the last storm we had i snapped some pictures of rainbows and a few funnel looking cloud formations
i didn't upload them until today and i found this nifty cloud image...
do you see the face?
it has been a busy week....seems like everything is getting in the way of my creation energies...
when i do have a moment to go into the studio
i am just too tired
i have learned not to do artwork if i am too tired
i make too many mistakes...
consequently i am kind of in hohum funk...
i was discussing with another artfriend...what is the point anyway...
i don't have anywhere to show and sell...very few commissions dribble in...there just aren't the people out here...and what little interest there might can be i am not in their price range...
and totally misunderstood as for the price set as it is...materials are expensive! so...
other than personal pleasure..what is the point...???
do you have a point?
make me see why we still do what we do...
thanks for dropping in...
9 comments:
YOU my friend need a HUG, some chocolate and to stop over at my blog. (((((((((SMOOCHIES)))))))):)Bea
Oh boy do I identify with this, Mary. I think us artists ask this of ourselves and our art all the time. What's the point? Well, my answer is this: we do art because we have to! If you're of the creative bent then there is no escaping the need to express. It would be like stopping breathing. I find, when I get into a -ve, ho hum, blah sort of a slump like this, the best thing to do is have a break and or/ go do something else for a while(or for as long as you can bear it), then tap into what other people are doing (vias social networking, art galleries, books etc) and draw inspiration from them.
Tell me,
is art what you NEED to do, what your soul cries out for?
If it is, then make for YOU, for YOUR pleasure.
If your soul cries out for something else do that...
Expect to be in a funk when you have accidentally gone down the "please others" path... Much worse is the "Make something to sell" path --terrible monsters live on that path.
I create art because I can't not do it. If I go without spending time in my studio for some time, I start to feel the need to go in a paint something. I start to get restless if I don't.
First I looked, and then I read.
I see more than one face, but I see faces in our bathroom tile, and once you've seen them, they're always there. I ask my wife if she sees the faces, and she says "That's NOT why I go in the bathroom".
Go figure.
You're an artist. If you didn't question not only yourself and your methods, prices, means and ends, you wouldn't be - an artist.
Keep the chin up and the torch hot. I think the problem with who we are and what we do to validate our place is made more difficult when potential buyers consider buying a toy instead of what is pleasant to the eye. Blog for a bit. Look at what others are doing that is similar to yours or that catches your eye.
What goes around comes around.
It's one of those conundrums that artists face. Exposure and recognition are sometimes hard to find in small-town middle-of-the- country America, but you have so much going for you that you probably don't even recognize.
Let me point out a few. You are a great artist. You are always learning and experimenting. You obviously have the financial resources to further your art related education. You have the ability to teach the young. You may not have many commissions at the moment, but you have had them in the past.
We all get in slumps. We all question our abilities. Any artist (or someone who plays at being one, like myself) who tells you they never get down, never get discouraged, is either lying to you or themselves.
Just as the economy will eventually turn around, so will your art commissions and sales. It will happen. Until then, maybe you can fulfill some of those dreams you've put on the back burner. Or you could spend this down time building up an inventory for future sales. Or, find a way to make your art in ways people CAN afford, like your lovely glass boxes.
Just my six cents worth (after all, inflation has hit us all).
thank you ALL for your tremenous support !
i suspect the weather donates to my moods
but a lot of valid points have come up
the being true to ones self came through the most
and in that alone stands the strongest
just do our art for ourselves
art on y'all!
I fully understand what you are talking about. The point for creating art for me is that I find it to be a part of my soul - an extension of who I am. If I'm not creating art I am searching for artistic things to inspire me. Maybe try doing it just for yourself and then maybe the inspiration and appreciation (whether you sell your art or not) will come.
Weather has a huge impact on me too! It's hard to create when the weather is grey and ugly.
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