It’s up to you to reach out

I am reflecting once again on the idea of community in creative work.  We talked about it in our Week 10 video, and literally every day something happens which makes me so aware and so grateful for the wonderful creative community out there.

Last night, I was on a group chat on Twitter called #yalitchat.  If you tweet, you are familiar with this concept, but for those not familiar, the basic deal is this: a chat is set for a date and time and anyone and everyone who wants to discuss that topic joins in the conversation by watching all the tweets with that hashtag.  If they tweet anything themselves, they mark it with that same hashtag so others can see it.

It’s like being in a big virtual room with a bunch of people who are interested in the same thing you are, and you can hear every conversation.

I learn something new, find new people and blogs of interest, and encourage and support others every time I join this particular chat.  It’s a community!  Like a flash mob, it is constantly changing and only temporary, but it’s a community just the same.

This is just one example, but if you feel like you are creating your art in a vacuum and need some support, it’s up to you to reach out.  A critque group, a class, Twitter.  These are just a few of the possibilities.  Carpe diem!