to bring up is that curiosity is the real compass, the most sustainable creative path isn't discipline alone, it's curiosity.
Speaker A:If we're curious about things that are going on around us, we're never going to be without inspiration.
Speaker A:Inspiration isn't a little fairy that comes every once in a while.
Speaker A:It's all around you.
Speaker A:This world is a wonderful playground for inspiration, and we need to be curious about it.
Speaker A:We need to look into other things.
Speaker A:It may help us out, it may not.
Speaker A:But it's an experiment.
Speaker A:And when we experiment with our work, we grow with our work.
Speaker A:So when artists allow themselves to follow an interest instead of an obligation, they often discover the work that they were meant to make.
Speaker A:I started off writing poetry, not thinking I was going to be a painter.
Speaker A:And then I got into painting and I was like, wow, paint like a four year old on crack.
Speaker A:And then I got better and then my poetry got better, and then my music got better, and then my writing got better, and then my podcasting got better.
Speaker A: when I first started back in: Speaker A:But now it's a lot better.
Speaker A:And I am respected in my field and people listen to me and even people pay me to help them with their podcasts.
Speaker A:When we change, don't worry about the change.
Speaker A:Learn from the change.
Speaker A:Learn from new things, Learn from your experiments.
Speaker A:That's what they're there for.
Speaker A:All right, that's all I have for you today.
Speaker A:Thank you so much for joining me here on Create Art podcast with our series Create.
Speaker A:Anyway, change is a good thing.
Speaker A:Change allows us to experiment.
Speaker A:Don't get on yourself for changing your discipline or changing your format or changing what you used to do.
Speaker A:That's how you grow as an artist.
Speaker A:That's how you grow as a human being.
Speaker A:Being the things I used to do when I was a teenager or 20 year old, I don't do anymore because a I've got a family to take care of.
Speaker A:I've got a career to maintain.
Speaker A:I got things that I need to have done.
Speaker A:So the life that I live lived when I was 20, not the life that I live here at 53 at the time of this recording.
Speaker A:I change as a person and so do you.
Speaker A:And as an artist, we're going to change.
Speaker A:And that is perfectly fine.
Speaker A:It's okay to change.
Speaker A:I hope you got something out of this and if you did, please let me know about it.
Speaker A:You can email me timothyartpodcast.com love to hear your critiques, your ideas, and if you want to be a part of the show.
Speaker A:Definitely email me and let me know.
Speaker A:And if you got something out of this, go ahead and share it with a friend because that's the best way to find out about a podcast and especially if you got something out of this.
Speaker A:Another way about finding out about podcasts is to check out my other show, Find a podcast about.
Speaker A:It's at findapodcast about xyz.
Speaker A:And that's where I help my listeners there find their next binge worthy podcast and outsmart the algorithm.
Speaker A:You can find it at findapodcastabout xyz.
Speaker A:I also run a business which is something I never thought I would do and that's called TKB Podcast Studio.
Speaker A:You can find it at tkbpodcaststudio.com that's where I help my clients lead through the noise with quiet professionalism.
Speaker A:So if you're thinking about starting up a podcast, go to the website and check out my portfolio podcasts that I work on and let's see if we can help you share your voice in this big, wide, wonderful, beautiful, inspiring world that we live in.
Speaker A:I gotta get on with my day.
Speaker A:I know you gotta get on with yours.
Speaker A:So go out there and tame your inner critic.
Speaker A:Create more than you consume.
Speaker A:Go out there and make some art for somebody you love yourself and change it up a bit.
Speaker A:I'll talk to you next time.
