Posted: Aug 31, 08 1:29pm
I wrote this some time ago, to explain to myself why I do what I do...I think. Anyhow, re-reading it has reassured me and encouraged me. So I thought I would share it with you, my fellow artists.
Maybe you would share your thoughts on why you are an artist, and stuff like that. Here's mine:
PRE-ARTIST PERCEPTIONS ABOUT ART AND ARTISTS
creating art is not a real job - at best it’s a hobby
responsible grownups do not seriously paint, sculpt, etc. - there is no stable future in it
playing with clay or paints is for children, like watching cartoons or pretending
there are only a few people who are really really talented enough to be artists, and I’m probably not one of them.
I should only do artwork when every other important chore is completed
DISCOVERIES -
I get ridiculously excited doing a sculpture
time stands still and I don’t notice that I’m tired or hungry or that it’s 120 degrees in the garage
I am drawn back time and again to look at a piece that has just been finished - I am fascinated and enchanted, ‘in love’ with the work
I used to feel guilty spending time in my art
housework should be completed first before I begin, because art is not valid, real work - it is play
some people just don’t get what I see
it’s alright that some people don’t get what I see
I still see what I see and it’s still there
NOW
I know I am born to be an artist
I feel most peaceful/excited/alive when I am working on a piece
the quietness of the studio has a spiritual quality to it as I begin a peace
the peace and the creativity are tangible to me as my hands move on the clay
I MUST do my art
I am divinely gifted and called as an artist
my work is not more important than any other artist’s work
there is room for all artists because each piece is like a finger print, there is none other exactly like it
money is good, but definitely not that important
the essence of what I am trying to say has to be seen in the movement of the piece
the emotion must be visible to others
less is more
much less is much more
details, like clothes or jewelry, do not define a piece - sometimes it even distracts from it
details, however, are not wrong, just as clothes and jewelry are not wrong, but you must be able to still see what the piece is about
I don’t like painfully accurate details
why?
I think in large chunks
specifics are tedious in art and life
tedium is a killer
mediocrity and apathy are worse still
doing a piece because it will be a good seller is the WORST reason in the world to do it
things that come from the passion in your heart will always touch others as well - you will not be able to keep it long
gimmicks should always be anathama to an artist - it brings to mind sleezy, greasy, used car salesmen
ART IS IMPORTANT -
without art, what would we have? math.
art is like breathing the fresh, crisp air on a mountain instead of the polluted, stagnant air of the city.
something happens in your heart when you look at a piece of art that touches you
no matter how many times you have seen it, to look at it - I think it must lower your blood pressure or something. you can feel it.
we need beauty
we need passion
we need color
we are made for much finer things than traffic jams, standing in line at grocery stores and housework…
thank God for artists
we provide that bit that keeps others sane
that provides an oasis for the eyes
that reminds others that there is something more to life
that there is a God of beauty and passion and He created us for a wonderful, higher purpose
