Collaboration is Like Fusion

I had coffee a few mornings ago with a friend who has turned her creative passion into her profession: photography.  For that reason, among many others, I admire her.  Her photos look like they should be in a magazine.  Creativity seems to burst out of every seam with her.  And yet, there are times when her creative well is dry.

She is currently working on revising her website and marketing materials and has engaged a professional web designer.  Though she could do it herself (and has in the past,) “I’m just tapped out,” she says, of the ideas and energy she has already put into it.  (See her current site and some amazing photos at simplyshelbyphoto.com)

By bringing another creative mind to the mix, she will gain new ideas, new perspectives, something to ‘bounce off of’.   Actually, she’ll have the power of not just two, but three: she has also engaged a graphic designer, who is now collaborating with the web designer, something she’s been told is not always the case.

I’m excited to see what they produce.  It’s been my experience that, like nuclei, creative minds often release energy when they are brought together. And this can fuel some amazing work.  It can be the thing that gets a project off the ground, or over the finish line.  It’s why Vivi and I decided to collaborate on writing our YA novel.  Alone, I’m not sure either one of us could have, or would have, gotten there.  But together, we did it.  Now, we are collaborating on finding an agent.

What creative project are you working on that has stalled?  Have you considered finding a collaborator? Or perhaps just talking to another creative type about the project?  Whatever they say, even if it’s totally different than what you think (especially if it’s totally different,) it may provide that spark you need.