WRITING
The First Cut Is The Deepest
Whether it’s a blank screen, an empty canvas, or a new journal, making that first mark can be daunting
I had a teacher who believed that the only way to become a genuine artist was to take your beautiful new sketchbook/journal, throw it on the floor, and grind it into the dirt with your heel. Muck it up good, he said. Dent a corner. Scratch the cover. Bend something that shouldn’t bend. Make it look not just well used, but a little abused, before you even begin.
According to him, there was nothing more destructive to artistic expression than the idea that our work was precious. We weren’t building shrines here, he said. We were allowing our souls to bleed onto the canvas or page. This was no space for darlings. We must kill them, or they will surely devour our souls. It was us or them.
Someone else I once knew believed in intentionally putting a small dent or scratch into their brand-new car on the first day, so they stopped acting like they were driving around like they were somebody special. It was just a car, after all. Bad shit was going to happen to it. Get over the shock of it now and go about your life.
For someone who likes beautiful things and treasures inanimate objects with great affection, this is a…
