Whenever we begin to consider the potential of applying a creative interest, we can often get ahead of ourselves. We might think that in order to find ‘our style,’ we should apply ourselves dramatically to being subversive.

We think that if only we could develop and understand ourselves and to come across the right inspiration, we would figure this out immediately.

Subverting the rules can be attractive. We want to become noticed for our new contributions, to do it better than anyone else, to gain the success that led us down this path.

But subverting the rules isn’t always the best path forward in creative art, particularly when you’re just starting. It’s often best to learn the rules and find your expression through that, such as studying at Kent State.

This helps you become informed, appreciated, and educated and bring out your skillset using a worthwhile, tried and tested format. After all, you need to know the rules to break them.

Let us see how this might work for you:

You Pay Homage To History

The history of a discipline is significant. It can help you understand its progression, what insights have proved timeless, and how you might learn them yourself.

There is value here. What writer worth his or her salt hasn’t read a couple of the classics, or what musician, hoping to attend a prestigious college such as Kent State, hasn’t listened to the classical refinement of the old composers?

When you pay homage to history, you pay homage to your craft, and feel more surety when applying some of your own contributions through that lens.

Networking

When you learn the rules, you can be put on the same page as others. Think of how a band need to play within an established musical metre, or how writers apply similar standards of grammar. An art or a craft is not always a completely solitary affair.

Sure, we might see works by Jackson Pollock or other artists as totally isolated – but when getting discovered, when marketing his art, or when explaining some of the meanings?

He uses standards to communicate himself. You can bang on a drum in a strange rhythm all day, but it will be seen as odd unless you have a purpose and can win people to the idea.

Learning the rules helps you break them better.

Suppose you truly want to apply yourself to visionary filmmaking. In that case, you need to understand the basic rules of editing, shot composition, and how to trace the critical moments of a scene.

If you can’t do this, your attempts to subvert this will be random, have little purpose, and might not even be subversive – just bad. Learning the rules can help you break them more appropriately and with a better artistic vision. To us, that’s a great means of going forward.

With these tips, you’re sure to apply a worthwhile creative expression.