Indifference

It can be a killer.
Those who work or dwell in the creative world, rely upon a response. 'That's nice' is a real killer. 'Interesting' is another one. Interesting implies it was slightly above watching paint dry or reading a washing machine manual. Creativity needs to generate an emotional response. I went out for a meal recently at a pub. The pub was part of a chain and had a reasonably extensive menu. It had no passion about it, no feeling that the chef in the kitchen was doing anything more than cooking a frozen burger or piece of chicken whilst thinking about what he or she would do after work.
I only realised that it took me so long to choose because I was indifferent to the menu. Nothing caught me.
I once had lunch in a bar in Leeds called A Nation of Shopkeepers. The menu was very brief but everything on it sounded fabulous. The subsequent food lived up to its description and my expectations.
A book, a poem, a song, a painting/installation/sculpture/photograph, should generate a response. That might be a smile, laughter, dance, love, tears but something. I write fairly regularly and have got back into writing blog posts. I always ask readers to leave comments but rarely get them. This can work two ways. Firstly they thought my work was rubbish and didn't want to hurt my feelings. Secondly, they were indifferent to it as it wasn't worth responding to.
I know we are all busy. We haven't time to write a few lines in response to a post, poem, work of art etc. I produce work because seeing those thoughts inside my head would cause untold damage. An artist may produce a piece of work because they have lots of green paint in the studio or found bottle tops fascinating that day. A creative person doesn't always want you to understand why you produced that work. We don't need to be interpreted. We want you to respond (a version of that word again).
I grew up cloaked in a metaphorical beige. I was never outstanding at anything. I never commanded interest. I drifted through life clinging onto the safe and secure. Then the safe and secure vanished and I began to drown. I'm still drowning but the water is getting shallower. One day I will be able to stand up but by then, life will have passed me by.
And so I write. You might paint, photograph, design, build. The one thing we all wish is for our work to be noticed. I will never be the next Terry Pratchett/Seamus Heaney/Alan Bennett. If my work makes you cry, smile, laugh, shout then let me know. Let all of us creative types know that our work has touched you, poked you, infuriated you. But please don't treat us with indifference.