The Wonderful Words for this Wednesday are again, ‘Target Audience’
Last week I shared the story of my breakthrough with finding my ‘Target Audience’ and what that meant. If you missed it, you’ll want to read Part 1, it’s a great story!
Part 2: The Hardest Audience to Reach:
This week I will share about the other ‘Target Audience’ that I’ve been trying to read since the birth of this BLOG and business, and I think it’s one of the hardest audiences to reach!
You see that lonely empty chair? It’s empty because I’m trying to reach people who don’t think they belong there.
If you do not consider yourself to be a ‘creative’ person, then YOU are the person I want to reach, that chair is for YOU! There will always be a spot for you here, and in my workshops or on line classes.
The problem is, you don’t know you need to read this nor would you search for ways to foster your creative side because you’ve already decided it’s not for you.
I have a lot to say about this topic! You can read more about how you ARE a ‘creative’ in my previous post.
You see, that person was me!
Early on in my life, I identified myself as a ‘non-creative’ person. I knew I did not belong with the ‘artsy’ crowd.
If I could not sit on the beach and draw or paint a life like rendition of the scene before me, then I was simply NOT an artist. ( I still do not identify as an artist, but instead, a ‘Virtuoso’. But that’s yet another post!)
I viewed those who could draw as ‘naturals’. They were clearly born with talent I could never achieve, so I stopped trying and identified myself as a ‘non-creative’.
When anyone would suggest playing games like ‘Pictionary’, I would break out into a cold sweat.
I actually felt shame at how bad I was at anything considered ‘art’ for most of my life thus far.
Can You Identify?
Well, what I didn’t know, is that with a few exceptions, most artists simply had the good fortune to take an art class with a good teacher and fell in love with the creative process before they were able to think that they were NOT an artist. They simply continued learning and practicing and became good, maybe even exceptional!
OR, they looked at their Garfield book or (insert whatever character you loved when you were little here) and attempted to draw him with all of his many expressions and poses. When they could draw him just like the illustrator could, then they could begin to play with different expressions and poses on their own. But there was that copying and practice first.
Here’s the simple fact: Creativity is a skill one learns, just like walking, riding a bike, cooking, swimming, etc. ANYONE can learn.
Why Would I Want to Reach Those Who Believe they are NOT Creative?
As I stated earlier, I was that person. And then I discovered that was a lie I believed about myself. A BIG FAT LIE.
During the early years of the pandemic, Modern Calligraphy began catching my eye. We were in lock-down, so I had lots of time on my hands and I wanted to learn how to do it.
After poking around on the internet, I discovered some on-line classes with great teachers who shared their process freely. Pinterest and Instagram also became a brilliant source of inspiration and endless tutorials I could easily follow.
Of course I was TERRIBLE at it in the beginning. But I began telling that inner voice that said, “You will never be good at this, you were not born with artistic talent”, to ‘Shut up and get out!’.
Eventually, after lots of learning and practice, I combined all the things I learned and created my own style.
The best part is, there’s always MORE to learn and my style will continually evolve as I collect ideas and inspiration from those around me and from the world around me.
This discovery has been life giving and life changing for me, and I strongly desire to help others discover their creative side and STOP believing the lies they’ve been telling themselves for years.
So…
I Want YOUR Buns in That Empty Chair
I am passionate about reaching you if you can identify with this, because I want to help spread the joy that creativity brings out in our lives.
So if this is you, let me know! If you know someone who needs to hear this, please share this with them, because this is a difficult audience to reach!
I have lured a few people who identify as ‘non-creatives’ into my in-person workshops and my favorite thing has been seeing them take off with creativity after they leave. It just proves my point that ALL of us are made for creativity.
THIS type of success feels amazing and makes me want to work harder to reach this particular ‘Target Audience’.
So GO FORTH! Learn a new creative skill and if you live near Bellingham, Washington, come to a ‘Play Art’ Workshop!
This month’s workshop is full, but next month’s ‘Play Art Workshop’ will be posted on my website soon! I would love to lure you in somehow 🙂
Kim Snider, Virtuoso, signing off
Website:
Photo credits
Empty Chair Photo by Allec Gomes on Unsplash