August 2019 was an interesting month for this artist. It was a month of personal challenges besides it being my birthday month. That alone is usually enough to make me want to run away, but this year had something special in store for me.

Establishing a Game Plan

In my previous article, “Wanted: Serious Artist With a Serious Mindset” (please read if you haven’t already) I discussed some important things to consider when moving from a hobbyist (for this series hobbyist refers to someone who creates art and sells occasionally-not referring to skill level) to full-on professional artist (note I said full-on, not full-time because there’s quite a difference).

You’re standing next to a friend, observing the exact same painting. To you, it’s obvious. Seeing how the trees dance in delight of a torrential downpour, this work of art clearly shows the painter’s affinity for and comfort with thunderstorms and nature.

For those of you who read this column and who are not artists, this one is especially for you! Certainly, those who are artists will find logic and inspiration, but I know a group of you follow along out of creative enthusiasm, for which I am very appreciative and grateful.

Qualifications: great multi-tasker; organized, dedicated, creative, skilled, average to above-average accounting abilities, able to maintain inventory, packing and shipping aficionado, with ongoing ability to meet multiple deadlines. Willing to be rejected, criticized, endure money droughts, and paint-stained clothing. Sense of humor a must. Qualifications changes; ongoing…

Pretty brash title, right? What could possibly qualify as “the most important music”? Mozart? Beethoven? The Beatles? Gregorian Chants?

Nope.

“Intuition,” shares Mary Ramsey Keasler. “If I think it looks good, it’s good…I do this because I love to do this.” Marisela Rumberg explains: “I’m bad at following the rules. I like to break them and see what happens…I like to do things my way.”

Color is one of the most exciting aspects of painting; be it grays, black and white, or in-your-face big, bold, pure pigments. It can also be one of the most challenging, often vexing, conundrums of life in the studio.

In general, I’m not a fan of the term “Writer’s Block”. Art can be a seasonal thing. Maybe it’s been raining for months, and creating has been a fluid and easy process. Or maybe you’ve been in a dry spell for a while now, and inspiration seems harder to come by.

Recently I had the opportunity to once again explore life as an artist on vacation. (See my article “An Artist Goes on Vacation”; parts one and two, here on Live An Artful Life). I managed to paint a few small abstracts and a landscape that I feel particularly proud of.

There are novelists, painters, poets, knitters, composers, drawers, sculptors, filmmakers, choreographers…which one are you?

Nope. I shall not take the answer “I’m not creative” as an answer. Uh uh.

Artist Elaine Weiner-Reed wants her art to be a starting point for dialogue, community-building, and creative collaboration. Elaine believes that through dialogue and interdisciplinary collaboration, the arts come alive and people connect - often in inspiring ways. In that vein, she invites others to imagine more and tap their own muse, asking what they see or feel in her work. How would someone write the stories she painted?

I’m grateful to have lived thus far what many might characterize as an uncouth life. This different life is marked by two components.

First, the life of an independent singer/songwriter; I define my career, my routing, my time, and my structure in the context of one of my passions. It suits me well, but I sacrifice the stability and safety of a traditional place in the working world.

Dusk had fallen in Leesburg. Virginia. Night air, neither too hot nor too cold, wafted through the propped door of the Clay and Metal Loft. Bill van Gilder was kicking off his weekend pottery workshop with a warm-up PowerPoint. Lifetime learners sipped wine and nibbled cheese, listening raptly. Now, van Gilder can PowerPoint and social media as well as any Millennial, even though he's been making pots since before there was an internet.

Imagine strolling through your local bookstore (if you’re fortunate enough to live in an area where those still exist) and stumbling upon the self-help section. You quickly peruse what’s before you, and you see titles like “The Power of Negative Thinking”, “How a Little Bit of Cynicism Goes a Long a Way”, and “Ease Up on the Self-Esteem”.

Inspiration is one of those elusive, fleeting sparks that we as artists attempt to capture. Like a butterfly that lights upon our finger; it is often a flutter, a flit and then we watch as our inspiration floats away, wishing it had stayed a little longer.