Day 43: why you need a creative cohort 🧑🎨
+ our weekly check-in
Hi friends!
We’re six weeks in and rapidly approaching the midway point of the project – how’s it going? If you’re “behind” (no such thing), do whatever you need to do to feel caught up. A friend of mine joined on day 20-something and decided she was just on day 20-something with us. It didn’t matter that she hadn’t done the previous three weeks because she didn’t let it. Whatever you do, decide on something that helps you keep moving forward, ok?
Big thank you to
for taking the lead last week and reminding us to bring a little romance to our projects (and life, and self, etc.). You can follow here at or on her website.Let’s do a check-in:
How’s your project going? Did you make some time to “romance” your art practice this week? (h/t
)How do you feel about approaching the halfway mark?
What’s next for your project?
Some (fun) housekeeping:
Submit your art for our next Reel here (and head to our IG to see the Day 40 Reel!)
To celebrate the midway point of the project, I’m hosting a Creative Playshop on Friday. Details here!
Our theme this week is community.
Have you made any new creative friends this year? Here’s a few ways to meet folks doing the project – my best community building tip is to spend some time in other people’s sandboxes. In other words: GO SAY HI!
Scroll the hashtag #The100DayProject on Instagram or checked our tagged photos @dothe100dayproject and find people to follow and introduce yourself to,
Post in the comments here on Substack and paid subscribers can join the daily chat,
And we also have an active Facebook group (thanks to AnnMarie!).
There are so many ways to find and connect with your people, and we’ve got all week to get into it with our guest contributor,
. You might remember that Anna was a guest on the podcast earlier this year (worth a listen, IMO!). She’s a papercut artist, educator, and author of several books, and she also produces Creative Fuel, a newsletter and podcast, and is the founder of Creative Fuel Collective. She’s got a lot of experience making art and making art friends – I’m so happy to have her back. Enjoy!
Here’s Anna:
Hello!
I am so glad that Lindsay asked me to come back and write some prompts this year. Last year, I wrote about our creative containers, basically how we view our creative practice in a more expansive way so that it isn’t just about “making art.”
We often get hung up on creativity as the work or project that’s right in front of us, but I like to view it through a wider lens. When we think of our creative practice in a more expansive way, it gives us more wiggle room, more permission, and more freedom. We are not bound by a certain project or piece, we allow creativity to make its way into every corner of our lives.
Part of expanding that creative container is casting a wide creative community net, and acknowledging how much we need support in our artistic lives. Somehow the solitary creative genius myth hangs on for dear life, and it causes us to think of art as a singular, solo act. But we need other people. For support, for inspiration, for collaboration, for feedback, for commiseration, and for everything in between.
Since art is how we express ourselves, the creative pathway offers a direct line into the core of who we are. That makes creativity an excellent catalyst for new friendships, and for sustaining old ones.
I’m a believer in the power of what I like to call “creative cohorts.” These are groups that support you in your practice. Here are a few examples:
In-Person Creative Cohort
A regular gathering of a few creative friends where you get together to talk about your projects or even work on them. Julia Rothman’s Ladies Drawing Night is a great example of this. Consider it like a book club, but for creative projects.
Virtual Creative Cohort
Some of our most meaningful and inspiring creative connections don’t always live right next door. For me, this takes the form of a monthly group call with a few fellow Substack writers, and I also have a group text chain with a group of writers that has definitely become a lifeline for asking questions and getting support.
Creative Cohort Immersion
Take your creative cohort and host a retreat/residency. This is one of those longer term projects that requires production and planning, but on occasion, our creative selves need time away from the rest of life to be able to focus. Why not do that with a few friends?
Creative Cohort Projects and Collaborations
One of my favorite aspects of creative cohorts: working together. This could be a mutual project, or it also could be responding to the same prompt with a friend and seeing what you both come up with.
Professional Creative Cohort Support Team
This one is for all your working artists out there. When your creative practice is also your profession, you want someone who can help you deal with the emotional load. Someone you can bounce ideas off of and brainstorm with. Every idea needs a little breathing room, and if they only sit in the stuffy, closed-up space of our own minds they won’t get it. Having a couple fellow working artists who can support each other offers up a lifeline. Consider this like your personal Creative Executive Board, there to help give feedback and guidance as needed.
Some questions for you to think about as you consider building your own creative cohorts:
Who do you consider your “creative support team?” Who do you reach out to when you need creative help?
What does your ideal creative cohort look like?
What is a creative project you would like to work on collaboratively with someone?
Of your current friends, who is someone you could make a deeper connection with through creativity?
Who is one person you can reach out to today for creative support?
Are you part of a creative group? Do you have plans for one? What ways have you found to build meaningful connections with other creatives? We’d love to hear your ideas for creative cohorts and communities in the comments.
-Anna
 | A guest post by
|
Yes! Love this idea Anna of a creative cohort. Even with a small group of creatives, I derive so much inspiration from community!
What a great idea! Bringing together other creators, who are not necessarily writers or people who draw. I’m thinking of my friends who make quilts and cook and raise children and do other creative things.