Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Steven Stringer. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Steven, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
The best way for me to keep my creativity alive, is to spend time with others and the artwork of others. Any kind of artwork. Whether that be visual or auditory. One of my favourite things to do, is just to explore weird stories and ideas, these ideas are often inspired while conversing or experiencing some kind of art, whether that be fine literature, or even trashy reality TV.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am an animator and musician and I do lots of different creative work to support myself. I play experimental psychedelic music solo, I’m in a punk band called Pissfingers, I create music videos for others and myself, I design posters, album covers and I record/produce music for myself and others.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I am not sure how to answer this, but a very important quality for a self-employed creative to have, is resilience. Whether that be emotional, physical, social or financial. In the creative field there is a lot of rejection, and it can be a numbers game at times. Don’t get worried about all the “no’s” and instead remember each “no” is a step towards a “yes”. Being self-employed means you are the only one responsible for your deadlines, this can mean a lot of long hours, or staying up to complete projects. Social resilience is important too, you might have friends or family tell you that what you are doing is a waste of time, “just a hobby” or “not a real job”. This response can be especially strong when you first begin, just keep doing what you’re doing, and remember it’s about your own happiness. At times, being a self-employed creative can mean that you are unsure of where your next paycheck will come from. To this end, we need financial resilience.
Sorry if that doesn’t answer the question well, but in general, I think resilience, or persistence is very valuable.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
The most helpful people in my life have been the people I have been lucky enough to play music with and perform with. The best way to learn is to learn from others. While travelling around the world, I have been in a lot of different projects, bands and jamming groups. These opportunities to play with other people, have made me the musician I am now. Everyone has something to teach you if you listen.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/humannameagain/?hl=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCud2o06FcjCiiPWlEBc7TLA
- Other: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/humanname/somewhere-somewhere
Image Credits
I have the rights to all image credits here.
