Andrea Pippins - We Inspire Me: Cultivate Your Creative Crew to Work, Play, and Make

Copyright 2018 by Andrea Pippins.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

ISBN: 978-1-4521-6424-3 (epub, mobi)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.

ISBN: 978-1-4521-6423-6 (hc)

Designed by Kayla Ferriera and Lizzie Vaughan

Chronicle Books LLC
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San Francisco, California 94107
www.chroniclebooks.com

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This is not a how-to book.

When I got the green light to write this book, I was totally thrilled. Here was my chance to bring together stories, essays, illustrations, advice, and tips related to the importance of building and nurturing ones creative community. After coming off a successful book tour, I was reminded how important it is to be surrounded by people who want to see you excel and thrive, inspiring me to share that message.

I have to admit, though, that once I sat down to write and draw I kept getting stuck. How do you really teach someone about building a creative community? We all know that strong, supportive, and inspiring relationships happen organically. You meet that one colleague who gets your obsession with vanilla lattes and instantly you two share daily coffee breaks, which soon buds into a dynamic professional relationship. Or you are seated at a dinner party and overhear another guest mention their upcoming trip to South Africa, where you have just returned from. You exchange email addresses so you can send them your list of recommendations. The next thing you know, you two are linking up regularly to share other travel tips, and then you end up going on a trip together. You cant plan these kinds of things, nor can you force them. Special relationships like these just happen.

My intention here is not to teach anyone how to make a friend. Instead, I see this book as a resource to help you examine your network and learn how to utilize that group of people to find support, build community, and realize the power of that community.

But first lets define what it means to be creative.

You might have started reading this book and thought, But Im not creative. Um, yes you are. Every single person on this earth is creative. Weve come to associate the word creative with people who paint, write, or sing. And yes, those activities do fall under the realm of creativity, but its not because theyre forms of artrather, those things are creative because they involve making something from nothing. You imagine it and then bring your creation to life. The way we solve problems, how we express ourselves or connect with others, or put an outfit togetherall of these are forms of creative expression. Whether its through cooking, building a treehouse or a website, or planting a garden, we are putting our mark on the world. And there are people with similar passions and interests who are ready to support us through those creative endeavors. There are tons of books and blog posts about creativity and what it means, so I wont belabor this point here, but please remember that being creative includes you. Its really important that you recognize this and that you connect with people who encourage you to cultivate your creativity in some way every day.

In nurturing our creative selves, oftentimes we need a community, a circle of friends, a tribe to support us on our creative journey. These can be friends and family we hold near and dear, who know our dreams, our secrets and shortcomings. They can also be colleagues who help us navigate toward our career goals or virtual friends on social media who cheer us on through new projects or life changes. In essence, they inspire and guide us to offer the world our unique skills and talents. You get to determine the extent of your tribe, and this book will help you figure out how to do that.

I know youre super excited to move on to the rest of the book, but Id like to share the intentions I had when writing it. First, it was important for me to highlight people who I truly admire and respectfolks who are living out their creative lives. Throughout these pages, youll meet some friends Ive known for years and others Ive only connected with virtually. Sadly, because a book can only be so long, I couldnt fit in all the people I wanted to feature. Even so, I think youll find a nice range of ideas and perspectives from people across multiple disciplines and backgrounds.

Another intention in writing this book was to celebrate my own creative community. When I think about the growth of my blog, the artwork Ive sold, and the books Ive created, I know they were successful in part because of the people who have supported my creative endeavors over the years. Without them, I couldnt do what I do. In writing this book, I was constantly reminded of how powerful we are in numbers, how much we need each other to thrive, and how grateful I am to see this show up so often in my life and work.

Thank you, and I truly hope the following pages inspire you to live a fully creative life.

Creative inspiration can come from anywhere: a garden, a sound, or a texture in the pavement. We can be inspired by other peoples work or ideas, especially if those people are members of our inner circlethe people who know us and who we connect with regularly. Thats what I appreciate about the coffee or tea date. When I can, I carve out a little time to meet with a friend or creative colleague so we can chat about whats new in our worlds. Sometimes we bring a list of ideas weve been pondering or goals were trying to achieve.

For a few years, two friends and I would meet every January to share our goals for the upcoming year. There was so much power in those meetings. We would talk through how we could help one another make our goals a reality.

At another coffee date, I talked with a friend about my dream of publishing a book. My homegirl was super excited about the idea and had some good insight and advice. She was so encouraging that I went home and immediately began writing a book proposal. Its crazy to think about it now, but years laterafter several publisher rejections and some reworking of the initial conceptI would resubmit that proposal, which turned into the book you are reading today. And it all started with a friend being excited about one of my dreams.

Its in those instances that I am reminded that your crew is a great place to turn to to get your creative juices flowing and help you in your journey to live a full creative life.