Collaborating With Other Artists: My Struggles and Thought

So I’ve been dating a person, as it happens, and since we’re like besties we often just sit and work on our art together. Them being more of a visual and musical artist and I’m just words, we’ve been thinking about collaborating a lot together. I guess I just wonder what you guys think about collaborating? I’ve always felt it’s so important and that I can’t imagine a world where people just keep their work to themselves, but I’m starting to see the difficulties. For instance, I feel like collaborating is a skill and that without practicing it you can end up with some pretty shallow Banksy kind of art work that you’re just grateful you got an end product. But at the same time I’ve seen really great pieces. I think what’s hardest for me is that being the kind of writer I am, it takes a lot of trust and revising for me to be able to feel okay presenting my work to anyone, even my boy. BUT I do really want to collaborate with everyone all the time.

So I guess I wonder if any of you would ever want to collaborate? If so with other writers? Or with other kinds of artists? What is your dream collaboration? If you do collaborations what are the biggest challenges?

I know one of my challenges is getting across what I want. I’m usually pretty good at deciphering but I have trouble telling someone the apple goes on top of the orange for this and this reason.

I think the reason I wanted to share this with you guys and see your thoughts is because my end goal for all my writing has always been to consider that everyone’s experience is important and different. I know this is probably communicated just by getting my perspective out in a world filled with perspectives, but I’ve always wanted to create collages of different perspectives, maybe even a whole book of poetry which uses the same words but arranged differently to portray different viewpoints, but this is getting off topic.

Tell me your collaboration dreams, your horror stories, and your challenges!

One Reply to “Collaborating With Other Artists: My Struggles and Thought”

  1. Collaboration seems so ideal and productive.
    As it is, though, collaboration is actually kind of hard to do. I think, as someone who processes my writing, and thinks by writing…it’s hard to include someone else in the process. I struggle with letting other people be included in whatever must happen to craft something good.
    I’m also dating someone (who also happens to be more of a musician/visual artist) and we struggle with figuring out how creativity and collaboration are part of relationship. Though we’ve spent a lot of time in mutual creativity- me on the couch revising, him on the floor playing guitar- it seems difficult to connect those worlds.
    I want to collaborate with him and with others, I want creativity and art to be a community project. It has the power to connect minds and hearts. It isn’t solitary unless you force yourself into a locked room that other people are allowed to enter.
    Dream collaboration: some sort of organized and sanitary bohemia. Openness, outwardness, shared space.
    My question to you and others: how do you include other people in your work? How do you vocalize writing? How do you work collectively on one project?

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