REFLECTIONS: The Artist As Explorer

REFLECTIONS: The Artist As Explorer

This is another Follow Your Dream Reflection — observations drawn from my many conversations with remarkable creative artists.

After speaking with hundreds of artists from around the world, one idea keeps coming back to me: the best artists are adventurous. They’re explorers.

They are always searching for something new.

Sometimes it’s a new sound. Sometimes it’s a new technique. Sometimes it’s simply a new way of seeing the world.

But they rarely stay in one creative place for very long.

You see this everywhere in the arts. A musician experiments with new rhythms or new styles. Look, for example, at how Miles Davis continuously evolved his music — from bebop to modal jazz to jazz fusion.

A filmmaker may try a completely different way of telling a story. An author may move from fiction to non-fiction.

Great artists don’t simply repeat what they’ve already done. They explore. Just think about the amazing evolution of the Beatles over the course of their career.

And exploration means taking risks. Trying things that might not work. Going down paths that are uncertain.

But that’s where creativity often lives — in the willingness to venture into new territory.

That’s certainly how I’ve approached my own musical life. I’ve always enjoyed exploring different directions in my music — from jazz to rock, from instrumental to vocal.

I think that’s why artists tend to remain curious throughout their lives. There’s always another idea to chase, another possibility to investigate.

In many ways, the creative life is really a lifelong journey of exploration.

Just an observation from my many conversations.

This is Robert Miller with Follow Your Dream.