Lately I've been reading in some people's blogs that if I want to get noticed in the art community, I need to blog and get my name out there. If only it were an easy thing to do!
I was always taught not to brag on my self, not to be conceited, not to call attention to myself at all. I learned that lesson so well that it's hard for me to talk about myself on a blog, much less brag about how great my work is. I like what I do. If I didn't, I wouldn't be doing it. How someone else sees it is up to them.
Julia Cameron wrote a book called "The Artist's Way". In it she says, and I'm paraphrasing here, "it is often audacity, rather than talent", that makes the great artists of our time. My art may be as good, maybe even better, than someone else's, but if that someone else has the audacity to speak out about how great their work is, and I do not, they may get the attention where I won't. For me, it's a matter of humility, of being humble, as in "not proud or arrogant". (Webster's definition). I know that I'm as good as if not better than some artists, but I also know that there are many artists who are better than me.
Self confidence is a factor for me in presenting myself as an artist. I wasn't encouraged as a child; quite the opposite, in fact, and to this day I find myself trying to validate my art instead of just doing it and being joyful in the creative process. I worry about being influenced by someone else's work and in turn being accused of copying. It's happened to me before and it's left me overly cautious. Funny thing is that the work I was accused of copying didn't turn out to be much like my own after all. When you buy videos of an artist teaching techniques it stands to reason that your work, at least at first, may be influenced by theirs.
I've been an artist all my life. In my early teens I painted in oils. I did portraits, and I was very good at it. Had I been the child of parents who supported my creative efforts instead of squelching them, my life today might be quite different. When I was a little older I discovered colored pencils, and they have to this day remained my favorite medium for portraits and other such two-dimensional art.
I discovered polymer clay about 8 years ago. I still love it and I've done a lot with it over the years. 3 years ago, I bought a hot head torch and started lampworking. I guess I'm just the type of artist who likes to try a little of everything. It must stem from being a Gemini. I don't want to get bored with art!
