Notes For The Artist Within-Reminder No. 1
Daily Drawing Project, November 29, 2021
As I come within days of yet another birthday, I’ve been reflecting on the meandering paths I have walked as an artist and the pearls I’ve picked up along the way. After more than forty decades as a maker, I’d like to begin a series of blog posts with some snippets of advice I’ve learned from others as well as my own experience. In the spirit of Rainer Maria Rilke’s, Letters to a Young Poet, as well as the rules for artists developed and promoted by Corita Kent and John Cage, I offer these 10 truths that have worked for me. Though I post this to send it out into the world, I am speaking just as much to the quiet place in myself that needs to be reminded of these truths again….and again.
Reminder number 1: Look inward….make the work that is yours to make.
Many of us came of age in the days before social media, though now we’ve all become so attuned to the impulses and inputs the connected world requires of us, it no longer matters. We are all so immersed, embedded and interconnected in virtual spaces that we’ve come to depend on the constant stimulation and positive reinforcement as a kind of lifeblood. There is so much of value in being able to find kindred spirits across the globe….and yet, it is ever more difficult to disengage and find the quiet space inside us, which for me, is the only place I can find my own voice as an artist.
I have spent decades looking at art, reading about art, and have met many, many wonderful artists in person and in the online realm. I have found huge inspiration and creative energy in all those encounters. But, now I find myself engaged in scrolling Instagram too many times a day. I become easily ensnared, easily overwhelmed by the wealth of possibilities that abound in pursuing this or that technique, new trend or tool. I also continually remind myself that I am only seeing images of art and not engaging with actual art in any real sense. I do so appreciate the interest and support of those who follow my work and deeply admire the dedication and creativity of many others. But, if I’m not careful, the work of those artists who inspire me, follows me into the studio and I catch myself trying unconsciously trying to make that work and lose myself in the process. The danger of following down all the rabbit holes is that my own work can become derivative. On those occasions, when things go poorly at my desk, it is most often because I am trying to make “that” work, which is not mine to make. Each of us, I believe, has our own artistic voice, honed from all the experience that is unique to us. We each have our own inner language of mark making, a sensibility arising from the view from our own ground zero….that can be found nowhere else. That is powerful….and empowering!
The way forward and what works for me, is to balance our engagement of the “art world” with looking in, spending time alone, digging deeper inside. I am continually reminded that I need to close the metaphoric door behind me when I come into the studio. All the creative work made from the dawn of time up to the very present moment is part of our shared humanity. I have experienced and been touched by only the smallest fraction of that….yet the noise that creates is sometimes deafening. I must turn the volume down on all those voices. I need quiet in the room when it is my turn to speak.
One way I do this is through the daily practice of journal writing and the daily drawing project. This quiet time, allows me to return to myself, back on the path of making the work that is only mine to make. The daily drawing allows me to let go, make marks and connect with my deepest self through the meditative act of drawing. It is my responsibility to be true….I owe it myself and I owe it to the world, for our time here is short.