The sharing of joy, whether physical,
emotional, psychic, or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers
which can be the basis for understanding much of what is not shared
between them, and lessens the threat of their difference. -Audre Lorde
As artist we are ambassadors for our world and our lives, conveying the similarities and the differences to others in a somewhat non threatening way. One of the best bridges is joy. Capturing the expression of joy in a piece of art is a special moment, for the language of joy is universal. In every culture, joy is prized it is a sign of prosperity, of self contentment, of peace if only for a fleeting moment. It can open doors because it shows that moment of simplicity and vulnerability.
Joy is important in all lives without there is a depth and dimension that is missing. Today capture a moment of joy in your art and live a moment of joy in your life.
Failure is a part of life and learning. First you must define what failure is to you, and realize that definition may change as different situations arrive in your life. Currently my definition of failure is redefining itself as I struggle to be true to become the artist I was meant to be. Is it failure if I can’t currently live on what I make from my art thus having to take a small job to survive? In the past I would have defined that as failure but now as long as I am persistent with my art I don’t define it as failure it would only be failure if I gave up the persistence with my art and once again let the corporate world define who I am. How do you define failure in your art and your life?
Is it failure if everyone’s opinion of what you think is your best piece ever is just so so?
Is it failure if you don’t have a piece hanging on a gallery wall somewhere?
Is it failure if you haven’t moved someone with your art?
Is it failure if you haven’t caused someone to think about things in a new light with your art?
Is it failure if you life a small existence but the world is a better place because you are in it?
Without a definition of failure you won’t be persistent to what is true to you. Today define failure for you in your art and your life.
Spring emerges with first a color splinter,
Gains speed with each day gone by
And finally burst forth in spectacular reply.
Spring by De Olkiewicz
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We make the common moments of life profound by pausing.
It is the common ordinary moments that tell the details of our lives, of who we are of where we come from and where we are going. What an honor and a privilege to creatively immortalize those moments for others.
Today turn the common into the profound by pausing and appreciating it.
"All we see of someone at any moment is a snapshot of their life; they're in riches or poverty, in joy or despair. Snapshots don't show the million decisions that led to that moment." Richard Bach
Today are you creating snapshots or masterpieces?
Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy. -Thich Nhat Hhan
Capturing smiles in art is tricky business, because so often what we get is the obligatory cheese smile. You know the one I am talking about, I am doing this because it is expected of me. I feel great accomplishment when I capture a real emotional smile. Smiles have many different emotional expressions, sheer joy for being... (like the one above); mischievous; contentment; in love and on and on and on. Those are some of the most important moments in life however they are the most difficult to capture because they happen in unplanned moments.
"Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time." Thomas Merton
When was the last time you completely lost yourself while studying a piece of art whether in its natural form or its expressed form? There is something quite therapeutic about losing yourself in art, allowing it to speak to your very soul, transporting you from your daily grind to a place of comfort, peace, joy and security. There is also something very therapeutic about losing yourself in it and being transported to a place of sorrow, pain and grief. We as artist (and people) need to lose ourselves in order to find ourselves sometimes and art is an incredible vehicle for that. It provides a non judgmental ear for you to examine those things deep within that can help you explode into a more complete and creative you.
Today find some art, lose yourself and find yourself and then express the new you creatively.
Are you defining success in your life and your art or are you allowing someone else to define it for you?
It is said that before you can achieve success you need to define what success means. I would take it one step further, and say you must define what success means to you for you to truly achieve success, otherwise you are simply succeeding by someone else's standards. A month ago others would have defined my life as successful, as I was an accomplished manager of a operation of 300+ agents, 20 team leads and 3 supervisors but as I began to look, evaluate and define I did not define it as success because I wasn't being true to who I am nor was I doing my utmost best on the job each day. In my life I am not successful if I am not achieving my definition of success no matter how much money I make or how many people I manage.
Living by someone else's definition of success in life can be destructive, however creating your art by someone else's definition of success is devastating. You may sell many pieces and be praised by many people however if you are not creating to your definition you are not being true to your emotions, expression or point of view. This world needs true artist who are willing to stand behind their creative expression because they have achieved their definition of success for their art, not talented people who are produce work that doesn't have their heart and soul in it.
Today, define your own success in life and in your art.
“Every once in a blue moon, something new comes along that scrambles your preconceptions.”
As artist we should always be looking to create something new with our art. There is the saying there is nothing new under the sun, which if it is true then as artist we are responsible for creating a new way of looking at things. Someone asked me why I liked to do High School Senior photography my answer was simple, it allows me to help the subject freeze a unique moment in time. Yes alot of people have been high school seniors (nothing new under the sun) but I get the privilege to capture that person uniquely in that moment which is different for everyone, as an artist I just have to be willing to take the time to find that uniqueness and not get stuck in the same old poses time after time. As artist we have the unique opportunity to create something new everyday. What is that new thing you will create today?
A wise man once said
“With great power comes great responsibility”
No action unfolds without a purpose, it is one of the wonders of the universe. As artist we have great power and thus great responsibility and each of our works of creative expression have great purpose behind them. It is a direction that we must decide that breaks us away from the chains of repetitiveness that want to infest our days. If we chose to allow repetitiveness to become the norm without seeing anything new, different and creative in the repetition we will become stuck and our art will suffer.
Today look for a new direction even within the repetition.
