There are magic moments when we are given some realization; about ourselves, our lives, our hopes, our intent. Sometimes we are nudged, other times it comes as a solid whack on the cognition. I believe that when this happens it is really important to listen. For me at least, it is also important to move on whatever the message is–fast enough to skirt the doubts. These messages can come as a slice of a dream, a trigger from a conversation, a flash of visual recognition. The hard-core, serious ones usually come to me as the response to some unverbalized question. Too often though, the response, the message is lost in the minutiae of my life, remembered as I drift off to sleep or plow down the highway in traffic.
So being able to place the exact moment this epiphany hit me helps to validate its reality.
I was walking the beach at sunrise one morning this past summer, grinding away at the “What do I really want to do with the rest of my life–who am I really?” question. The clouds were incredible, a gift after the grey skies after Hurricane Bill. I realized I had stopped active thinking while I took shot after shot–moving into that state of flow. I looked at my shadow against the sand, under those clouds–there it was. Not “I want to be,” but “I am an artist who lives at the beach.” Wait, not enough emphasis–I AM. AN ARTIST. I AM AN ARTIST. WHO LIVES. I AM AN ARTIST WHO LIVES. AT THE BEACH. I AM AN ARTIST WHO LIVES AT THE BEACH.
Okay–so what does that mean. It is my experience that epiphanies do not come with instructions for further progress. But what I have come up with is that to get there–really get there–it means taking my life as an artist seriously. And that’s where this blog began. Through the years I’ve been given huge amounts of guidance, techniques, skills and tidbits. Not only how to most effectively fold paper to create a book–but how to teach the technique. Not only how to know difference between the feel of PVC and leather or recognize the feel of silk from acrylic–but how to use the freeing process of wandering through the thrift store–just to build ideas.
My grandmother taught me, sometimes directly, but mostly by my watching, is that the way to get anything done is to just do it. If you don’t know how–find someone to teach you. I was taught by some incredible artists that failure is a learning tool–as long as you don’t quit.
Now it’s my turn to pass on what I know, and continue to learn.
I hope you’ll join me. Some days I may have a new handmade piece of wearable art from my collection, WEARABLE ART with technique instructions. Some days I may share where I am in a series of paintings, ARTWORKS with process photos. Certainly I will share the goodies I glean from the incredible people who are also out there–creating, supporting, inspiring me (check my BLOG ROLL).
So come back–I also have some questions for you. And the answers will take me another step closer to the beach.
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