Keep Calm and Create On: Words of Encouragement from One Artist to the Next, 2nd Edition

By Brittney S. Harris

Revised and expanded, Keep Calm and Create On: Words of Encouragement from One Artist to the Next, 2nd Edition is designed as a universal self-motivational and transformative tool of written passages for artists and individuals. Newly revised and expanded through 50 passages, these writings can be used as daily inspiration for your artistic journey of self-discovery and purpose. This book is a tool for the "everyday artist". The everyday artist is one who's living within the dichotomy of societal norms versus allowing themselves to be fully submerged in their crafts. Keep Calm and Create On acknowledges both ends of the spectrum and strives for the reader to stay continually motivated, balanced, and spiritually sound.

Originally starting as a weekly blog in 2014, Author Brittney S. Harris began penning Keep Calm and Create On because she found herself dealing with issues that everyday artists go through on a regular basis: the duality of working a 9-to-5 job only to get off and rehearse or perform until the midnight hour. It was all too familiar! As a woman of color and as a performer of over 20 years, Harris had her fair share of rejections. Not solely based on race or ethnicity, the industry is so saturated with the overt glamification of women and superficial reality shows displaying more of a distortion of “reality” than truth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brittney S. Harris
• Release date: May 25, 2016
• ISBN: 9780997445817

Brittney S. Harris

Brittney S. Harris, B.F.A is an actress, blogger, and author from Norfolk, Virginia. Her primary background is in Performance, Cultural Development and Enrichment for Youth and Community Involvement. Throughout the Southeast regions of the United States, she has created and conducted workshops on personal development and cultural identity for teens and young adults. Brittney has worked extensively in the Non-Profit sector as a Program Director for Youth and Adult Development for the past 5 years. In addition to pursuing her Masters and Doctoral level studies, Brittney plans to form a non-profit organization under Keep Calm and Create On to provide a platform and micro-funding for emerging artists seeking creative assistance.

Book preview

Keep Calm

And

Create On

Words of Encouragement

from One Artist to the Next

2nd Edition

BRITTNEY S. HARRIS

Keep Calm and Create On

Words of Encouragement

from One Artist to the Next, 2nd Edition

Brittney S.  Harris

Publisher: Brittney Simone Harris

Copyright © 2023 Brittney Simone Harris

This book is protected under copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or other authorized use of the material or artwork herein is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy or copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights.  Purchase only authorized editions.

This book is dedicated to the artist in all of us and the creative spirit that drives us to push through day by day.

Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Introduction

ART IS THE NEW STRONG

1 Create On.

2 Small But Mighty.

3 Con-Cited.

4 Something Out of Nothing.

5 Unfinished Business.

6 Artistic Duality.

7 Focus.

8 Energy Check-In.

9 Life is Like... (1)

10 Write.

11 Personal Accomplishment.

12 Fear.

13 Permission.

14 Decisions, Decisions.

15 Drop.

16 Control.

17 Tunnel.

18 Life is Like... (2)

19 Tamed.

20 Fix Your Face.

21 Draft.

22 Blocks.

23 The Facts.

24 Stand.

25 Waiting.

26 Success.

27 Adventures.

28 Listen.

ART IS THE NEW BOLD

29 Canvas.

30 Too Much.

31 Sacrificing.

32 Identity.

33 What's My Type?

34 Safe.

35 Labeled.

36 Losing What you Have.

37 Irreplaceable.

ART IS THE NEW LOVE

38 Crowded.

39 Finding Yourself Through Your Craft.

40 Assess. Adjust.

41 Private Vs. Public.

42 Artistic Partnership.

43 Supporting Others.

44 Simple.

45 The Wait.

46 Passion.

47 The Lonely Actress.

48 Wall.

49 Forgive.

50 110%.

Artistic Reflection

About The Author

Books By This Author

Introduction

ART is the New…

About this 2nd Edition

To this second edition, I say: Kairos. KAI·ROS (n) is a delicate crucial moment, the fleeting rightness of time and place that creates the opportune atmosphere for action, words, or movement. In layperson's terms: God's opportune time. I had been toying with the idea of remounting my artistic process inspired ‘The B.Blog’ after being away from it for almost seven years. 7…the number of completion. Those seven years would influence a blog based on professionalism, grounding, and determination.

Each major milestone of the past seven years since Keep Calm and Create On's initial publishing has tremendously impacted how I process, communicate, and execute my goals and plans. I had been so affected that I'd forgotten to enjoy the process, but at least I lived to my fullest extent. Right? Completing my Master's degree, becoming a full-time professor, and even teaching community-centered devised theatre in Rwanda, Africa, with over 100 immensely intuitive 'vulnerable' Rwandan youth have led to this moment. A redefining of what it truly means to keep calm and create through the many obstacles and trials faced and balanced. Fallen friendships and relationships, failed job interviews, publication rejects, fluctuating weight, etc. With this latest edition, I bring forward many of my favorite anecdotal writings for 'encouragement' and 'perseverance' but, more importantly, specific questions and practices that I wished I had challenged myself with during these past few years.

To remain calm, I had to define what my intention for each project clearly and directly. If it was for recognition, then say it! If it was for networking, then do it! But it became just about those things: points on my CV or how many shares/likes my post received, and I forgot how good it felt to allow my art to speak for itself. I forgot that if it makes you feel good, do more of it! Simple as that. But no... those moments of Kairos no longer existed. Taking the time to check in with myself became a side pursuit that shouldn’t have. Seven years ago, before all the titles, publications, and conference appearances was a young artist doing what she loved because of how it made her feel regardless of the paycheck or public credit, and she wanted to encourage other artists to do the same.

This feeling was all too familiar: being overwhelmed, underappreciated, but still desire to create every day. It felt so familiar, I could recall I'd addressed these obstacles before. When I finally slowed down enough to realize how much I was pouring out instead of receiving back, I was led to a folder on the computer of my first draft of KCCO. Why? Because sometimes, to move forward, you have to go back, and even if you think you've figured it all out before, check again! That's accountability, my fellow artists. And that's what led me to pin this 2nd edition of Keep Calm and Create On.

_________________________

From the 1st Edition

You must learn to take the talents that you have and create a movement with them. As an individual,