Creativity + Consistency

'Never the Twain Have Met'

HARVEY FIERSTEIN AS ARNOLD IN TORCH SONG TRILOGY

“I think my biggest problem is being young and beautiful. It’s my biggest problem because I’ve never been young and beautiful. Oh, I’ve been beautiful. God knows I’ve been young. But never the twain have met…”
Harvey Fierstein, Torch Song Trilogy

Harvey Fierstein opens Torch Song Trilogy with a monologue from Arnold, the play’s drag queen protagonist, as he gets ready for a performance. It’s a monologue that has always stuck with me, not just for its wit but for how sharply it reflects something many of us wrestle with: the maddening gap between creativity and consistency.

Channeling my inner Arnold, my opening monologue would go something like this:

“I think my biggest problem is being creative and consistent. It’s my biggest problem because I’ve never been creative and consistent. Oh, I’ve been consistent. God knows I’ve been creative. But never the twain have met…”

Lately, for those who haven’t noticed, I’ve been wrestling with another creative slump. For me, these quiet, unproductive stretches come in cycles every few months, like the tide receding back into the sea. Joy, joy, joy…

I used to panic when these slumps hit, trying to force ideas, push through, and outrun them. But none of it has ever worked consistently.

If anything, trying to bypass the process only made things worse. It’s like yelling at a sleeping cat to get up and make breakfast. I hope that chair arm was worth the effort.

Now I try to respect the creativity’s circadian rhythms. I step back. I rest. I let the process breathe. I wait, more or less patiently, for the tide to return.

Still, I wish I could find a better balance. I envy those who show up every day and create something worthwhile even when inspiration has gone missing.

That quiet discipline, the ability to keep going without a lightning bolt moment, feels like magic to me.

I am learning, slowly, that creativity and consistency do not have to be enemies. Perhaps they just speak different languages. Maybe creativity is the spark and consistency is the kindling.

Creativity and consistency need each other to survive and thrive, even if they rarely arrive at the same time or dressed for the same occasion.

So for now, I’ll be patient. I’ll keep showing up.

And when creativity finally wanders back from wherever it goes, I will be ready to welcome it and get back to making real work.

Until then, I will keep collecting and curating while I wait for my muse to return.

Keep calm and carry on!
Clint 🌈✌️

P.S. For the Coverboys and Covergirls keeping score, my cardiologist visit yesterday was easy, breezy, and beautiful. My ticker passed its test with flying colors, and the doc gave me the all-clear to keep coloring outside the lines, loud and proud style.

P.P.S. While waiting for my cardiologist, they briefly sat me in another doctor’s office, where I was confronted with this baffling collection. Uh…wtf is happening in here?

RING ANYONE’S BELLS?

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ON THIS DAY = OCTOBER 4

BIRTHDAYS

• 1814 = Jean-François Millet = French painter and educator

• 1861 = Frederic Remington = American painter, sculptor, and illustrator

• 1862 = Johanna van Gogh-Bonger = sister-in-law of Vincent van Gogh, who is credited with promoting his posthumous fame

• 1890 = Alan L. Hart = American physician, researcher, and author 🌈

• 1895 = Buster Keaton = American actor, comedian, and filmmaker

• 1916 = George Sidney = American director and producer

• 1937 = Jackie Collins = English-American author and actor

• 1941 = Anne Rice = American author

• 1941 = Robert Wilson = American director and playwright 🌈

• 1942 = Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir = Icelandic politician 🌈

• 1945 = Clifton Davis = American singer-songwriter, actor, and minister

• 1946 = Susan Sarandon = American actor and activist

• 1949 = Armand Assante = American actor and producer

• 1949 = Stephen Gyllenhaal = American director, producer, and screenwriter

• 1954 = Terri L. Jewell = American writer and activist 🌈

• 1956 = Christoph Waltz = Austrian-German actor

• 1957 = Russell Simmons = American record executive and Def Jam founder

• 1961 = Jon Secada = Cuban-American singer-songwriter

• 1967 = Liev Schreiber = American actor and director

• 1976 = Alicia Silverstone = American actor, producer, and author

• 1978 = Phillip Glasser = American actor and producer

• 1979 = Rachael Leigh Cook = American actor

• 1989 = Dakota Johnson = American actor

EVENTS

• 1535 = The Coverdale Bible is printed, with translations into English by William Tyndale and Myles Coverdale.

• 1582 = The Gregorian Calendar is introduced by Pope Gregory XIII.

• 1883 = First run of the Orient Express.

• 1941 = Norman Rockwell’s Willie Gillis character debuts on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post.

• 1957 = Leave It To Beaver premieres on CBS.

• 1957 = Sputnik 1 becomes the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth.

• 1972 = ABC Afterschool Specials premiere on ABC.

• 1985 = The Free Software Foundation is founded.

• 1990 = Beverly Hills, 90210 premieres on Fox.

• 1996 = That Thing You Do! is released in theaters.

• 2006 = WikiLeaks is launched.

HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES

• LGBTQ History Month (October 1-31) 🌈🧐📚

• National Cinnamon Bun Day

• National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15)

• National Golf Lover’s Day

• National Play Outside Day

• National Vodka Day

• World Animal Day

• World Space Week (October 4-10)

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PORTRAIT + QUOTES OF THE DAY

“The reason you work as an artist is to stay open and ask questions.”
Robert Wilson

“The landscape of Texas is in all my work. It’s that light; it’s that sky.”
Robert Wilson