Two creators I have often marvelled at are Woody Allen and Leonard Cohen. Woody has produced at least one movie per year for 40 years. That’s a tremendous amount of writing and creation.

Leonard Cohen has an anthology of poetry many volumes in length, not to mention songs and art in other media.

The thing I love about both of these artists is that I don’t like all their work. In fact I’d say that much of their work is not great, though certainly a high percentage of it is. As an apprentice creator, I look to examples of others who are unabashedly creating and pushing their work out into the world, again and again.

When I read a poem of Cohen’s that doesn’t speak to me, it still tells me of a moment in his life. A moment when bringing these words together was important. These works still add to the richness of my view of him as an artist. They are stepping stones to other works and reminders that not all things speak to all people.

They are all a message that the act of creating itself, has its own beauty.