As kids in school, we had to ask permission to do much of anything. We had to get a hall pass to do anything autonomous like go to the bathroom or the water fountain. We had to procure that pass and risk asking for it first.
As adults we think we don’t need permission, but often still let others dictate our actions. Should I do this, say this, wear this, make this? Is this a good idea? We wade in this murky no (wo)man’s land between giving ourselves permission and asking others for it.
But as crafters, artists and makers, it’s part of our job (whether we get paid for it or not) to help others to not only attain that permission, but also to break free of having to always seek it.
By daring to act on how we feel and summoning the energy, bravery, spirit to create something, we are reinforcing to others that it’s okay to step forth and make something new, whether it’s novel, popular or just plain out there. Because the “out there” that we fear we’re going to hit is only of our own devising anyway. We tell ourselves that it’s a bad idea, it’s been done before, or that it’s outside of our realm of expertise and take that permission away ourselves all too often in the second we think about seeking approval from others, whether or not they’re like-minded.
It’s our job to step forwards and make want we want to, as not only then do we free ourselves of asking the permission of others, but in the very same action, we free others to stop asking for it, too. That blip of creativity that we’re expending outwards (and very often soaking in inwards) is a welcome sign to others that it’s safe, it’s okay and it’s just plain fun to go ahead and make.
In London this week? You can start bucking off that permission askin’ by checking out It’s Your Write! A Celebration of the Self-Published this Thursday night at the Museum of Childhood from 6-9pm!
Engage in workshops, join in panel discussions, watch performances, and browse over 20 stalls from independent creators to the beat of a live music backdrop from Noah and The Whale’s Indie label ‘The Young and Lost Club’, who will bring new bands such as Planet Earth. Nick Hornby’s Ministry of Stories will kick off the night with a collaborative writing workshop, and you can make badges and banners thanks to The Craftivist Collective and Craft Guerrilla’s Zeena Shah. Be inspired by folk champion Sam Lee as he sheds light on the rich political history of Romany Gypsy and Traveller music, write that letter you haven’t had time for at the aptly named Letter Lounge, or find out how to make a ‘zine’ worth reading thanks to self-publishing collective, The Alternative Press.
Now step up and get makin’!