View of the World

Do you view the world as something to appease, to work towards pleasing it, to bend yourself to its wishes?

This view assumes that you are lacking internally, and that the external world has all of the answers, and that you do not quite match up to it, and that you always have shortcomings and deficits to work on first

Do you view the world as an opportunity to teach it your particular insights, and to educate it on your unique views, for it to better itself, and for it to become enlightened and enriched because of who you are?

These are two totally different ways of thinking, with completely different results

A fault of being an artist, a creative person, is that you might feel at the whim of others, and at the mercy of what others think

You either brave the choppy waters and keep your head above the fray, or you wallow down beneath the current, and try to make everyone happy

You must find that inspiration, and hold on to it, and run with it

At some point, you still want liquidity, you want sales, you want your inventory to move, right?

You therefore, at some point, need to connect with others who want to part with their money and acquire your work

For that to work, you have to produce things that others want

It’s that simple

Don’t overthink, just create, watch something entertaining on a screen, and don’t try to solve all of the world’s problems in your head

But when you find that balance, embrace it and run with it!

Of all things that I’ve ever been involved with, art making should have the most freedom

It should be where you go to explore, to test, to try things out, and to not follow a set of rules, and to not bend to what others say to do

This is ideal

But the world is more complicated than just following your passions

Life is more complicated than that

You still need to feed yourself, you still need a roof over your head, you still need a car, and health insurance, and all of that expensive stuff that everyone’s supposed to have to enjoy life

The idea of the starving artist simply is not fair, it’s not fair to the artist, and it’s not fair to society

Everyone deserves to live comfortably, with modern day comforts, everyone

Unless the artist is completely fine with living in poverty, the artist needs to strike a balance between what is right for the artist, and what the collector wants to spend money on

There needs to be a fair exchange

The artist needs to pursue their inner passions, and make their own discoveries, and not follow others’ rules, and create their own rules, and their own tastes

But the artist needs to live comfortably as well

A compromise has to be made

If the artist only pursues his or his inner passion, then the demands of modern day life are neglected, and the artist suffers unreasonably

If the artist creates only things that are too controversial or completely misunderstood by a lot of people, then no one will spend their money on the artist, and that’s not fair to the artist

But the artist does not operate within an applied art, the artist is not a craftsperson, the artist is not a tradesperson, the artist does not have to appease a governing body that issues him or her a license to practice

The artist still must operate in the realm of passion and freedom

But that output needs to find a balance within the artist for others to celebrate it and to buy it

I would focus more on a brand, a consistent theme, with my art, like a business

I would follow a set of expectations, one of which is top-of-mind awareness and repetition, like a business

I would create an environment and conditions that are more rote than always being open to change

As I gain more experience in this world, I see reality more and more as a mechanical experience. You gain the advantage by being more mechanically astute. It’s the mechanics of a thing that when mastered, give you the advantage. This does not come from any spiritual realm