Shadow artists

In The Artist's Way (a classic), Julia Cameron wrote: ❝ Shadow artists often choose shadow careers – those close to the desired art, even parallel to it, but not the art itself. ❞

Ever since I read that, I cannot stop thinking about all the hidden artists all around me. Is that director – whose presentations flow so naturally – a spoken word artist in disguise? Is the woman who paints walls secretly a world-class painter? Does the funny train conductor who keeps joking over the intercom, dream about being a stand-up comedian? It’s a fun game to play. The possibilities are endless.

I am probably a shadow writer. Because as communications professionals, that’s essentially what we do: write in the shadows. Our job is to find and write our client’s stories, to take on an organization’s tone of voice. We ask, we write, we edit, and we try to captivate our audience... just not under our own name.

This is not a negative thing. Organizations get to reap the benefits of highly creative people channeling their artistic ambitions into their job. I came to think of it like this: until I publish my first bestseller, I get to practice storylines for my clients. Y’all get to enjoy my shadow artistry. 😉

It doesn’t hurt to dream. What type of shadow artist are you?

p.s. I first shared this here.