Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Are you an Artist?


Photo: Art on a pillar found in the Pearl District in Portland, Oregon
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Earlier this month I received a card in the mail inviting me to an art show of 10 women artists. I went with anticipation and found handmade candles, cards, soaps, purses, jewelry, and more similar things. I left thinking these women are not artist, just craft people. Arriving home I decided to read my reading for the day. Can you believe the title of the reading was "You Are an Artist". In the reading it said, "An artist is someone with good listening skills who accesses the creative energy of the Universe to bring forth something on the material plane that wasn't here before." It is coming into each new day with an attitude of anticipation and listening, then creating a life most joyful and maybe even a little daring. Is it just picking out something out of the ordinary to fix for dinner, wearing something you weren't brave enough to wear in the past, painting a picture, singing a song, making a candle, rearranging a room in your home, or just writing a creative thought that came to your mind? Today let's do something you haven't done before. Trust your instincts, play, create, and grow. This is the true artistry of life. We are all artists in creating the life we have.

5 comments:

Laurie said...

Simple Abundance! My sisters, niece and I are all using this book, and love it! I think every women should have a copy of this, read it, and adopt the life! Isn't it great!?
Laurie

Marilyn Miller said...

Yes, this is my third time through it. However, I must say I have never made it to the end of the year and this year I am determined to make it.

La Tea Dah said...

Much to think about. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

The art being created may differ (Michaelangelo's Pieta does not belong in the same category as a chicken made of pompoms for example) but I think both "arts" and "crafts" are valid artistic expressions. Different focus and techniques, sure, but IMO, fine art and crafted art are both the result of creative energy and skill on the part of the person creating them.
I've struggled for years with people telling me I am not a "real" artist because the art I make is ultimately useful - pottery, ceramics, fiber - as opposed to sitting in a frame on a wall. But if you think of the word "craftsman" what you're really talking about is someone who is mastering their craft. Who crafts. Makes. Creates something tangible from raw materials. A *Maker* of useful and/or beautiful things.
I've done plenty of fine art too - the creative process and impulses are the same. Exactly the same. I love the old Arts and Crafts maxim about form following function and function following form. Make nothing that is not both useful *and* beautiful. That's what I try to live by.
I think however the creative spirit moves a person, they need to follow it. It makes life so much better and carries us through the good and bad times. Imagination is free!

Maison Douce said...

Thanks for stopping by, I truly appreciate it!!! I am so glad you made it to Tarte, wasn't that an amazing event?
Isabel