It's More Than Black and White

The reality of living an artist lifestyle is not easy.  It definitely is a CHOICE, a calling, a passion and my goal. And by no means is it all black and white. 

I am admittedly getting better at learning and doing what it takes to live an artist's life, albeit between a full time job. I continually surround myself with resources and tools to help me understand what is natural, normal and avoidable. 

I constantly work with the truly gray, or I what I consider the real COLORFUL matter in between. (I have a great hair colorist for that other gray matter!!- truth's out now.) I embrace the emotional and financial highs; accept the business, emotional/ego and financial lows (kinda); sometimes/always compare myself to others; always admire, am inspired and learn from other artists; seek creative challenges and strive to work through my constraints and limitations to get me to level I want to achieve.

I work out of my apartment. With my limited space, I am surrounded by the sight of unsold box inventory. It is hard to look and not have it take on the appearance of failure and expense. On the plus side, I can see the wonderful progress I've made over the years and take advantage of what worked. I have the luxury of painting over all that work to create something new. That is precisely what I have done with the boxes shown on this post. I have also managed to finagle my way out of the box with my wall art and mixed media creations. 

What definitely IS BLACK AND WHITE: 

• Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

• Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

• Spend time alone every day. 

• When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

AND these rejuvenated decorative, individually hand painted and very functional boxes:

My Secret Word for 2012

Five days into the new year with my 2012 intentions practically ready to go, I decided I needed a word to hold and help me fulfill what I want to accomplish. I could keep it a secret but I thought otherwise. Ready?  My secret word to help me personally, artistically and professionally in 2012 is PASSION. I want to really live it, feel it, see it,create it, read it and hear it. To think, last years posted word was vulnerability. Yep, I definitely want passion this year.

To help me launch my passion for 2012, AND fulfill a new goal of writing a new post every two weeks at the latest, I again refer to the Yo Yo Ma tribute performance from the Kennedy Center 2011 Honors. The inspiration I got and get from watching and listening  to this particular eclectic gathering is a beautiful emotional high. 

Every time I see or hear artists of any and every medium performing, enjoying and successfully living their passion, I grow a A LOT MORE INSPIRED, a bit more empowered and a tad more jealous- the constructive kind. 

In this particular tribute performance, there are several genres of music-Classical, Bluegrass, Asian (Silk Road Project-a personal favorite), and Pop, many immensely talented and trained musicians of all ages and backgrounds, on one stage, displaying their infectious passion and reverence to an amazing individual.  They love what they are doing, they connect with the music, each other and the audience. I wish the same for my work. Notice how the audience reacts and responds. An artist's dream:

To sum up, I have a quote from Mel Brooks' Robin Hood: Men in Tights which I love:

"Do you believe in love at first sight?"

"Depends on what you're looking at."

(or listening to, or painting, or writing, or personally speaking, pursuing )