Aaron Mitchell: CREATE. MAKE MISTAKES. CREATE. MAKE MAGIC

ENJOY THE VIDEO here: https://youtu.be/K-IvGhJZods - THEN READ AARON’S BLOG. 

My friend Aaron Mitchell is a painter, singer, songwriter, band leader, dad, and business owner.  His life's work is creating space for the creative process.  He founded and runs a creative arts incubator, The Outtaspace. 

During one of the many wonderful concerts Robin and I have attended there over the years, Aaron and I struck up a conversation about how the mistakes sometimes become the thing that “makes” the work of art, and what a gift it is to be creative at all. 

As I write this, it is Aaron's birthday.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY dear Aaron!  Everyone else, get over to The Outtaspace and be inspired. 

The Magic of Mistakes 
Aaron Mitchell, Founder/Owner, The Outtaspace 

I had a great conversation with a highly talented friend one night about creation. The best part of the conversation was that we talked about the process of creating. The ups and downs, the twists and turns and ultimately the overarching beauty of it all. 

I mentioned I had hesitancy about a live video recorded of a musical performance  I  did that was to be released for a virtual show. It was a new song and I had forgotten a lyric. Luckily I was able to recoup and finish the performance. I talked about how I thought I could have re-recorded a better version and potentially produced a nice visual to go along with it. Although eventually that's what I will do I decided to let the original performance be used and felt good about it. The reason I felt good about it was because when I watched it I felt that it was very real, raw and fresh. But what I loved most about it was the moment of vulnerability that presented itself to an audience. And what was even better than that was the support I received from the audience. We shared a moment and through that moment we connected. 

ANYONE who ever created ANYTHING knows one thing and there's no way around it—-There will be mistakes!  We try our best to take all the steps to avoid those mistakes, especially in the public eye. We practice, we work through ideas and we take the leap to share. However, as humans we still can't help but make mistakes. 

Creators also know it's close to impossible to create without grappling with growing pains, blocks, hurdles, missteps and/or mistakes somewhere along the way.  Just like in life mistakes are inevitable, what's most important is the next step. Do you learn from the mistake? Do you grow? Does the mistake turn into something else? Maybe something magical? 

The minute the brush hits the canvas, the pen hits the paper, the fingers strum the guitar or the vocal hits the mic there's always a chance something might not work out as planned. The lost lyric, the missed cue, the shaky brush stroke or even worse; the spill, the butterflies, the trip, the slip; whatever it may be. There's always potential for mistakes. But there's also room for magic. 

Magic is the moment of mystery and the unexpected. I can vouch for mistakes I made while painting on canvas that ultimately changed the destiny of the painting and in turn led to a new idea and/or potentially better or more interesting outcome. I can vouch for the vulnerable moments that led to connection and I can vouch for the idea that nothing can be created without mistakes somewhere along the way. All creators yearn for the years of hard work to pay off, where mistakes are kept to a minimum. Admittedly I do work towards the same, however I have grown to understand, accept and acknowledge the potential of magic in mistakes. 

CREATE. MAKE MISTAKES. CREATE. MAKE MAGIC

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