You know this feeling. You have this incredible project in your mind. Perhaps it's something you were hoping to complete for Bridge Songs: Dear Edmonton,. Perhaps it's a piece you've committed to for our Grow Your Art Challenge, and now you are second-guessing yourself. You have this incredible project in your mind, but the product of your efforts fails in comparison. Your hands cannot make what your mind dreamed up. What you can only imagine, well, you can only imagine. It's something I call The Imagination Gap, and I would call it a universal frustration for artists. It's something we spend our entire lives shrinking. I believe, in glorious eternity, it will vanish.
According to Ira Glass, host of NPR's incredible radio show/podcast This American Life, there is no way around The Imagination Gap. There is no warp whistle to toot out a magically transporting tune and bypass the level of 'crappy work'. You've got to suck your way to success.
It's refreshing when you hear someone like Ira Glass say, "I took longer to figure out how to do this than anybody I've ever met". It's refreshing when those you admire, look up to and consider excellent admit their own self-doubts and failures.
Ira Glass says "the most important possible thing you could do, is do a lot of work". Feels like I've been hearing that a lot lately. From others. From myself.
So there's just this one find today, and it's just two minutes long. But if you let it soak in, I promise it's worth at least five 'Friday Finds'.
Watch this, and if you could, share your thoughts and experiences below.
http://youtu.be/PbC4gqZGPSY
This video came by way of David Taylor's Diary of An Arts Pastor blog. If you haven't found his blog yet, let's consider that Find #2 for this week. Unless you hadn't been listening to This American Life. Then it's #3. Enjoy.