Let go of perfection, and you will make room for progress.
The Disclaimerz is a collective of musicians notorious for creating a lot of music, but seldom releasing any of it.
In the interest of changing their ways, they set out to release a new track, every week. The objective was born from the idea that the only way to make progress is by taking tangible action. That meant actually getting their music out there for the public to hear. Even if it wasn’t perfect.
With this mentality, the artists were able to learn more, and make more music in a much shorter timeframe. They had to finish songs quickly to release them on time every week. This included writing, producing, recording, mixing, mastering, and of course, the cover artwork, which is where I came in.
It was a great exercise in budgeting time. I had to choose a concept, sketch a draft, draw the final artwork and have the files ready in time for the song to come out every week. There wasn’t always time to think of the most clever concept, or to rework it to perfection. But I always got it done. And there was always the excitement of having a new opportunity (and blank canvas) to work with the following week.
I have battled with perfection my whole life. Many times, it has slowed me down, and left me feeling discouraged.
The Disclaimerz project brought both tight deadlines and repeated opportunities for creative expression. Once I let go of the idea of perfection, I experienced a much more fruitful creative process. Quantity was a higher priority than quality, and ironically, that led to higher quality work in the end.
I’m slowly learning to accept and appreciate constraints.
