Artist vs Expert: Finding Your Creative Identity And How You Want To Share Your Work With The World
A while ago, I had a conversation with a coaching client where we discussed the difference between blogging as an expert and as an artist. She had had a blog in the past that didn’t feel right and she now started to see that maybe it was because she had presented herself as an expert, when she neither felt like one, nor wanted to be one. I suggested she might at this point in her journey want to show up more as an artist.
This spectrum between being an artist and an expert is one that I see many creatives trying to find themselves on. The struggle shows up often because both roles are so common in the online creative world, among bloggers, Youtubers, Instagrammers and creative business owners. Which role we choose will then affect the work that we create and share with the world.
It can take some soul-searching to know exactly what kind of creative you want to be, both when you start out and as your outgrow an earlier role you’ve had. So let’s have a look at what the artist-expert dimension looks like, and where you might find your right spot.
Artists, experts and the in-betweeners
I think of these creative roles as existing on a spectrum, with 100% artist in one end and 100% expert at the other end, and then a whole big zone in the middle where you’re a little of both.
The artist
When I say artist, I include all creative mediums in that term. The artist creates for the love of her craft, to express herself and explore her ideas. It’s important to the artist to find her own style and voice and improve her work.
We often start at this end of the spectrum. We love a craft - writing, painting, photography, singing, sewing or something completely different. So we decide to pursue it more, start sharing it with the world perhaps. If we sell our work it might look like selling paintings, photo prints or books, or freelance services like designing or wedding photography.
The expert
Expert might be a intimidating word, but I define it as everyone who is creating to support, guide and help others. Here we have our teachers, guides, coaches and mentors. The expert creates with a specific person in mind, to help that person in some way.
At the furthest end of the spectrum towards an expert, you’ll find the person who is great at something and wants to share that knowledge, and finds creative work as a medium to do so. Maybe she’s been training yoga for years, and decides to help others in their yoga journey through writing articles and making videos about yoga. An expert’s creative business can look like what we tend to think of when we think of an online business - courses, workshops, coaching, and non-fiction books.
The in-betweener
I’d argue that this is a large group among online creatives. Here you’ll find the artist who sell her paintings and hold watercolour classes. The designer who is an artist in her designs, but is also an expert at what she does who mentors younger designers. Often we may find ourselves here when we’ve started out as artists and then eventually started teaching others in the things we’ve learned along the way.
Misalignment between the role you have and your right one
Sometimes, we find ourselves in a role on the spectrum between artist and expert that just doesn’t feel right. When there’s a misalignment between our inner identity, what we want, and with how we show up, we get disconnected from our work and may even feel a bit fake.
That misalignment can happen because we feel we should be one or the other, that what we truly want isn’t available to us. It’s uncomfortable, things feel off and it might be hard to pinpoint why. It can make you want to rethink everything, or even quit.
We may choose a different role than our true one because it’s one we feel comfortable in. Maybe it’s one you’ve been told you’re good at, or because the other end of the spectrum doesn’t feels like something you’re allowed to want.
You might choose the identity of an artist when you in fact want something else if you don’t feel good enough to give anyone else advice. You feel comfortable sharing your creations, but positioning yourself as an expert on something gives you major impostor syndrome. Who are you to advice others?
On the other hand, you might present yourself as an expert when in reality you want something different, because you feel that the only way you can provide value is to help others. You may feel that you’re not interesting enough on your own and that your art isn’t good enough for anyone to care about. Or sharing your own work feels extremely vulnerable. So you decide to help others instead.
Finding your right spot on the dimension
There are no universally right spots on the artist-expert dimension, just the one that fits you best at this time in your journey. Often the role changes over time as we grow and learn more about ourselves and our craft. So how can we find the spot that is right for us?
Well, we listen. We listen, not to what others have told us or what they might find appropriate, but we listen to ourselves. Here are some exercises you can try to tune into what role you really want in your creative work.
Make a list of things you have created (for example all the blog posts you’ve written). Mark whether they are more artist style or expert style. Then go through the list again and mark which you really liked to write and you think fondly of, and which didn’t feel so good. Do you see any patterns?
Close your eyes and imagine an ideal day in your creative life. What are you doing that day? What are you definitely not doing?
Write two lists, one with words describing who you want to be as a creative, and one listing what you think you should be.
If you have been creating both from the role of an expert and an artist, think about what work you love doing and definitely don’t want to stop doing. What does that tell you?
If you were known for something, what would you want to be known for? How would you want to be described?
You can create your own unique mix
As you may have figured out at this point, I find myself somewhere in that in-between spectrum. I started out as an artist, a writer working on my first novel, then started sharing lessons learned from my creative journey, then eventually became a creative coach. In the beginning I was very uncomfortable with the expert role and it has gradually become something I very much enjoy.
At points of my journey, I’ve found the balance off and had to realign my creative work with what I want. When my Youtube videos became too instructive, I made filming outside and incorporating my visual creativity a priority. Even in my more “how to” blog posts, like this one, I tell stories and let my creativity determine how I write it. I want an element of my artist role to shine through in everything I create. I take photos and work on my fiction writing alongside running my business. And I take you along in my own creative journey.
This is my mix of the role of an artist and an expert, the mix that works for me. It has developed over the years and I’ve experimented my way to what feels right.
Often there are certain parts we dislike, while we’re comfortable with others. For example, I don’t mind going pretty far in the expert direction in a video (as long as I have that visual side to it), but lose interest in a blog post that is too how-to. Perhaps you have things like that too, that can create a balance between the two roles if that’s what you want.
Most importantly, keep listening to yourself, figure out what feels joyful, and right and like you, and let that guide you forward in your creative journey.
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