the Empathy List #147: Set it Free

Release the art that's become dear to you so that it can become dear to someone else.

Hello friend, Liz here.

Today we’re talking about the end of the artistic process. That is, after nurturing our inner muse, sitting down to complete the hard work of creating, and revising the original to shreds, we must then release our artwork into the wide world. And that may be the hardest part.

The 4th episode of Knock at the Sky: A Creative Journey is live, and you can listen in your podcast app of choice.

So far, in this series, we have talked about idea, craft, and revision, and today we're talking about release.

When the final draft enters the big wide world, how do you accept that your job as the artist is finished, and how do you receive the reception of a wider audience? How do you interact with that audience, and what happens when viewers and readers make the art their own, reading meanings into the work that you never put there? And what does the Bible have to do with any of this? (A lot, apparently.)

We also discuss the fine art collages that precede Chapters 10 and 11 in …