BELIEF IN SELF.

As a teacher I watch this lack of belief in every workshop.  Students that are accomplished, students who desire growth and those who come hoping they can find that “special place” where creativity lives in their heart.   In almost every  workshop there are students who create paintings I wish I could  have created.  Yet, the majority of these students feel they are not artists as they lack that “belief in self”.

It doesn’t really matter where this belief comes from.…a teacher telling you Flowers are Red ( Harry Chapin wrote this song that tells about a little boy and school…look it up, it is great), a friend laughing at your attempt to create, a parent telling you art is play so start doing something serious.  Those events are gone but the memory lingers on and before you know it the passion to create has been placed in a plain vanilla box and put on a very high shelf in an imaginary closet.

Let’s face it….there will always be those people who love telling you what you cannot do.  Let them have their say and move on…they mean NOTHING.  So how do you start believing in yourself as an Artist.  Here are three ways to grow into yourself.

1.  Mentally begin to see yourself as you’ve always wanted. If it is as an artist then see yourself as an accomplished artist.  Oh, you say, this is impossible.  I can’t do this as I would be lying to myself.  Eleanor Roosevelt said it best..”Fake it till you make it”.

2.  Replace an “o” with an “e”. Tell me how it feels to say I get to go into the studio and finish that painting” rather than  I’ve got to go into the studio and finish that painting”.  When you get to do something it is exciting but when you’ve got to do something there is a sense of  dread.  Say a sentence that uses get then the same sentence using got and see how you feel.  Try doing this on a task you don’t enjoy and I bet your mood changes about that task.

3.  Write down  what you want to accomplish. Do you want to take a workshop?   Start a new style of painting?  Read some art books?  Talk to someone you wish to mentor you?  Put these on a post-it note and make a decision to do one of these things  in the next four weeks.  Then DO IT !!!

The key here is ACTION. When we take action there is a sense of control.  Control over our lives is a wonderful feeling.  Sometimes we forget  we are in control of our thoughts and feelings about ourselves.  Belief in yourself is yours to take so take it and run all the way to your desires.

Let me know if this helps.

Just how do you do this? By deciding to be what you have always dreamed. Yes, actually “be that person….fulfill that dream”.  This is your year!!!

This is also my year. I say this because I have made a decision I will share with you.  I have always worked hard at my art and the teaching of my workshops but I have found I usually stop just before the crescendo.  I often wondered just why I did this until I found this quote by Ross Perot:

“Something in human nature causes us to start slacking off at our moment of greatest accomplishment.  As you become successful, you will need a great deal of self-discipline not to lose your sense of balance, humility and commitment.”

Now I know…..I am normal!

Here is my question to YOU…….How do you want your year to be?

• Are you willing to stretch along with me?
• Are you willing to learn how to be a better, stronger artist?
• Tell me what you want in this new, fresh wonderful year.
• How do you want to grow as an artist?
• What bugs you.
• What stops you

• What is your biggest fear?

Let’s grow together!

Many years ago a fellow artist friend who was twenty years older said that  one day I would walk into a room with my daughter, who happens to be gorgeous, and no one would see me.  Well…..the day came when I was in my fifties.  I felt invisible!  Where had I gone?  It happened just like she said….darn!  I looked at my daughter and smiled but knew I had entered a new phase of my life.

We are a youth oriented generation. Being young has all the perks….or so they say.   When women are young they are filled with light, beauty, tight skin and a tight butt.  They may be young but guess what hasn’t fallen….yet!

When I was young I never gave this idea of being invisible a millisecond of a thought.

My son reminded me being invisible was a story /feeling I have taken on as mine…….he may be correct yet the story and feeling is real for many women.

Have you ever felt invisible?

Leave a comment  as I think it would be educational for us all.

T

Have you hear all this before? I remember when I started painting I worked hard to learn.  I felt overwhelmed with all the” must do” talk.  I read the books, took workshops, bought the right brushes, listened to my friends,  who all knew much more than I,  talk about design, and how to visually enter a painting.  So much to learn.

After a while I started entering shows only to find my rejection slips in the mail.  After a  year and half of rejection slips I was not only discouraged but wondered what the judges were looking for.  How could the paintings I was producing be so wrong?

During this period of rejection, I was taking a workshop in Denver with an artist who had just judged a show I had entered.  She started talking about some of the paintings  she had judged and mentioned a particular painting  she didn’t like.  She went into great detail about what she thought was wrong with this painting.   She had no idea who the artist was who had painted the painting but that painting was MINE.

In actuality the painting was good but not great.

Why am I telling you about this?  Because this happens everyday in the art world.  Enter the world of art shows….being judged.  The art world is like any other niche….there are likes and dislikes. You will find a judge who likes only transparent colors or doesn’t like flower paintings because they think they are boring.  It is like flavors of ice cream….to some, chocolate caramel swirl  is better than pistachio .

Remember the song “Shoes are made for walking”.….I think it should be “Rules are made for walking”.  Being creative and taking chances means we goof at times……actually a lot of the time.   To me being different gives me wings, allows space for my breath to flow, provides movement for energy…. it also makes me feel like I am on stage without clothes.

Continue to forget the rules.  Mix muddy colors, exaggerate the design concept, twist the subject matter, dig down and create from a new pool of thought.

Enjoy!

First, during a regular walk with my dog Emma I tripped over a small tree trunk.  Tripping while going down hill isn’t recommended.  Not able to recover my balance I slid down hill on my face and body…..also not recommended.  When the slide ended I knew I was not a pretty site…blood, skin hanging and eye glasses destroyed.  Left ankle swollen, right knee too big to be within the normal range.  Emma, was attentive and worried.  Arriving home was a huge relief since it was a two mile walk.  I kept wondering ….where was my Berqa (face veil) when I needed one?  Not being one to horde pain pills I reached for the bottle of wine while cleaning the destruction.

Second, the final move into the new studio space is now over, packing for the trip to Taos took time and effort plus the healing process for the huge knee (required being drained three times) took its toll.  It actually sounds worse than it is but the good news is …… I HAVE GREAT BONES !!!!  No breaks …wow!

I am now in Taos where time moves slower and life is more centered.  This is exactly what I need.  Slow, focused, clarity, peace …all  mine to soak into my soul.

What did I learn from my experience….slow down !  Be aware. Be present.

Another thing  the fall did was remove  confidence in myself.  I never gave walking a thought….I just walked.  I now feel I need to think and  be aware of what is around me when I walk.   We walk automatically but sometimes our radar is off and we fall.  When we fall we lose confidence.

In relation to being an artist how many times have we lost our confidence when we have been rejected from a show, when a friend, neighbor or colleague makes a statement about your art that makes you feel less than you are.

Loss of confidence takes us down a peg but if we are able to look at the situation we can learn a valuable lesson about our self.

Being an artist is a gift we give ourselves.  We are all creative but few people actually say…”I am an artist”.  Being an artist requires a lot of things…..courage to try, courage to put your creations before the public, courage to listen to the comments about your art, courage to believe in yourself.   Maintaining this courage requires we stay focused and centered within ourselves.  This is why a lot of people just won’t take the effort to be their best as it take tremendous effort.

I am now back on track.  The sun is shining,  birds are singing, my dogs are happy, my children and their children are safe and healthy……life is good.  I  look forward to hearing from each of you and sharing our journey of self discovery plus finding that place deep within us that screams “YES”.