It seems that every time I am interviewed by someone who is interested in my work, the question always comes up: “Well, do you still play the clarinet? What do you do as an artist?”
For some time now, I have been scratching my head and thinking to myself, “What is it that I am saying that is leading others to think I am anything BUT an artist?”
As of late, I am beginning to think it is a matter of educating others- to expand our way of thinking- about what it means to grow artistically and what are some of the innovative ways we actually can do that.
What is it that YOU think makes you an artist first?
For me it is my obsessive curiosity and devotion to learning how to further develop and express the creative being I am in every possible way in my life and work.
What amazes me, however, is that often all others see- at least at first- is that I run “a business”.
Can an artist not financially excel building a business AND remain an artist first and foremost? Or is it a preconceived notion that if you are running a business you could not possible be creating art for a living? Is art confined to the concert hall or must it hang on the gallery wall?
Well for the record, I would like to clarify what artistic skills I use daily:
- I work to improve my writing and seek to find new ways to express my ideas.While I wrote a book that never sold, I use my writing daily, and work hard at trying to improve it, to reach and touch people. I write and re-write until I have captured the essence of what it is I am trying to communicate. Writing is an art form and I am developing and honing my skills daily.
- Every day I spend time visually trying to communicate my ideas through imagery. Although I don’t have the gift of a painter or potter, I use my visual vision to constantly communicate without words. I am constantly thinking about how to re-design images associated with my identity and how to use imagery to more effectively communicate my hopes and dreams. I use my love of images to communicate what can only be shared through the often non verbal world of art. I share with others through this blog and through marketing materials something intimate about who I am and what my creative world can offer others.
- Every day I play my clarinet. I do it to stimulate my own creativity, as well as to help others find the perfect instrument to express their unique musical voice through Lisa’s Clarinet Shop. I use my ability playing the clarinet to help others build their audiences. By helping my clients with something as personal as finding their musical voice, I am helping them share who they are through their musical performances. While I do play “gigs” and perform music on stage, in orchestra and small ensembles, my freelance work does little to further my artistic hunger.
- Every day I am working on my skills as an actress. Through the Bite-Size Arts Ensembleâ„¢ show I am developing: What is Your Imagination Worth? A New Kind of ROI. Through this artistic lens, I am both learning how to conceive ideas in a theatrical way as well as use those ideas to teach others about the powers of developing their imaginations through both my abilities, and soon their own, on and off stage.
- Every day I speak persuasively to others about how we, together, can change the world by looking at how art is created and through all kinds of new lenses it can be viewed through. Art can look very different, and still BE art, if we open our minds and allow it to. I wake up everyday an artist. I go to sleep the very same way. I consider my business a 100% reflection of my art and my art 100% my business.
My art is about building community. I use the tools of my trade to emotionally impact others and call them to action. I use my art to education others about a new world of possibilities as well as help them trust that they too can use their gifts to create art in totally new ways.
Sure, my art, if you only look skin deep- can look like a business. It does because I have organized my ideas using my skills of logic to try and make the tools of my artistry as cohesive and purpose filled as possible. Part of my art is using my organizational skills to help my artistry reach new heights. A business is about taking an idea and making it become a reality. My art, through the lens of business transcends the concert hall, theater stage, pages of a book and the picture that hangs on the gallery wall.
My art also has transcended me. What I am trying to say is that the fulfillment I receive from my art comes from your expression from it, your action through it and your transformation (if I am lucky enough) because of it. My art is simply not all about how it makes me feel when I am creating it– my art is about what it DOES for others.
What about you? Are you willing to stretch your ideas about what your art means to you? Are you willing to fly into a new world and evolve? I hope so. I am here waiting for you. I can hardly wait to meet you. Come on in. The water is just fine….
Are you ready to combine the power of your beliefs and values with your artistic gifts to give the world something brand new that only your artistic vision can see?
Come explore what TheIAE.com has to offer.
