Feedback Schmeedback

From a young age, I think I always knew that I wanted to be creative. I used to draw (actually, doodling would even be a generous way of describing it), sing, write, dance, whatever. A huge part of it was that I always wanted people to tell me that I was good at something. My family always gave the expected “great job,” but the task got tricky when I approached other people for feedback or just to show off a little bit – basically they were never as kind as my parents. While young me was mostly fishing for compliments, current me realizes that this formula can be used for much more than praise. It can, and should, be used to better yourself as an artist.

I’ve always latched on to people that I can trust creatively. I’m not sure whether the chicken or the egg came first in this situation, but I’ve always chosen friends that I am/would be comfortable showing my work to. I trust them to respect my vulnerability and be constructive with their criticism. Even when we butt heads over certain issues they have, it’s important that they are able to back up any problems they have, so that I will have a real reason to want to change something. I don’t enjoy it when the viewer tries to commandeer a particular project and takes away the artist’s (my) intent. I usually look for and try to give suggestions for how the artist’s intent can be strengthened rather than altered.

The reading was great in really helping me realize why I appreciate feedback so much. Being creative can be a lonely and daunting experience if you don’t have any outlets you can show your work to. Close friends are also emotionally distant enough to see the project with fresh eyes, like a real audience would. This means they can spot problems you may have overlooked or not realized. They haven’t seen the edit one hundred times or they don’t have the character’s back story imbedded in their brain, automatically filling holes as they appear.

Learning to receive, give, and actually digest feedback is priceless as an artist. I’m convinced that this is an easy way to grow and grow quickly. Just make sure they’re nice people.