On creativity, and living with an artist

February 24, 2013

As the kids and I sat eating dinner together this evening, on my return home from Melbourne and the Blue Diamond Stakes weekend, I picked up "The Sydney Magazine", which comes out with the Sydney Morning Herald. March 2013 is called "The Arts Issue" and there's an interesting little piece about couples who are both creative. It's preface is "The artistic life is not an easy one. So it helps to have someone who understand the 'process' - and the joys and frustrations that come with it". Clearly interested, I picked it up and began reading it. There was some interesting insights:

From Jane Campion and Gerard Lee. They are no longer together, but remain fast friends and continue to work together: "They dated briefly before her long work days took a toll on the relationship. 'I started thinkig that there's someone else in her life' says Lee 'and even if it was just the editing desk, I got grumpy about it'. 'But if you do it that much you must love it, you're inspired', continued Campion.

From Marta Dusseldorp and Ben Winspear: "'We completely understand what each others going through: we can talk into the night about character and script. Its an amazing resource to have someone - and we have this in each other - who's seen everything you've done for the past 10 years. There's no one else who knows your work so intimately, so we're extremely good at picking up on each others habits and short cuts and saying 'You can do better than that'". "But isn't it difficult to be critiqued by the person you love?" 'Oh, its brutal' says Winspear. 'It can be painful, but ultimately, you knows it's for the good'".

I like to believe in the idea of ending up with someone like this, who absolutely understands what drives me and what inspires me. Someone I can bounce ideas off, get advice from, spar with from time to time, and no doubt compete with as you both strive to produce that perfect image. Someone who feels proud of you when you produce something brilliant, and tells you with a beaming smile and a hug, without a hint of resentment or malice in their voice. Someone who might actually go to the trouble of keeping the newspaper clipping when you get a photo in the newspaper or in a magazine, or on a stamp (and who actually goes and buys it because it had your image on it!). And someone who I could feel equally proud of when they produce the same sort of brilliance, where I want to hug them, and say 'wow, what a wonderful image!!!', and keep the clippings of their important work, just because I was proud of them. Someone who wants to be a part of the adventure and the search for the perfect image. Someone to plan huge dreams with, and realise blinding ambitions together. It seems like such a lovely plan!