Grey Mess

The Other

The people in my life fall into two distinct groups: people who respect creative types, and the Other.

The people in my life who respect creative types know that every creator is unique and has a distinct style. While they know that we are all inspired by each other's work in different ways, no two artists can create in exactly the same way. They see the unique quality of each work, written, visual or otherwise, and support their favorite creators emotionally and monetarily.

Then...the Other. The Other looks at my artwork and says, "I could do that, it looks easy." The Other hears me talk about writing a book and says, "I think I'm going to write a book, it's not that hard and my story would be a huge hit." The Other finds ways to devalue creatives by insinuating that they're doing something easy, and attempts to make copies of what we make...poor copies. When I've tried to tactfully explain to the Other that creation is about infusing bits and pieces of your own soul into your work and that might be why they're struggling when they try to blatantly ripoff the work around them, they sneer; "the reason why it looks like this is because their work isn't that good to begin with".

Unfortunately, the Other is common in my life, and perhaps in your life too. Now, I've taken to a simple, polite retort when the Other says "I could have done that, it looks easy".

Yes. But you didn't.

You didn't stay up late at night, filling your Google browsing history with odd questions like, "Is it possible to murder someone with a Life Saver". You didn't spend hours upon hours perfecting your paint recipe to get the ideal consistency for your medium. You didn't cry a little when you wrote a beloved character's death, or channel the pain of your trauma into a painting. You did not do these things: you merely copied what you saw, and that's why it has no life, no feeling...no soul.

This year, I hope I can detach myself from the Others in my life and focus on building a strong network of fellow creatives and respectful non-creatives so I can share what I love with the world around me.