Web3 gave me my creativity back.
That might sound like an exaggeration, but it’s not.
I was burned out, grinding out design after design for client work, most of which I was not proud of, and was just old and tired. If there was ever a recipe for creative burnout, I mastered it. Part because of necessity. Bills need to be paid, and that means when you are a professional creative, sometimes the demand for income beats the demand for creative expression.
Web3 gave me my creativity back. More specifically, NFTs and the communities therein helped to rekindle creativity & self expression in ways I’d forgotten were in me. And it feels so good to have my self back.
Refraction (ri-ˈfrak-shən):
-deflection from a straight path undergone by a light ray or energy wave in passing obliquely from one medium (such as air) into another (such as glass) in which its velocity is different
-the action of distorting an image by viewing through a medium
Self Refraction is a photographic manipulation piece in which water & glass deflect and distort the original artwork by Rik Oostenbroek. More than that, it’s a collaboration of art pieces that help to share the expression of my own journey over the last few years.
As life and seasons change and evolve, it can feel as if we are losing pieces of ourselves in the process. For me, it happened most poignantly in my creative work. The deflection of my creativity becoming my commodity made it seem as if I’d lost all of the creativity that made me was to pursue this work as my career in the first place.
As it turned out, I’ve come to realize that my creative self was still there. He just looked a little different than I’d been used to - in all the right ways for this new season.
So why a Mirror post? I’m writing this as a reminder to myself. A reminder that it’s ok for creativity to ebb and flow with life. And a reminder that my true creative self is still part of every step of the journey, no matter what appearance it may be carrying.
So, with all creativity in me, beaming because of the journey, I’m proud to share Self Refraction with you all as my official entry to Rik Oostenbroek’s Self Contest.
