an artist's life in balance
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December 08, 2008
art in a coffee shop
Saturday was that craft thingy at Mayorga.
It was as expected, a kind of eclectic hit and miss gathering of some local artists setting up some of their work amidst unsuspecting coffee drinkers. I'd like to say that it was oh-so-fun, but I would be lying. This is where the "I" in Introvert does me the most damage. And it is good to be reminded of the boundries of that limitation at times so I can refocus and continue to strive to live a balanced creative life.
This exercise threw me way off balance.
It is the delima of many artists, especially emerging ones. Being able to get your work out there (representing it) and still have the energy to DO the work.
Not all artists are introverts, but speaking with many of the crafts people on saturday, a lot of them were there because they were invited by the organizer, not necessarily because it was the right venue for them...
same here.
Which threw up a big red flag reminder for me that I would love to share for any seasoned creative soul still trying to seek validation for their art.
1. Know your value and therefore your venue.
I am not talking about pricing your work here, I am speaking of understanding the depth of your own work and the appropriate place for it. After years as an artist and lots and lots of galleries and shows I still forget this one.
My mistake saturday (which is not the first time I made it): To let my entrepreneurial brain supersede my artist brain. I fell back into a pseudo mass production mode in order to try to make a quick buck.
very, very bad idea.
This left me with two feelings (not positive ones)...
a. shame... I compromised my work.
b. discouragement...If your work is in the wrong place, people won't buy it and then the temptation is to assign some sort of meaning to the work, not the place. Let me say that a different way... because the experience was bad does not mean the work is bad. This can also facilitate the mistake of taking on another lesser venue. It can become a vicious cycle if left unchecked.
this brings me to number 2...
2. Know your work.
This is a tough one for us multi-disciplined types. You might be able to do a number of different things well, it doesn't mean you should. The challenge here is to really listen to your muse... she knows what work gives you the most joy and that place is where your best work emerges. This transcends the "making of stuff" to a higher level of "having something that speaks". Forgo the temptation to compromise this. If it comes down to a money issue, do another line of work for your income, and create your art for your art.
3. Know yourself.
This one comes down to personality. For me, I can't do anything casually. To do a "show" in a coffee shop may have been fine if I could have taken a bunch of my old "seconds" and thrown up a table and casually sold stuff flea market style. Something in the way I am wired up just won't let that happen and so I cranked myself up to eleven as if I was doing a national juried craft show which wraps me back to "know your value and venue". So between being highly introverted and somewhat of a perfectionist, there are obvious choices for me if I am paying attention. Personality is not something to be overcome but has to be recognized and honored accordingly. There is a big temptation for many artists to try to recreate themselves to fit the demands of the culture. I have done this over the years more than I can count. The good news is you always come back to a greater understanding of who you are, so even the worst experience can yield a little insight.
So, I am completely off balance today. And this isn't the "winter of your creativity" type of off balance, which with that you could actually say you created something. No, this is an off balance caused by doing something that doesn't fit into the puzzle of your wiring.
If I had sold everything on my table would I have come to this conclusion. That particular hypothetical crossed my mind and yet I can say two things... I had a sinking feeling of dread in my gut when we were driving to the shop before set-up (so I knew at an intuitive level that this was a bad idea). And, because it was the wrong venue I would have never sold everything on my table. Not to mention, the residual feeling of having compromised my work.
Every experience does yield something, and my less than laid back approach to this one will hopefully not have me missing the greater lessons that may emerge. I met some other great artists and talked up our Exnihilo dream, and that alone may have been my reason for being there. Who knows... but today I am tired and will be in recover mode.
Posted by blairanderson at December 8, 2008 08:35 AM
Comments
Oh my gosh, I could have used this advice last year. This is why I am not doing these things anymore. Sorry to hear that it didn't go well...but the stuff looks amazing and there is a right place for it out there!
Posted by: Anita at December 8, 2008 11:09 AM