Sam Beam (aka Iron & Wine)

"An idea I was exposed to in art school: it's adamant that you enjoy the process more than the end product.  And that rule applies to all the arts, because we're fickle people."

— Sam Beam (aka Iron & Wine)

for Creatives  |  creative process, creating isn't easy, music, the creative life, Sam Beam (aka Iron & Wine), formal arts education

"Your only real responsibility as an artist is to get lost in and follow your obsessions as far as they go, because anything besides that is copying someone else or doing something that's not true to yourself."

— Sam Beam (aka Iron & Wine)

for Creatives  |  create for YOURSELF, artist integrity, artists, Sam Beam (aka Iron & Wine), TAKE RISKS

"When you're in art school, you're thrown into all of these vicious critiques.  But the point is to teach you that people's opinions can either have value or you can say, 'Fuck 'em!' and do what you do.  Someone will always think it's a piece of shit, so who cares what they think?  Just do what's important to you, hold yourself to the fire, make sure you're taking it seriously, and do the best you can.  That's enough."

— Sam Beam (aka Iron & Wine)

for Creatives  |  create for YOURSELF, artist integrity, artists, KEEP CREATING, feedback/criticism/rejection, Sam Beam (aka Iron & Wine), formal arts education

"I don't think there's anything wrong with writing or creating with an audience in mind.  That's smart as long as you feel like you're part of that audience and you don't change or go against your own intuition an about what you should create in order to make them happy."

— Sam Beam (aka Iron & Wine)

for Creatives  |  create for YOURSELF, artist integrity, music, writing, reaching your audience, Sam Beam (aka Iron & Wine)

"Playing shows has an immediacy that I'm not in control of ...  It took me a long time to enjoy that spontaneity and take chances.  It took me fucking up in front of a lot of people for a long time, and doing that enough times to realize that it doesn't matter: your intent is so much more important than the follow-through."

— Sam Beam (aka Iron & Wine)

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, artist integrity, music, the creative life, Sam Beam (aka Iron & Wine)

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