Name Your Triumph

"When looking at any significant work of art, remember that a more significant one probably has had to be sacrificed." - Paul Klee

"The best artists make the most mistakes." -Andrew Kish, III Watercolorist

Thinking of physical failures as triumphs takes a lot of courage. It makes more sense to just call something a failure and laud it as that to everyone you meet. But, does it really help anyone? 

I am not talking about an honest acknowledgement that the pieces of art you are concerned with do not have flaws or lack the ability to communicate the message you want to get across. I am talking about a piece of art standing on its own as a piece of art. It is no less valid to laud a child's simplistic crayon drawing as art as the work created by a person with a PhD in oil painting. Communication is one thing, beauty is another. 

In my pursuit to create good art I have learned the value of sacrificing my longing for perfection for the greater good of communication. The truth is I have created some pretty amazing works that had to meet their death at the end of an eraser or a swab of a paint brush. I have to count on this to sustain me as I create. Mistakes are necessary. Mistakes, you could say are the life of art. The further I go into this process the more I see that it is vital to my growth and the easier it is to decide what to keep and what goes. 

We have to consider our "failures" as fodder for growth. We have to celebrate the whole of the process so that we can perpetuate our movement toward the creative end we pursue. It is well worth it. So, I share my triumph with you. I have accomplished 17 hours of work in the 5 day span from 1/23/12-1/27/12 in the midst of a part time job and other responsibilities, challenges, and events. Praise God! I will do much better this week. 

Granted not all of these pieces were a beginning to end process, but they are all part of the process and therefore qualify as art. In the mainstay pieces I will share with you the final products in the months to come. Hold tight to your work and consider every victory along the way.

 

 

 

Inquire Within: Part 2, Life And Art

Not many times in my life do I remember other people approaching me and immediately engaging in conversation. Not unless I am actively doing something creative, that is.

The day after Thanksgiving I was still at my parents house struggling not to become too bored. So I borrowed my mom's digital camera and went for a walk to the park across the river in the town next to theirs. I went for the very specific reason of shooting pictures of the animals in the petting zoo. Because, I do not often get to go to the zoo anymore. This was a prime opportunity.

As I came around the fence I was trying hard to shoot through the fence, I encountered a woman feeding bread to the animals through the chain link fence. Her golf cart was full of cheap or reclaimed bread. She was popular with the animals. Then she started a conversation with me as if we were old friends. 

I admit, I was not too cordial to begin with. I just wanted to shoot pictures of the cantankerous animals that had very short attention spans. But she went on regardless of whether I acknowledged her too much. In the course of her conversation she mentioned how she had had a digital camera and that she wished she could post an up-to-date picture online. Regretably she didn't know how use her own camera. Not mention that a relative had borrowed it and never returned hers. I could only comment on how the camera I was using was not mine and I did not own one either. But, I missed something very important.

“Therefore, as we have the opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially those who belong to the family of believers.” Galatians 6:10, NIV

This was the Exempla Vitae moment I referred to last week. This was the opportunity to do good by someone. A quick photo or 2 and some contact information to send her the photos could have been a blessing to her. A moment like this could create waves in someone else's life. This is where Life intersects Art. These are the times I live for.

My challenge to you is to think ahead about the gifts you have been given: time, talent, resources, knowledge, experience. Ask God what He wants you to do with these things. Imagine the possibilities of using them in unconventional ways. Write down and plan for such times as these. You will be surprised of the creativity utilized when you come to that time, nothing is ideal after all.

Nature of Inspiration

One of the biggest up hill battles I have fought since I graduated from college is what I am supposed to do with the artistic talent I have been given. In my life there has been no shortage of doubts, struggles, and missteps. But above anything else, the journey has been most fruitful when I let go of my expectations and trusted God to fill in the blanks. That is what this piece, The Nature of Inspiration, is all about.

Amongst my watercolors this color sketch is not the most technical. For me it captures the spiraling, yet linear movement of dreams and goals. How they can often be easily read, but still over a blurry and colorful backdrop. I do not know what my future holds or how today will make sense in reference to tomorrow. Yet, God leads the way and the trail will not finish at a dead end.