Finding Your Voice: “Guilty Pleasure”, or Stroke of Genius?
What pops up for you when I say “guilty pleasure”? You know, maybe it’s those old reruns or that kid’s movie you watch when you find yourself with a free night, and the house is quiet. It’s that thing you’re not exactly proud of that you love, but you love it anyway, like singing along to the 90’s movie-musical Newsies, or playing Ms. Pac Man in the basement (just as some random example that don’t apply to me at all, lol).
My favorite retro video game, Ms. Pac Man
So how can your “guilty pleasure” give you clues about your unique artistic voice?
When I was in the middle of work burn out, I would’ve told you my guilty pleasure was sleeping. Or laying still on the couch. I definitely would NOT have admitted that I would have loved to snuggle up under 3 blankets and watch The Little Mermaid in my PJs. While saying and singing along to every word. At that time, I was taking myself much too seriously, figuring I could relax after I just caught up on my documentation and got my schedule under control.
But now, I have a pile of guilty pleasures! My kids roll their eyes when I sing out “Part of Your World” loud and proud in the house. I also love marbles, my stuffed turtle from 6th grade, and When Harry Met Sally. Yeah. And I’ve started embracing all that and reveling in things I like just because.
What changed? Why am I so willing to not only admit, but lean all the way into things that the old me would have felt were silly or childish?
Once I made the decision to really own the fact that I wanted to be an artist - a good artist - a “real” artist - I began reading and listening to everything I could about finding your artistic style. I was steadily inspired, but still kept chasing my tail when trying to actually pin down what MY style was going to be.
I pictured a sleek, amazing collection of sculptural ceramics, but it was just out of reach of feeling like me. I knew what I liked, but not how I could bring that into my own unique style that I could actually create.
Then I came upon two key resources. The book Find Your Artistic Voice, by Lisa Congdon, and the podcast Creative Peptalk, by Andy J. Pizza.
The big lightbulb moment was simple, just not necessarily quick or easy. It was to work on myself, and develop my own VOICE, not worrying about a particular signature glaze color scheme or surface decoration technique, or subject matter.
That passive to active switch from “style” to “voice” really woke me up and got me into the middle of figuring it out. Lisa and Andy also both encourage just starting. Get into the act of creating at the same time as you are noticing what you like and don’t like, both in your work and in life.
And it turns out you can dig up some real gems of insight with just a teeny bit of curiosity about these so-called “guilty” pleasures. And the more YOU you are, the more unique and real your Artistic Voice becomes. Which makes it more fun, but also more interesting for others.
Obviously I’m not making art about a mermaid with a turtle best friend playing a game of marbles. But when I let myself re-watch The Little Mermaid through this newly curious lens, I found out that I love singing. And I really resonated with Ariel’s stubborn independence. If I’m being totally honest, I love the fact that she had an idea and she got her way! But only with the help of those around her. I love that marbles are round, smooth, and when you look closely, have those weird and wild suspended swirls and bubbles of magic inside, like a hidden universe. I like that turtles are so adorable, that they can tuck themselves inside an awesome-looking shell when they’ve had enough of the outside, or feel threatened. That they are still, slow and unphased. So these are features that have wound themselves into my voice as an artist.
A glass marble
So jump in here with me. You may not know what you want to say as an artist, or what your style is, yet. But when do you feel most like yourself? What makes you feel like you? Maybe that will translate into wild splatters of paint? Tiny detailed doodles? Maybe you really resonate with metaphors of nature, or snarky humor, or uplifting imagery. What’s the setting for what you want to say? What feeling do you like to evoke, with movies you watch or art you enjoy? Hope? Humor? What do you actually sound like when you talk, are you a realist, an encourager, a dreamer?
You don’t have to know THE important THING that you will say in your lifetime, but just what you’re curious and passionate about right now. And then follow that lead, that curiousity, that interest, as Georgia O’Keefe said.
“Happy is so momentary—you’re happy for an instant and then you start thinking again. Interest is the most important thing in life; happiness is temporary, but interest is continuous.”
-Georgia O’Keefe, 1887-1986
What are you obsessed with, what do you want to talk about? But don’t start with an empty mind and a blank page, thinking you have to come up with something epic. Start with realness, with that thing you love no matter what, that you’ve packed up and brought with you every time you’ve moved apartments or houses, that holds a special place in your room or inside a drawer. Maybe you let yourself go buy some marbles at the antique shop this weekend, walk around and talk to the old guy selling them, explaining their history.
These guilty pleasures might spark joy, like Marie Kondo so insightfully put it, but they might spark a bittersweet nostalgia, so well-described by Susan Cain.
Now let’s get into action on this one.
WHICH NEXT ACTION FITS YOU?
Here are three ideas you can implement now to find your own style and voice. I’ll offer one simple solution, one quick fix, and one fun treat.
Simple solution:
A guilty-pleasure investigation extravaganza! Pick 3 of the first things that come to mind when you think of your personal guilty pleasures, (and stay healthy on this and avoid anything you ingest in any way…) like movies, favorite treasures you own, or activities you love but usually wouldn’t do (making paper snowflakes, rollerskating, or spraying silly foam to name a few of mine!). Now pick a day on the calendar and DO them. And then write about it. How did you feel? What did it bring up? What about those things make you smile, or cry a little, or laugh? And finally, how might you weave this into your art? Or could you even just enjoy these activities more often, feel free, like a kid again?
Quick fix:
For a 5-minute version, brainstorm as many of these guilty pleasures as you can. If you get stuck, think back to your 8 year-old self and what you loved. Swinging on the playground? Baking cookies? Doing flips underwater at the community pool? And then pick one that you could safely and fairly easily do now - and get it on the calendar in the next week! Or at least just brainstorm what you loved about it and how you could keep that joy going, in art and in life.
Fun treat:
As you know, my favorite “guilty pleasure” for solving problems is to buy a little treat! So how about buying Lisa Congdon’s book, in the below Resources…or maybe splurging on the guilty pleasure of your choice, like admission to a trampoline park or a brand new cozy blanket or some new marbles! The only catch is you have to get curious - what is it about these things that lights you up? And how can you weave this into your Artistic Voice?
A girl, swinging free
You are on your path, right now, right where you are. We don’t have to have it all figured out. We never will!
We just have to be there on purpose, and then keep going! I would love to hear from you on the topic of getting curious and developing your own style and voice. Thank you for reading!
With enthusiasm for art & life,
Heidi
Key References & Resources:
Lisa Congdon’s book Find Your Artistic Voice: The Essential Guide to Working Your Creative Magic is set up in 7 chapters, with a discussion and then an artist interview on each topic. She talks about what an Artistic Voice is and why we might want to develop our own, starting down the artistic path, navigating influences, the logistics of routines and actually doing it, recognizing and getting over your fears around this, and strategies to help you dive into action-mode to find and develop your own voice as an artist. I highly recommend it!
Andy J. Miller, who goes by Andy J. Pizza on his podcast (‘cause that’s part of what makes up his totally pep-tastic and real Artistic Voice) has done a great job talking about finding your style and voice over the years (try Episode 248 which is actually WITH Lisa Congdon, or Episode 399 about taste and guilty pleasures but there are MANY more on this topic). His podcast is where I found this idea of the “guilty pleasure” being a particularly rich area to explore when developing your own voice.