By: Corey Blake
As an artist, especially one who is working full time at their craft, at their marketing and at their public relations strategy, it is imperative to find a little escape every day and not overwork yourself.
An empty artist has no inspiration with which to create. Getting out into the world and remembering that our art is a reflection of our life’s experiences is as important as doing the work itself. One great way to escape the humdrum of your own craft (which can get tedious for certain), is to read.
I remember when I was a regular acting student at Playhouse West in North Hollywood, I was studying under Jeff Goldblum and Christopher Liebe and they were always so emphatic about our life education alongside the development of our art. The school essentially mandates that its students read every month and reflect on that reading through a book report. Thinking o fit now it makes me laugh at how many people grumbled about having to do what they felt was a flashback to high school. But what a gift that was,helping us understand that as artists, we must escape into other worlds, we must find inspiration for our own work through that of others. We read biographies, novels, instructional pieces; anything that related to living and acting.
As a full time writer now, I find it is imperative to read the works of others. I used to be so stubborn and always wanted to find my own path and my own brilliance. I didn’t want to take the words of others––I needed to experience learning for myself!! I was a fool!!!! Don’t make that same mistake. Absorb everything you can – read the words of your predecessors, take in advice from unlikely places. Read the stories of those who have achieved great success and learn from those who tried their best, but only tasted the agony of defeat in their art.
Creating a successful career is a life long journey. Understand that there is a need to balance from start to finish. Hard work and hard escape make for an interesting artist that the world wants to follow. With your continued education, comes your continued growth, and an artist that is always evolving is one that is worth watching.
Corey Blake is the Development Director for LA Film Lab Entertainment (www.lafilmlab.com) and owner of Writers of the Round Table. Corey is currently juggling five screenplays, two manuscripts and half a dozen regular articles for magazines.
