I’ve been blessed to collaborate with a lot of great artists in my time.
The partnerships that seemed to me to be the most joyous, productive and challenging were the ones in which I was able to be humble and listen with a soft heart. They often seemed to be the ones where I felt I was punching above my weight – working with people whose work I admired and was inspired by. Sometimes these collaborations came about because of someone else bringing a group together, but sometimes they happened because I asked. And while these collaborators may not have had a very deep or solid idea of what I might bring to the project or my “skills” or “ability”, they were experienced and open enough to let me in.
Whenever I embark on a solo piece or am in a situation where I feel I am on my own somehow creatively, I draw on these experiences to help me discover which way I should go. It isn’t a recipe, really – it’s more like a kind of hum that moves me onwards in the creation of the project. I can feel when it is working and when it isn’t.
I guess now it is trite to say that we are a sum of our experiences, but I get a chance to feel that everyday in the work that I do.
Feeling pretty lucky, is what I call it.