Monday night was awesome. Thanks to a tip from my dear friend Jill, I got a ticket to the Indie Kindred screening at Columbia City Theater. Then I thought, why not invite some Seattle indie kindreds to come along too? I posted a status update on Facebook and ended up meeting Bradford, Lisa, Marlo, and Lori for dinner beforehand. It was great to spend some time chatting with other creatives before the show, and cool because I only knew ONE of my dinner companies well. Pre-2011 Melanie would have been a LOT more anxious and quiet in that situation, but 2013 Melanie noticed how appropriate this setting was given the content of the film.
When I got to the theater I was greeted at the door by the lovely Jennette Nielsen who I met and haven’t seen since I attended Girl Crush in 2012! Turns out she was hosting this event. So cool! We settled into our seats and were introduced to the documentary by the filmmaker, Jen Lee. Here’s the trailer so you can see what the movie is like before I share some of my favorite messages from it.
” I want a direct relationship with the people who buy my work.” – Jolie Guillebeau
Jolie is a Portland, OR based painter who turned down a gallery and chose to share and promote her own work instead. The connection with people and the relationships she made through her artwork were more important to her than gallery representation.
“People want to support what they love. They want to be involved.” – Natalia of Winterbloom
Christine Mason Miller and Liz Kalloch had some excellent points about finding your tribe. Sorry, ladies. My notes are so messy that I can’t decipher who said what here, but your observations and experiences are so important to share.
One of these women had the experience of going to art school and noticing a group of people that she felt she should be friends with. She thought that they were “her people” and if she could be part of that group, she would have it all figured out and things would be great. For over a year she tried to be part of that group, and when she finally began hanging out with them she noticed that she didn’t feel like herself. Then she experienced that “what now” feeling.
“If these people aren’t my people, then who are my people?”
Liz Kalloch (for sure) reminded us of something awesome.
“It’s not about being let in, it’s about opening the door and walking in.”
One of the Lizs, maybe Liz Lamoreux this time, said that she knows that someone is her kindred because when they first connect they get right to the good stuff. That’s kind of how I am too. If I meet someone and there’s this instant connection and we’re laughing and talking about meaningful stuff instead of what we ate for lunch that day, we’re friends for sure. I love that feeling.
“Collaborations always start with a friendship…a relationship.” – Jen Lee
During the Q & A after the film, Jen talked about how the projects that we do together are just a part of our creative collaborations.
“These people are my family now.” – Kelly Barton
Collaboration has been on my mind a lot lately, and what Jen said really spoke to me.
There are a few screenings of Indie Kindred left, so be sure to catch it if it stops in or near your city. If any of the things I’ve written here about appeal to you, you’ll enjoy it.