{"id":11082,"date":"2016-02-26T09:03:41","date_gmt":"2016-02-26T17:03:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nerdseyeview.com\/blog\/?p=11082"},"modified":"2016-03-20T09:20:17","modified_gmt":"2016-03-20T16:20:17","slug":"portrait-of-the-artist-as-an-older-woman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nerdseyeview.com\/blog\/2016\/02\/26\/portrait-of-the-artist-as-an-older-woman\/","title":{"rendered":"Portrait of the Artist as an (Older) Woman"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ARTA Conversation with Kayt Sukel, author of THE ART OF RISK<\/strong><\/p>\n

My friend, Kayt, has a new book coming out called The Art of Risk: The New Science of Courage, Caution, and Chance<\/a>\"\". The book discusses risk-taking at the intersection of science and the real world. Kayt asked me for real estate to promote her book and I’m wildly pro-Kayt. Plus, she made it easy, she asked if she could interview me about the idea of\u00a0 risk and the role it plays in my life, and then, she sent me the transcript.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

We had a conversation about creativity, dog ownership, and, oh yeah, risk of course. <\/p>\n

Kayt<\/strong>: If you hear barking, that\u2019s just my dog, Maggie, trying to assert her dominance over anything else that might require my attention.<\/p>\n

Nerd’s Eye View<\/strong>: Right, because she\u2019s in charge.<\/p>\n

Kayt<\/strong>: I\u2019m not going to lie. She\u2019s pretty much taken over the house.<\/p>\n

NEV<\/strong>: I have no idea what you are talking about. I have no understanding of how this kind of thing happens. You\u2019re on your own.<\/p>\n

Kayt<\/strong>: Like you and Harley aren\u2019t wearing matching sweaters.<\/p>\n

NEV<\/strong>: My mother-in-law has knitted Harley some sweaters. His latest sweaters are from his Austrian Granny.<\/p>\n

Kayt<\/strong>: You\u2019re right. You have no idea what I\u2019m talking about with the dog then.<\/p>\n

NEV<\/strong>: Not one bit.<\/p>\n

Kayt<\/strong>: You know, the dog ownership is a good segue. Because, one of the things I learned while researching THE ART OF RISK, is that most people tend to get a little more complacent, more set in their ways and risk-averse as they age. But you hit 50 and you are still traveling, you are rocking out with a band, you decided to adopt a dog. Why do you think you\u2019re not in a rut\u2014and still pushing boundaries?<\/p>\n

NEV<\/strong>: One reason, perhaps, is that I don\u2019t have kids. I don\u2019t mean to come off as superior when I say that. But people only have so much time and energy. And people who have kids have to use that time and energy raising their kids. The sheer amount of energy required to do that is immense. So if everyone only has a finite amount of energy in their existence, there\u2019s only so much of it to go around, I have access to a bit more of it because I don\u2019t have all those kid-related responsibilities.<\/p>\n

Kayt: <\/strong>So those extra resources allow you to be the teenager that you don\u2019t have to raise?<\/p>\n

NEV: <\/strong>I don\u2019t know about that. But there\u2019s less riding on my doing stupid things, right? I don\u2019t have to provide a safety net for anyone but myself. So the amount of risk that I\u2019m absorbing in everyday life is lower in the first place. But that\u2019s just part of it. I think I take risks because it\u2019s where my interests lie. I\u2019ve always enjoyed doing more unconventional things with my time.<\/p>\n

Kayt: <\/strong>You were trained as an artist. Artists tend to approach the world in a different way than non-creative types. What advice, as an artist, would have for someone who wants to take more risks?<\/p>\n

NEV: <\/strong>First, not to be afraid to start from nothing. Art has a great history and everything is derivative. But, that said, when you make art, you always have to start with a blank page. Some people have an incredible fear of that. But when you make art, you learn not to fear the blank page because it\u2019s just the starting point.<\/p>\n

Second, you have to not be afraid to make a mess. You need to understand that it\u2019s okay to mess things up and then recover from that. When you paint, there\u2019s this thing that happens when you overmix your paints. It turns into this weird meat color. It\u2019s gross. And you know you\u2019ve gone too far when you hit that meat color. But it\u2019s okay when you do. You just scrape it off and start all over again. You don\u2019t have to be scared of messing up.<\/p>\n

Kayt: <\/strong>What do you think people could accomplish if they weren\u2019t so scared of messing up?<\/p>\n

NEV: <\/strong>I can\u2019t say that they would accomplish so much more. It\u2019s not always about being goal driven. But I think they might have a lot more fun. I\u2019m having a pretty good time most days. I can play music with my band. I don\u2019t play perfectly every time and still have a lot of work to do to improve as a musician. But it\u2019s such a great time. I think it\u2019s super valuable to make space in your life for that kind of thing.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s about motivation, right? It\u2019s important to be focused on the process, not the result. I\u2019m not going to become a super skilled musician. I started too late. I just don\u2019t have those chops. But I really enjoy the process. So if you focus on the process, rather than always on the end result, I think you\u2019ll be much happier with the choices you make, the risks you decide to take.<\/p>\n

\u00a7<\/p>\n