(Joe, this one's for you!)
I completely agree with Michelle's post last week, We're More than Just Emerging Artists. But perhaps one assumed aspect of that post bears a little stating of the obvious.
One of my favorite character descriptions is from Agatha Christie in Death on the Nile: "He was popularly supposed 'to write,' but it was understood among his friends that inquiries as to literary output were not encouraged."
Haven't we all known someone like that? I know I've been that someone at times. Someone who loves the idea of being an Artist, and will get down to actually doing something about it just as soon as…. fill in the blank. Artists are not defined by education, or publication, or paying Union dues. But we are defined by doing. Artists make art.
I joined CAUSE for a lot of reasons - Have you ever tried to say no to Emily? - but one of the most important was to stand up and say, "Yes, I'm an artist." And then to use that statement to hold myself accountable for actually being one.
I'm the opposite...I tend to get my best results hiding in my little cave, with a spreadsheet for accountability. Or maybe that's just for now, since I'm very much in a figuring-things-out phase. But it's a productive figuring-out, so I'll take it as long as that lasts.
ReplyDeleteThat's wonderful, AnnieColleen! "Productive" is the key word, of course, and I would second Michelle about philosophy. I consider philosophy "doing", too. I think we all know what's helpful for us (and that's different for every person), and when we're "caught in the trap of the cave" - Michelle, I'm going to spend a lot of time quoting you, it seems.
DeleteMaybe not so much philosophy as technique, or maybe it comes to the same thing. A lot of the common writing advice (novel-writing, specifically) is exactly wrong for me. I think I've found something that works, but there's a long way to go yet.
DeleteFiguring it out takes forever, but... I think that's also part of being an artist. We're philosophers sometimes just as much as the do-ers. We work out our worldview by our art. And yes...sometimes the "cave" is essential too. "Letters to a Young Poet" speaks much to the necessity of solitude for the artist. Just be careful not to get caught in the trap of the cave, being afraid to ever step out into the light.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think that some artistic disciplines naturally lend themselves more toward solitude than others. Its good to recognize this so we can understand and collaborate, support and encourage our commrades in those different areas - singers, writers, actors, painters, etc...
Thanks for this post Sharon. I have found it extremely difficult to move from wanting to be an artist, to being an artist. I think the experience of "doing" it is very different from the experience of "wanting" to do it (which usually follows some emotional high after watching a good movie).
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