Creativity in the Face of Productivity with Casey Rock
I admit it: I’m competitive. I also admit to having the best brothers in the world- if that counts as an admission. The eldest, Cody, has always been even-keeled and patient, while Casey and I are a lot alike. As kids, I found Casey to be a fierce challenger in all things because we both enjoy being the best and immediately successful at anything we try.
We both had different talents and when we would venture into each other’s realms, it would usually end with me throwing a fit and him telling me “don’t be dumb”.
Which, honestly, is sage advice from kid to kid. And kinder than I deserved, considering the number of game controllers that I’ve thrown in a rage quit and caused something to rattle inside.
We eventually met in the middle with Dance Dance Revolution and would frantically stomp in the basement until the mats ripped.
All that set aside, his interests were my low-key interests, because I look up to him and what he thinks is cool, I think is cool. I was very proud to be the only girl in school who could quote The Lord of the Rings movies, who’s favorite authors were Roald Dahl and Shel Silverstein, who knew who the heck Phil Mickelson was, who obsessed over Reel Big Fish music, and who claimed to enjoy the Redwall book series and got away with it because none of my peers had read it either.
I was always frustrating step behind developmentally, but now that we’re adults and quality communicators, our relationship has changed to become friends, consultants, and day-dreamers in the journey of life. Since our brains fully-formed, we happily encourage each others ambitions, celebrate each others successes, and when we aren’t immediately great at something, remind each other to try and be patient like Cody.
Casey is a big reason why my book is slowly coming into fruition. Last August he asked if I wanted to start a Writing Workshop with him and his friend, Bobby, where we’d meet online every Thursday evening at 6:30 and work on our creative pursuits. It started as a way to hold each other accountable to our goals, but has persisted because it’s just really fun. I do think we both let notions of success get in the way of enjoying where we are at in the process of creating art. So, I want this Artist Highlight to be a reminder for Casey that everything he has accomplished in life is already enough. Taking a page from his Zack Viper YouTube persona, I will use evidence to support my claim.
Art For Art’s Sake
According to Oxford Languages, the phrase art for art’s sake is “used to convey the idea that the chief or only aim of a work of art is the self-expression of the individual artist who creates it.” So, if you click here and visit Casey’s website, you’ll see he is an exquisite artist because his website shows you exactly who he is by way of expressing his joy and interests. Bringing Beach Queen into existence where once there was nothing has added a little more sunshine and music into the world. There is nothing to compare it to because it is uniquely and entirely Casey’s self-expression.
And you, reading this, I want you to reflect on something that you’ve created and see the same beauty in it just because you made it. If nothing comes to mind, I understand the fear of getting started. It is such a quiet voice in the back of my mind. Fear leads us down the path of what is known and steers us clear from challenges that invite self-judgement and even judgement from others. Know that judgement is creativity’s codependent companion, and when you take that small leap to try something new, that in itself is worth celebrating.
(The real party button is at the bottom of the portfolio.)
“I'm a self-motivated jack-of-all-trades. I love learning,
I love creating, and I LOVE making weird,
cute games and websites.”
Art of War or…. War of Art?
“The strategy, tactics, and techniques of combat.”
We have been very lucky to live in a time of relative peace and have never had to participate in actual battle, which is the understatement of the year. In light of this, we have had plenty of time and energy for the internal war that happens when you want to create something. We grapple in hand-to-hand combat with our sense of purpose and with the desire to make something new that could catalyze positive change in the world. If being productive and prolifically creating things is the way to do this, Casey has already achieved it. In addition to his portfolio, look at this sampling of the amazing and fantastic things Casey has produced in the name of art:
He built these three games (with programing I can’t pretend to comprehend) in a single week, each. Give them a play!
He has a video essayist persona on YouTube, Zack Viper, who has interesting and entertaining takes on a variety of topics.
Here are my favorites:
He and some friends have a group website, Studio EZCo, which is home to their shared creative pursuits. Including but not limited to:
The podcast Rearview Terror: “Listen to the story of five traveling monster hunters told through the roleplaying game Monster of the Week.”
The card game Beyond the Walls: “Seize the day and survive the night in this single player card game that tasks you with building and defending a City.”
The mini game Scarred Lands: “Slay monsters and collect treasure in this cooperative, tactical miniatures game for 2-4 players.”
If you’ve ever tried to jump to the top of the flag-pole, you know there is an art to this. Click on the image to record your fastest time!
He is a top-250 Super Mario Bros. speedrunner globally, completing the game in less than 23 minutes!
Since moving to Vermont last spring, he is becoming a dedicated farmer. After a successful first year, this summer, the garden bed doubled in size!!
If you read my previous post, The Art of the Hobby, then you know I find plant-care to be a noble art indeed.
There’s more. These are just recent things, not including decades worth of DND campaigns, golf, swimming, disc golf, theater acting, voice acting, learning assorted skills like canning vegetables and how to tackle home improvement projects… you get the idea. Casey, you’re frickin’ awesome. You’re putting so many good things into this world, I hope you never spend another minute guessing your worth. Cherish these accomplishments!
Art is Long, Life is Short
“There is so much knowledge (or skill) to acquire that a lifetime is not sufficient.” - Proverb
If Casey’s work stands for nothing else, I think it goes to say that we all have the capacity to be so hard on ourselves, but the allure of wondering what we could create is worth seeing past our own self-judgement and trying anyway. We aim for perfection, but in pursuit of what? Perfection in art? Perfection in our jobs? Perfection as a person? It’s all made up. We know this: it’s philosophical mumbo jumbo. The pursuit of optimizing ourselves and being perfect keep us up at night and it’s exhausting. We all fear never doing something worthy of greatness. Well, I think my brother is great. I think you’re great! And at times, I think I’m great, too. It only comes from trying and wrestling with our cultural notions of success and productivity. Going to writing club every Thursday with Casey and our friends is productive, but it has also become a regular leap of faith that I look forward to. Good things always come from sharing ideas and dreaming up new worlds together. It gives me hope that we all can make a habit of being a little kinder to ourselves in the pursuit of finding out who we are and what we’re capable of creating. In short, let’s have fun! (Because that is the real secret to success).
One last thing, I couldn’t finish this Artist Highlight without recommending you watch this trailer. It’s one of Casey’s favorite movies in the world and it is worth 79 minutes of your time. SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO!
