The Artistic Treatment

Are You an Irrational Artist? Is That A Good Thing?

May 13, 2013 by brandenbarnett 3 Comments

Irrational Beliefs Creativity

Hey friends.

I decided to take a month off of writing this blog to focus on finishing the new record with my band Ghost Shirt. Did I feel guilty? You bet. Did it make me feel anxious… well… I feel anxious about not working my “weekly” blog for 3 weeks. I always feel anxious and a good dose of self-hatred when I fall short on any goal I set for myself. But Why?

Why would I feel negative, destructive emotions over taking a break from my blog to focus on my art?

I learned a valuable lesson from the experience of finishing my new record. The stories we tell ourselves as artists directly impact the way we feel on a daily basis. Read on to find out how to identify the stories you’re telling yourself and how to make sure they’re not sabotaging your creativity (and you’re whole life). [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Creative Process, Mental Health Tagged With: creativity, irrational beliefs, REBT

How to Tame the Creative Process

April 22, 2013 by brandenbarnett 8 Comments

In the last few weeks I have gone from fits of holy inspiration to feeling like A.C. Slater trying to write a beach boys song (no offense Mr. Lopez). I'm trying to rewrite the lyrics to the new Ghost Shirt record before we go in to … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Creative Process, Mental Health, Mindfulness Tagged With: creative process, how to be more creative, mindful acceptance

Should Being Creative Feel Good?

April 8, 2013 by brandenbarnett 8 Comments

This morning when I sat down to write this blog post I had no idea what I was going to say. As I stared at the blank digital page, the curser blinking and I started to feel tense. My body felt anxious and my mind was swarmed with … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Creative Process, Mental Health, Mindfulness Tagged With: action oriented creativity, creative process, mindful acceptance, mindfulness, Uncertainty

Creative Project Management Part 7: Become a Satisfied, Prolific, Creative Artist by Focusing on this One Thing

April 1, 2013 by brandenbarnett 2 Comments

It's hard to let go. Last year I was finishing my first power pop album as a solo artist. I had been "finishing" that record for over a year. A version of a song would be recorded. I would overdub guitars, strings, keyboards, background … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Creative Process, Mental Health

Creative Project Management Part 6: Why you Don’t Revise Your Art

March 25, 2013 by brandenbarnett 1 Comment

In early 2008 I was just starting out as a songwriter. I had been playing guitar since I was 6 years old (thanks dad!) but I preferred to play Keith Richards to someone else's Mick Jagger. One bad break up (out of so many bad breakups) made … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Creative Process, Mental Health Tagged With: creative project management, impostor syndrome, revise, rewrite

Creative Project Management Part 5: The First Draft

March 21, 2013 by brandenbarnett 5 Comments

The First Draft I started writing the new record for my band Ghost Shirt a few months ago. The first day I cranked out a few rough ideas but then things got negative. My resistance to sitting down and working on my art went through the roof. I made … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Creative Process Tagged With: creative project management, First draft

Creative Project Management Part 4: What is the Compasionate Schedule?

March 18, 2013 by brandenbarnett 6 Comments

What keeps a creative project moving? How do we create momentum around our art to make sure we show up and do our best work? If you've been following the Creative Project Management Series, you've learned about new idea addiction … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Creative Process, Mental Health, Mindfulness Tagged With: be more creative, creative project management, creative schedule, mindful acceptance, self compassion

Creative Project Management Part 3: How to Start

March 14, 2013 by brandenbarnett 1 Comment

creative project management how to start

Did you miss Part One and Part Two of Creative Project Management? How do you start? When you have an earth shaking, inspiring new idea how do you start? There are 3 times that I have to remind myself of how to start: When I first begin … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Creative Process, Mindfulness Tagged With: creative anxiety, creative project management, mindfulness

Creative Project Management Part 2: Mindful Acceptance of The Hard Part

March 11, 2013 by brandenbarnett 2 Comments

mindful acceptance creative project management

In Creative Project Management Part 1, we talked about new idea addiction. Here in Part 2, we are going to look at the solution for this problem. No fun, catchy intro today. Even writing about this topic stresses me out. Read on … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Creative Process, Mindfulness Tagged With: creative anxiety, creative project management, creativity and depression, mindfulness

The Art is Not The Work: Amanda Palmer and the New Connection Economy

March 7, 2013 by brandenbarnett 6 Comments

I spend lots of time worrying about my art in ways that don't matter How much money will I make from the next record? How many records can I put out this year? It's not fair that I have to work while others get to "just play music" After … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Creative Process Tagged With: amanda palmer, the art is not the work, vulnerability

Be More Creative