A note to you 3
The thunderous spell 4
Dust settles, and so it unfolds 5
Stumbles and slips 8
All a sham? 10
Nuggets from the family 11
Warm welcome 15
dreamers manifesto
A note to you
I often have trouble starting letters. I write and re-write, scratch
and scribble, crumple and toss, only to find my words a few
sentences down.
How?
So you slink your head and question your abilities, your art, your
whole self.
But, wait… ah, what if you do now and then? That’s more than
allowed. That’s expected and it’s for those moments of darkness
that I made this. So when you feel the black cloak descending
around your shoulders, you can pull this pocket book out, give it
a read, and promptly flick it off.
Flip me over.
3
dreamers manifesto
The thunderous spell
dreamers manifesto
Dust settles
& so it unfolds…
“It’s a hard and difficult struggle to draw well,” you think the
next night.
“What will come of it?” you ask, angrily throwing your pencil
down the following evening.
Frustration.
Doubt.
Fear.
5 5
dreamers manifesto
Have you uttered those words?
Have you felt that way?
You’re in good company.
dreamers manifesto
Vincent van Gogh
7
Stumbles and slips
So it’s not going smoothly.
Does that mean it’s time to throw in the towel? How badly,
you have to ask yourself, do you want this? If you find
yourself throwing your hands in the air thinking “this isn’t
worth it,” take a moment to think about what you’re after. Is
this your dream? Maybe not. Maybe you need to go back to
the drawing board and think deeply. Maybe you will find you
are really longing for something else. And that’s perfectly fine.
It’s never too late to start over, to do what you truly want.
Now, if this is the thing, your task is this: you must honour it.
You must respect the process. You must learn to sit in the
discomfort. This is the creative journey. It’s filled with
exhilarating highs, and gut-wrenching lows.
Baby steps.
dreamers manifesto
“
What man
actually needs
is not a
tensionless state,
but rather the
striving
and struggling
for some goal
worthy of him.
”
-Viktor Frankl
All a sham?
-imposter syndrome-
The one thing I will say about it to offer you a slice of comfort
is this: it finding a space on your shoulder is a sign that you
are, in fact, an artist and not an imposter.
So how about next time he appears you look him in the eye
and say, “In fact, you’re wrong.”
All of this, all of what you are, all of what you can be starts
here. In the mind. You have to believe you are capable.
10
dreamers manifesto
Nuggets
from your
fellow
dreamers
“Take a deep look at the things that make you truly happy;
the things that make you feel full of attitude, love and fire.”
-Hannah Guthman, recipe developer, @hannah.guthman
11
dreamers manifesto
“You should never be afraid of who you
really are. Don’t let society impose a fake
persona on you. Of course, it’s not
necessarily easy, for artists are by
definition non-conformists, a strange
assemblage of unusual qualities, and
people will always want to put you in
some kind of box.
dreamers manifesto
“Life is messy and
nuanced, filled with
contradiction… You
can have your ‘dream’
job, partner, home,
vacation, etc., and it
will not mean you
have a dream life with
no problems. The
expectation of
reaching a point where
that would happen is
what sets people up
for disappointment.”
-Marissa Huber, artist
and pattern designer,
co-founder of Carve
Out Time for Art,
@marissahuber
“A blank page
is potential.”
-Adébayo
Bolaji, artist
and founder of
ExNihilo
Theatre Group,
@adebayobolaji
dreamers manifesto
“You don’t step out when you’re
equipped. Stepping out equips you.”
-Joanna Waterfall, founder of Yellow
Co., @joannawaterfall
dreamers manifesto
Warm welcome
Ever grateful,
Mackenzie Belcastro
@mackbelcastro
mackenziebelcastro.com
15
dreamers manifesto
rêveurs