Finding Your Voice

My Medium Day Keynote

Finding who you are as a creative person — be it writer, visual artist, musician, is a life-long endeavor. If you really want to find your voice, you have to listen to yourself first and foremost. And be patient with yourself!

Last weekend, I was invited to speak at Medium Day and here is the recording. During the half hour, I talked about finding your voice and all the vicissitudes of that — both joy and pain. I drew for the camera as I talked.

Why is it we love to look at art, or listen to music or laugh at a cartoon? I think it’s the celebration of the human spirit that is at the core. We are all creative beings, some of us just express it differently than others. I believe doctors, lawyers, cooks, teachers, social workers, store clerks are all creative in their unique way. It’s all about that relatedness.

I sort of remember when I first saw a line drawing. I was drawing as a really young child, but when I discovered that there were others who did it too in books and newspapers, I was transfixed. I am not alone! Every line drawing I saw from then on was “mine,” meaning I felt it was done for me. I felt connected to that artist.

During my session, the Q&A function was not showing up on my screen, glitches happen! But there were many questions, and Medium sent them to me. I will try to answer some here in this post and more in a subsequent post.

Q: How do you get your ideas?

A: It’s a matter of sitting at your desk and drawing what comes into your mind. I look at the news and culture stories to spark my brain, particularly for topical things….what people are doing in this world! And I write it down, next to the doodles. And then sit with them all, and try to put things together.