Saturday, October 30, 2010

Revisiting Goldilocks

DSCN6124

This experimental sample is rice paper and light modeling paste applied to stretched canvas and painted with diluted acrylic washes. Still in progress…

It occurs to me that Goldilocks and I have a lot in common. Her testing  of chairs, porridge and beds and exclaiming, “This one is too hot, too big,  too hard, this one is too cold, too small, too soft  -- and THIS one is JUST RIGHT”,  are pretty well how I grow as an artist.

How DO we find our own “just right” ?

There are creative people who produce lines of products and sell their work for a living. They have Etsy stores and exhibit in arts and crafts fairs and hold studio sales.

There are other artists who seek out galleries to represent them and sell their work.

There are artists who spend years fleshing out a single work and others who can produce a competent, saleable piece in a few hours.

Some artists disdain the whole idea of sales and make work that is ephemeral. It can’t be bought or sold because it will eventually cease to exist.

Since there are multiple types of art and artists, it follows that no one set of  standards  for success suits us all.  We have to try a variety of ideas on and just like Goldilocks, reject some and embrace others and get the heck out of the cottage when the bears arrive back home. What is right is only about what is right for each one of us.

DSCN6117

 More work on this sample to explore what makes surfaces look aged.  Still working on this one as well!…

What’s “just right” for me at present is grazing space; the absolutely delicious act of chewing on ideas just for the pleasure of it.

3 comments:

  1. i have become a member of a small tenants art council...it is a mix of studio artist and retailers with the needs of the retailers driving the agenda...the artists who are members (many select not to be) concede because the retailers do drive traffic...all that to say, i'm back in that confusing space of struggling to keep my own focus and reasons while in the midst of communing with others whose purposes vary from my own...i'me feeling pressure to "do something holiday related for Black Friday" and I just don't think like that or even enjoy it although I do love having visitors come to my studio....just not sure which dog will get fed...

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am discovering my answers usually come from completing a statement like, "What would make me feel really good in this situation would be to...." and fill in the blank. It's not what others want or need, it's not what we should do, it's what makes us smile, skip and shimmy in our studios that is the right choice for us.
    Maybe you'll come up with a Black Friday idea that does feel right for you or just open your doors with great pride and pizazz to welcome visitors and support your art council by participating.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Absolutely love the analogy with Goldilocks.

    ReplyDelete