Permission to Be Imperfectly You: Breaking Creative Rules

Authenticity is your superpower in a world of cookie-cutter content. This episode dives into how giving ourselves permission to simply be who we are transforms not only our creative work but every relationship and community we build.

Drawing from my experience at the ColoriFlori Art Summit with Este MacLeod, I explore what happens when we adapt instructions rather than feeling constrained by them. It's not just about art supplies – it's about the liberation that comes when we stop trying to do things "perfectly" according to someone else's standard. Those moments when we hear "it's okay to do it your way" often trigger a sigh of relief that reveals how much we've been holding back.

The connections we form when we show up as ourselves are profound. I share how my casual clothing choices in-store videos unexpectedly resonated with viewers who tune in specifically to see what I'm wearing – reminiscent of watching Dolly Parton's shows as a child and guessing what colors she'd wear. These authentic expressions create bridges between people in ways we can never anticipate. Even my embarrassing story about avoiding gouache paint because I didn't know how to pronounce it demonstrates how our vulnerabilities connect us more than our perfections ever could.

As AI increasingly produces flawless but soulless content, your authentic human expression becomes more valuable, not less. Your weird, imperfect creative voice is exactly what the world needs. So paint your plants looking ridiculous, wear what makes you smile, share your unpolished work, and embrace your authentic self – we're all desperate to see it.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome Back and Life Updates
• 1:15 Art Summit Experience and Materials
• 2:23 Permission to Be Authentically Yourself
• 4:52 Embracing Imperfection in Creativity
• 7:18 Sharing Your Work With The World
• 10:24 Authenticity in an AI-Driven World

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:06

Hello, good morning everyone. Welcome back to Brutally Made. I'm very happy to be back with you all. It is continuing to be a very busy time for me as I wind down my tenure with my current employer. I have six weeks left now officially and just got my retirement picture taken and shared that on social media and just it's been super busy. But I've been having opportunities to catch up and see people that I haven't seen in years because when the pandemic hit things kind of got splintered and I went home to work from home full time and I didn't get to see a lot of my friends that I work with on a daily basis except through videos like Zoom. So, yeah, so it's just been really busy. So happy to be back.

Speaker 1: 1:06

I haven't been doodling as we've been talking, so maybe I will share some of the work that I've been doing in the last two weeks now with Estee McLeod. She arranged a curated group of instructors for a Calori Flory Art Summit and I've been doing those on a daily basis and really enjoying all of the exploration of doing that work and watching how the instructors do it and then using really the materials I have on hand. They were so kind to give a very detailed list of everything that they each use, but you know, I just may not have had those exact things, so I have been changing it up with stuff that I have, and so I think it's been a lot of fun and I really enjoy the freedom of being able to do that. And that kind of leads me to today's you know, discussion and thought on being authentic and giving yourself permission to just be yourself and do your work the way you do it, even though someone is giving instruction and suggestions, and it's OK if you can't follow it 100%. And so I just think that, as a group, in any kind of environment that you're involved in, and if you are happy to lead it, making sure everyone knows that they have permission to show up as themselves is the most powerful thing you can do.

Speaker 1: 2:40

And I really feel like that's the basis of why we pick the people that we hang out with, because they maybe not even with saying it I mean it just happens that they accept you for who you are. Somebody loves us and likes us and appreciates us for us not wanting to try to change us or make us conform to a certain, you know, ideal or standard, and it's okay to not be perfect and it's okay to just be as real as you are. And those are the most genuine and happiest relationships that we have or when we are with those people, and I love the honesty that comes with that and I love seeing people sigh with a bit of relief when they know that, okay, it's okay that I didn't do it exactly like this way or that way or use the exact same tools. It's okay. And I think that that's really important because that fuels our connections with one another and I really feel like that builds the truest community that we are and that we identify with. So I feel like that, if you can offer that room and it's so funny when we talk as creatives and you hear that someone has given permission it's almost like, well, why do I need their permission? But it's almost like an unspoken situation that is set up in the environment that we're in and it really does resonate when you know that it's okay to be yourself. So you just want their presence there, you just want them to be part of the process, and I learned so much from people watching how they do things and I love learning, I love being instructed, I love finding out new materials If I can afford it or if I can bring that into what I use, I will totally do that.

Speaker 1: 4:46

But in a moment, if I can't, it's okay to change up what they're using and use what I have. And you know, that's another form of being very authentic. And so I think that there's different ways that we can do that on a daily basis, and I think that if we just take a moment to be ourselves and see the world and interpret it in the way that we do in our own hand, that is the best practice that we can offer ourselves. So I love these lessons and I love doing this, but some of mine did not look anything like theirs, and it's okay. Maybe mine went a little ridiculous. Do that, do that on a daily basis.

Speaker 1: 5:32

Draw a plant, draw a person, draw an animal Not exactly like it is supposed to look, like it's okay if it's not realistic. I've had to get that out of my head for so long because growing up, that's the only way that art was acceptable is if it was realistic and it's okay to be ridiculous. So do it. Do it on a daily basis. I think that's why I love like caricatures and stuff, because it just makes me smile and it just makes a connection. It just makes me smile and it just makes a connection. So, and do that with, like, what you have on exterior, what you're wearing, I don't care if it's your hair, your makeup, your clothing.

Speaker 1: 6:13

I have, from the very beginning with my store, shared a real quick, like little video blip of being at the space, because nobody knew about the space and I wanted to make sure people knew that when they came in, you were going to see me. This is my space, it's named after my last name and I am there and so you see me and I wear whatever I want. I had no idea that those pieces of clothing would resonate with so many people. Sometimes they were things I've had a long time. Sometimes they were things that I was selling in the store or I am selling in the store, sometimes the things that I've made, and I usually have to explain, like, where they're from, because it is inevitable. Somebody was like where did you get that? Where can I get that? Can I make that with you? All the time I had no idea that that was going to happen and it reminds me. I always say this too when people come in, when I was a little girl, we would watch the Dolly Parton weekly show and she would come down out of the rafters on a swing singing and she would have Dolly and there was a butterfly and the logo and my mom and I would try to guess what color she would wear that day and it was so much fun and memory stuck with me and so I have had people it never fails say I just tuned in to see what you're wearing for the day. I can't believe that. That just makes me smile from the inside out. I just think that is so fun.

Speaker 1: 7:45

So be you, because it's going to resonate with someone and you do not even know that it is. Oh, my goodness, just be authentic with what you say. Be, you know, vulnerable, use your heart. It's not going to be perfect. You can hear that in my speech now, in how I talk and every time I do a video. It is so off the cuff, it is not really scripted at all. Sometimes I may have, let's see a class, an outline of what I'm talking about. That's pretty much it, and then I just start talking. So it's okay, be authentic. And I'm telling you if you can just share your joy and whatever sparks that, you know fire in you that is going to ignite in someone else, it really will, and it just is so amazing to just share what you love, to see where it goes. And there's always going to be rules about things that you're either pursuing or creating, and it's okay to break those. I mean, if you know them, that's great, but you know doesn't have to be daily that you follow the rules. So just be, you know, looking for creating with some fun in mind. And I'm telling you, if you can just be truthful, that also gives genuine connection.

Speaker 1: 9:14

I think I have shared many times how I was so afraid to use gouache paint because I didn't know how to say it. I didn't know how to ask for it in an art store, I didn't know how it worked, so I didn't know how to ask someone for help and I just would just avoid using it because I didn't know how to say it. And so I'm telling you it makes me laugh now, but it's the truth, and so it's okay to not be perfect my gosh, no one is perfect so just share that. It's absolutely a connector for sure. I love celebrating other people, so, yeah, when I find out that there is some weirdness out in the world, I embrace it. I got my Stay Weird pen that I saw at the last art retreat, rebloom Sarah Miller she had those for sale and that is mine. I wore it in my retirement picture. I see that and just embrace it in everyone. So, totally, you know, the weirdness is rampant and I love identifying it in everybody and it just connects me with so many people. So it's, it's a wonderful attribute to not hide. So please do, and so just keep moving and keep, you know, not being afraid to make those strides.

Speaker 1: 10:42

It's really important to really face those fears. That's hard to do, that's easier said than done. I totally, totally know that. But you're also going to have to realize that we need to see you. So share what you do out in the world. I've been meeting a few younger artists lately and I'm like do you have your work on social media just so I can connect with you to see it? Yeah, but I haven't done anything with it or oh, I didn't think people would want to see it. If that is something that you love doing sharing the process, sharing your work, showing what you do is so meaningful to others and if that's important to you, please share, please shout from the rooftops what you do so we can connect with you.

Speaker 1: 11:30

It's really important. We want to see you. You need to be seen, and so we all really want to support that. And so you just be grateful for every day that you have the ability to share your creativity and your ideas and your spark, because it's going to ignite a fire in someone. I'm telling you it really well, and I think that the authenticity is the most important thing that we can do for one another.

Speaker 1: 12:02

Rather than trying to be what the other person is doing or being or making, just do you Be you. I want to see you. I want to learn from you. I want to be inspired by you. I want to see you do it your way.

Speaker 1: 12:18

It's okay if it's not perfect. Don't try to make it conform to some standards. You know, I've seen some artists create some beautiful things and then run them through AI and then they have to be like immaculate and perfect and it just ruins their hand, it ruins the look. It's like. That just makes me sad. It's not the same as what your originals are and it shows and I just want to to remind people that that your authenticity is what matters and that the world needs more of that, because we're going to be facing a lot of cookie cutter things that look the same, that are made the same, that aren't going to be authentic, and we are desperate for authenticity. So stay authentic, stay brutally made, so I can share what you're doing in the world.

Speaker 1: 13:19

It was such a good day, such a great week. It's just been super busy. So I can't wait to talk to you next time and hopefully have some guests start coming on from my trip when we were speaking to one another at the retreat, and then I've also had some people reach out that want to share their authentic selves, which I am super excited about. So take care, have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend, stay safe and I will talk to you next time. Bye-bye.