Are You a Free-Spirited Perfectionist?

The dilemma of the multi-hyphenate artist.

Why is it that sometimes you can ride the same roller coaster over and over and feel nothing but joy, and other times end up with your face in a brightly bagged trash can, hurling up your cotton candy?

Riding the pendulum of perfectionism and radical artistic freedom is a surprisingly common experience for multi-hyphenate artists. If embraced, it is a super power, and often translates into the ability to create cutting edge work that still appeals to a commercial audience. Getting to that point is not for the faint of heart, and it makes you, and often those around you very VERY uncomfortable.

Well meaning loved ones and business associates love to dole out the advice that the best way to really create a sustainable career in the arts is about your ability to focus on one project, or one style, to create something that people can recognize, and never share anything that doesn’t fit in with the norm.

Does the fact that there are so many things you can do well sometimes stop you from pursuing any of them? When each one could be a full on career in and of itself, and you love all of them, it can be really difficult to focus. It is such an incredible gift to express your creativity in many ways. But societal demands want us to pick one, and so often we end up…