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Every Opportunity Isn't An Assignment
Every opportunity isn't an assignment
by Melissa Gibson Smith
A Note from the Editor
This week in The Spark, we're looking at the opportunities that ask us to give a little more than we intended.
The project that takes over the calendar..
The commission that leaves no room for our own work.
The invitation that's harder to turn down than it is to accept.
Sometimes saying yes moves us forward. Sometimes it moves us away from what matters.
Knowing the difference takes practice, and sometimes another artist who can help us see it.
Because protecting our creativity means being thoughtful about what we give it away to.
When Calvin and Hobbes took off in the late 1980s, the business around it moved fast. There was pressure to put a six-year-old boy and his stuffed tiger on merchandise of every kind, and interest from Hollywood from names like Jim Henson, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg. One estimate puts what Bill Watterson walked away from at three to four hundred million dollars.
He said no. Watterson believed a comic strip was an art form, and that turning his characters into products would change what they were. Even before the strip was syndicated, he had turned down a deal that would have required him to add a more marketable character to his work. Because his original contract had signed away control of merchandising, he spent years in a draining fight with his syndicate, and he finally won control of his characters in 1991.
Then, at the end of 1995, with the strip running in thousands of newspapers, he stopped. He said he had done what he set out to do in the medium. The final strip ran on December 31, showing Calvin and Hobbes heading out across fresh snow on a sled.
Most of us will never be offered a fortune for our characters. Today, the pressure rarely comes as a licensing deal. It comes as the expectation that every artist should also be a brand, a content channel, and a shop, and that every piece of work should be turned into something to post or sell. Our choices come in the form of the commission that pays well and leaves us drained, the holiday market we agreed to because we always do, the favor for a friend that swallows a month without anyone noticing, and the opportunity that looks impressive and pulls us away from the work we most want to make. For professional artists, the pressure often sounds like income, and for newer artists, it often sounds like gratitude, as if turning anything down would be ungracious.
Saying no didn't mean Watterson stopped caring about his readers or closed himself off for good. Years later, in 2014, he reached out to the cartoonist Stephan Pastis and secretly drew a few installments of Pearls Before Swine, a brief, playful return that no one saw coming. His “no” was never a rejection of the work. It was a way of keeping the work his own.
Every opportunity isn't an assignment. Discernment is a creative skill, and it may be one of the hardest to learn, because so many of the things competing for our energy are good things. Protecting your attention is part of protecting your creativity. One way to test an opportunity is to picture the next six months with it and without it, and notice which version leaves more of you available for the work you care about most.
This is one of the places where other artists help the most. It's much easier to see what an opportunity will cost when someone who knows your work asks, "Does this serve what you're making, or just your schedule?" At Epiphany Space, we try to ask each other that question honestly, because each artist's voice deserves energy that hasn't already been spent on everything else.
I read Calvin and Hobbes as a kid, in the newspaper and in the collected books my friends had, and I used to press Silly Putty onto the comics page and peel it back to find Calvin and Hobbes lifted off the newsprint, stretched and smudged and still unmistakably theirs. It never occurred to me that there was no Calvin doll to buy. Because Watterson said no to the toys and the television deals, the only place to find those two was on the page, and that's exactly where I found them.
Reflection: What are you saying yes to that is costing your work more than it gives?
Continue Your Creative Journey
Your creative ecosystem grows through collaboration, connection, and the people who help you bring your biggest ideas to life.
If you're looking for an online artist community where writers, filmmakers, musicians, visual artists, and creative entrepreneurs encourage one another and stay accountable to their goals, we'd love to welcome you to Epiphany Space.
Inside our creative community membership, you'll find:
- Weekly coworking sessions
- Peer mentorship groups
- Creative workshops & retreats
- A supportive community that helps you keep creating
MELISSA GIBSON SMITH: Founder & Creative Coach
Melissa Gibson Smith is a dedicated and passionate coach committed to helping artist’s and creative entrepreneurs thrive’ emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Melissa’s approach is trauma-informed and holistic, providing one-on-one spiritual and creative coaching sessions to help individuals overcome blocks that impact their lives and creativity. She conducts workshops, and the signature “Healing the Soul of the Artist” Masterclass, aiming to foster personal and professional growth. She has launched multiple businesses and a non-profit in California, New York, and Georgia as a culinary and hospitality executive.
As a healer and spiritual coach for over 15 years, Melissa understands the impact that the highs and lows of life have on our creative journey. These experiences enable her to bring a unique perspective to her coaching practice. Melissa’s goal is to create a safe nurturing environment that fosters love, belonging, play, and creativity; ultimately helping individuals achieve their full potential.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR ARTISTS AND CREATIVES TO LEARN TO SAY NO?
Learning to say no helps artists protect their time, energy, and creative focus. Not every opportunity supports an artist's long-term goals, and choosing which commitments deserve attention is an important part of sustaining a creative practice.
HOW CAN ARTISTS AND CREATIVES DECIDE WHICH OPPORTUNITIES ARE WORTH PURSUING?
Consider how an opportunity aligns with your creative goals, the time and energy it requires, and what you might have to give up to accept it. Looking at the next six months with and without the commitment can help clarify the decision.
HOW CAN ARTISTS AND CREATIVES PROTECT THEIR CREATIVITY FROM BURNOUT?
Artists can protect their creativity by setting boundaries, making intentional commitments, allowing time for meaningful work, and recognizing when obligations are taking more than they give. Support from other creatives can also help artists make decisions with greater perspective.
WHY DO INDEPENDENT ARTISTS AND CREATIVES NEED COMMUNITY?
Creative work can be isolating, particularly for independent artists, writers, filmmakers, and musicians. A supportive artist community provides opportunities for networking, collaboration, accountability, mentorship, and honest conversations with people who understand the creative process.
WHERE CAN ARTISTS AND CREATIVES FIND COMMUNITY, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND MENTORSHIP?
Epiphany Space offers an online creative community for artists and creative entrepreneurs across disciplines. Membership includes opportunities for coworking, peer mentorship, creative groups, workshops, and events designed to help creatives build connections and achieve their goals.
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