It is currently 3am as I write this BLOG, it matters not for 3am is just a number, I am awake and there is work to be done. For me, success is,,, it is a daily appraisal and by the end of each day I have to satisfy myself above no other that my day has been creatively fulfilled, I went to bed unsatisfied with my days work and now seek to rectify.
Success is not just a goal, it is a journey, so what constitutes good guidelines, the basic building blocks for this journey, getting up to work in the middle of the night is just a small part of committment.
1. ambition
Ambition in the context of this BLOG is that YOU must have a strong desire to do or to achieve something, each and every day, not only creatively but also for yourself, find a balance between you and your art and do something, one thing each day, try it for a year and that is one major block of professional and personal work; but you have to want to want to do it.
2. motivation
This is 'Self Motivation' I am talking about here is that you are your own boss; Once you move away from the Goal setting of College or University setting, once you find that there are no commissions to complete, when there is only you, your creativity and lifes distractions when you get up, if you dont do it nobody can do it for you, it doesnt have to be something brilliant or profound but you have to do something; that is not just for today but for every day regardless of circumstances, you have to make yourself do whatever it is to get the ball rolling.
3. attitude
By attitude I dont just mean just toward your work I also mean in your daily practice of life, attitude toward your self and toward other people, the world is full of cynics and the stories of misery and of Doom and Gloom, not just in the Media but etched on the faces of people as we walk our path, As artists we are the people who can be most affected, of course there are those who flourish in the dark places of the world but for the most our art can be taken from us and replaced by depressions and an inability to create. Our attitude is our shield, it is our own positive mental attitude toward all things that will keep us afloat and creating.
4. environment
Though I find importance in all of these pointers, 'environment' for me is one of the most important, not just the environment that we work for that is entirely personal, for me organised and tidy, for others it can be untidy and seemingly disorganised, it is also how we live, eat but more importantly, the people that we surround ourselves with, these can affect your entire personal life as well as your creative one which, of course, are entirely entwined, surround yourself with positive people, those who want to grow and give, surround yourself with those who see the value in you as a person and in what you are doing, avoid those with a negative attitude for they will surely undermine your creative existence leaving you frustrated and dissatisfied even with your own work and personal life, worst still, abandonment of your own beliefs.
5. expectancy
Expect to create a masterpiece each time you start work, Expect also to Fail, Expect that what you complete by the end of the day will be the best that you can manage under whatever circumstances surround you, how do you do this, simply believe that you can. Expect the best of yourself each and every day, perhaps not so important as some of the other pointers though nonetheless, another arrow in your quiver towards reaching the goal that you expect to be at the end of your journey.
6. focus and effort
I combine these last two for they are so closely linked as to have the same expectancy from you. every moment of your work should be with focus on the task in hand, whether it is the laying down of paint or glaze or building a 10,000 part installation. What you put in to your work you will get out of it, that is the crux of all that we as artists are seeking to achieve and can only be made real through absolute focus and effort. Tiredness, fatigue, interruption even lifes more pressing issues, these are but a few of the things that can break your focus and only effort brings it back, make that effort and push the distractions from your mind, they can be resolved later at a time, if you cant, take a break, we all deserve that for ourselves occasionally; is there more, of course, a ton of stuff you can do but just as is the speed of the future, it and you, can only get there one day at a time.
We are our own boss and you had best get used to kicking your own butt out of bed or away from whatever or whoever it is that is preventing you from creating, that 'thing' or that person may not be there when it or they have long coerced you into giving up making art, if you want art to be your future then it must also be your beginnings. Happy Creating.
Success is not just a goal, it is a journey, so what constitutes good guidelines, the basic building blocks for this journey, getting up to work in the middle of the night is just a small part of committment.
Ambition in the context of this BLOG is that YOU must have a strong desire to do or to achieve something, each and every day, not only creatively but also for yourself, find a balance between you and your art and do something, one thing each day, try it for a year and that is one major block of professional and personal work; but you have to want to want to do it.
2. motivation
This is 'Self Motivation' I am talking about here is that you are your own boss; Once you move away from the Goal setting of College or University setting, once you find that there are no commissions to complete, when there is only you, your creativity and lifes distractions when you get up, if you dont do it nobody can do it for you, it doesnt have to be something brilliant or profound but you have to do something; that is not just for today but for every day regardless of circumstances, you have to make yourself do whatever it is to get the ball rolling.
3. attitude
By attitude I dont just mean just toward your work I also mean in your daily practice of life, attitude toward your self and toward other people, the world is full of cynics and the stories of misery and of Doom and Gloom, not just in the Media but etched on the faces of people as we walk our path, As artists we are the people who can be most affected, of course there are those who flourish in the dark places of the world but for the most our art can be taken from us and replaced by depressions and an inability to create. Our attitude is our shield, it is our own positive mental attitude toward all things that will keep us afloat and creating.
4. environment
Though I find importance in all of these pointers, 'environment' for me is one of the most important, not just the environment that we work for that is entirely personal, for me organised and tidy, for others it can be untidy and seemingly disorganised, it is also how we live, eat but more importantly, the people that we surround ourselves with, these can affect your entire personal life as well as your creative one which, of course, are entirely entwined, surround yourself with positive people, those who want to grow and give, surround yourself with those who see the value in you as a person and in what you are doing, avoid those with a negative attitude for they will surely undermine your creative existence leaving you frustrated and dissatisfied even with your own work and personal life, worst still, abandonment of your own beliefs.
5. expectancy
Expect to create a masterpiece each time you start work, Expect also to Fail, Expect that what you complete by the end of the day will be the best that you can manage under whatever circumstances surround you, how do you do this, simply believe that you can. Expect the best of yourself each and every day, perhaps not so important as some of the other pointers though nonetheless, another arrow in your quiver towards reaching the goal that you expect to be at the end of your journey.
6. focus and effort
I combine these last two for they are so closely linked as to have the same expectancy from you. every moment of your work should be with focus on the task in hand, whether it is the laying down of paint or glaze or building a 10,000 part installation. What you put in to your work you will get out of it, that is the crux of all that we as artists are seeking to achieve and can only be made real through absolute focus and effort. Tiredness, fatigue, interruption even lifes more pressing issues, these are but a few of the things that can break your focus and only effort brings it back, make that effort and push the distractions from your mind, they can be resolved later at a time, if you cant, take a break, we all deserve that for ourselves occasionally; is there more, of course, a ton of stuff you can do but just as is the speed of the future, it and you, can only get there one day at a time.
We are our own boss and you had best get used to kicking your own butt out of bed or away from whatever or whoever it is that is preventing you from creating, that 'thing' or that person may not be there when it or they have long coerced you into giving up making art, if you want art to be your future then it must also be your beginnings. Happy Creating.
