Instead, I'll talk about a book I found at a cute little book store and coffee shop in the Haymarket in Lincoln over the weekend - not overwhelming full of books. I felt like I could actually find something without finding 18 of the same type of book and wondering which one to get because they were all about the same. I purchased the new Dr. Seuss book "My Many Colored Days" that he wrote back in 1973 but was illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher after Dr. Seuss' death. Although that was a great find (didn't know it existed) my favorite find of the day was "Art/fear - An Artist's Survival Guide" by authors David Bayles and Ted Orland. I've read maybe a third and everything thing they say about creating art is everything I've ever thought and questioned put into eloquent words.
I wish I could assign the book to everyone and have a little book club meeting to talk about all the things they bring up line by line. But, since that isn't going to happen I'll just share little treasures from the book along with a few of my ramblings and jumbled up sentences to go with it. Let me also just state that this isn't just a book for painters or ceramicists but for writers, designers, quilters, crafters, and anyone who ever thought "why did I stop making ____? or How do I do this art thing like all those successful artists?"
For those of you out there that do make art I'm sure like me you have wondered if you are doing it right. What if when you pick up your brush you take the potential the supplies offer and mess it up? What if you start something and it goes nowhere or if you finish it and its horrible (even if only to you) Sometimes you blame the paint or the weather or the sunlight (or lack thereof) and of course your "talent" as the reason your art just isn't good enough. In the book I'm reading they talk about this uncertainty in creating art and they say...
"Its always like that. Art is like beginning a sentence before you know its ending. The risks are obvious: you may never get to the end of the sentence at all – or having gotten there, you may not have said anything. ... In making art you need to give yourself room to respond authentically, both to your subject matter and to your materials."
I'm encouraged, inspired and intrigued everytime I pick up this book. Its like a special understanding hug just for artists and artists at heart.
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