Good Morning Everyone,
I guess today's post is just some musings by me about appreciating ourselves and others as artists and honoring those gifts we have by being accepting and supportive of like minded souls.
As an artist you know that not everyone will "get" your art, not everyone will like your art and not everyone will buy your art. We know this "going into" the world or art.....it is an accepted fact.
As individuals who take images formed in our heads and nurtured by our hearts and hands sometimes those are daunting realities. These realities can really put dings in our self esteem and confidence and cause us to question our talent or artistic purpose. It is easy to fall into this pit and sometimes not so easy to crawl out.
After speaking on the phone with a friend this weekend I sat down to really think about everything that we had talked about. One thing she said was that creativity is a God given talent. Not everyone is given that talent and to not use it is to waste one of His gifts. When you think about that statement alone you realize how truly profound it is. No matter what your style of art or your artistic medium that ability is a gift that should be embraced and fed and acknowledged.
This train of thought led me to the all too true statements...one should never compare their gift to someone else's, their ability to someone else's or their art to someone else's. To do so really diminishes both, it is saying one is wrong and one is right when that is not the case at all. Both are right, both are honoring what is within the artist and both artists are using their God given talents and abilities.
If I honor that last statement then I have given myself the freedom to see another artist's work as their offering of their gift. I can appreciate their work and not feel threatened, less than, better than, right or wrong. I can truly begin to see the work that they put into it, their style, their thoughts and how they are taking that idea and presenting it to the world.
It is unrealistic to feel that I will like every work of art out there or that I will like every artist. However, I can always appreciate their works, their gifts and them. I have always tried my hardest to never make negative comments about anyone's work because when it comes right down to it I have no idea the work that went into a piece or what ability it took to make it. The majority of a creative piece is worked on in the head before paint, glue or paper hits the canvas so who am I to judge?
Quite a few months ago I found out from several "sources" that someone that stated they were my friend was talking badly about me to other friends and artists. I could not understand their need to do so and still I don't. I allowed this incident (these incidents) to affect how I saw my own creativity. I have had to realize that not only do I have to appreciate other art and artists, I have to appreciate myself as an artist and my works as art. I also had to understand that what this person does really has more to do with them than me and that the only thing I can hope for is that the other friends and artists know me well enough (or will meet me and get to know me well enough) to be able to dismiss the things this person is saying or has said.
As I was typing this post I could hear the song "Give Peace A Chance" in my head. I promise this isn't a "Save The Artist" rally post. LOL
When it comes right down to it I can't control what someone else thinks about me, what they say about me or how they feel about me (or my art for that matter). I may also not be able to control what I feel about another person or their artwork because let's face it sometimes people and things just don't mesh. However, I can control how I try to see their artwork, I can control how I see what they put into their pieces and I can most definitely control what I say about them or their works.
That's what I am going to strive for.... not just because it is the right thing to do, or the nicer thing to do but because it allows me to get out of a negative space and into a place where I can appreciate artists and their art....which includes me and my creations.
For those still reading...thank you for giving me the space to speak about this. I hope that we will all see things in a better way and be more accepting of other's as artist and people, I hope that we will not be so accepting of words someone speaks about someone else or their works and, MOST IMPORTANTLY, I hope that we will all learn to appreciate, love and nurture ourselves and our talents.
Blessings to you and yours,
Lesley
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