Multi-disciplinary Artist at www.crossborderart.com
" HOW DO YOU MAKE A COME BACK IF YOU "LOST IT" AS AN ARTIST? "
" I have actually not tried to escape this fact "that I lost my "path" or "my faith in my ability" in my presentation here in LI-land. It is a fact - and I do not think I am alone. Some years ago I read about an author who went into this "black hole" after finishing a novel, and it lastet over 10 years.
OK, so it happens, life is unpredictable, BUT, How do you start all over again? "
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Nowadays I seldom contribute to discussions, but this time I made an exception amongst friends.
Who knows why. One week on vacation after working 1,5 months in Istanbul and I was bored ?
Fun while it lasted. What a pity one cannot make this fun-generating as long-term-basis - - hmm ...
Here is my commenting today, tonight in fact, on Monday 06.07.2015 at 01:30 Finnish Mean Time:
Tiina Hölli
Hi dear dear Sussie.
Thank you for this topic.
I just flew in (broomstick) today and I´ve not read everything in this beautiful thread,
so my apologies if I seem to repeat what is already said.
...
You, dear Susanne, are most certainly not alone in this,
but I doubt if that knowledge comforts you much, neither any other artist in that black hole.
This phenomenon is highly up-to-date to any artist - in fact, it is an evergreen.
This fckn-black-hole-thingy can happen to any of us, any minute, any place.
I am not here to scare us all, oh no, but - well, this is a fact, so let´s face it (and embrace it).
Tiina´s Solution Numero Uno:
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K I S S
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This means :
K = Keep
I = It
S = Simple
S = Stupid
In my practice, here is my concrete method to come up from the fckn-black-hole-thingy
and say Thank You, bored with this, moving on:
STEP 1.
After a while (meaning; when you realize you´ve stopped secretly enjoying the blackness)
IF you have a possibility to move/ establish your studio to a new location, do so.
STEP 2.
Empty the whole space totally. -T-O-T-A-L-L-Y-. Remove even the lamps.
Logistically challenging, but do it.
Give some praise to an Empty Space for some time. They are beautiful.
STEP 3.
Bring in only minimum and only one-medium-stuff (of your choice) to this empty space,
one gadget at a time and be careful not to OD it. This is H I G H L Y --> IMPORTANT<--.
STEP 4.
BE in this totally (almost) empty space with this minimum stuff as long as you are so bored that you just grab that chosen medium (say: pencil and paper) and you start scribbling something just not to get more bored in that stupid room. This might take days, depending on how deep in the black hole you have sinken. There is a limit for every artist how long she can spend in an empty room with nothing but paper and pencils, without touching them.
STEP 5.
As Bill (Kort) said in the beginning of this thread : then you start WORKING.
[ I have some other new methods too, but this is the basic artist-strip-teaser-100%-bomb-guarantee way to give your inner side some SPACE it obviously needed as it went to the dark room to be alone from you for a while. ]
PS. Have fun, always. Enjoy the darkness, also : )
Macy Gray : Beauty in the world
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continuing commenting on Monday 06.07.2015 before 16:10 Mean Finnish Time:
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Let us argue the verb / concept of "failing".
Can an artist basicly " fail " ?
If so, then in what ?
---
A A A A H !
One of my favorite words / concepts !
INTEGRITY
Questioning oneself continuously as an artist is (to me) maintaining my integrity as The Unique.
How else could I proceed with this integrity -ness-thing - unless observing my own acts.
Speaking of "continuously worrying " - where did you get this ?
(for example take me : hmmm...
do I seem to you like a person burdened with heavy worrying... ? ) (ruhahaa) no no
.... being unique is actually no hindrance, it is very calming, in fact,
makes one rest in oneself if you know this phrase ?
[ corrective to phraseology /concepts here :
Unique is not the same as Individual (to me) , but closer to INTEGRITY]
So that´s why I do not think we are all unique,
but perhaps individuals,
and even about this I am not so sure anymore
(working on this concept, that means )
---
( in art ? ) ( in life ? ) ( in general ? ) there isn´t really any winners or loosers - we are all just players.
So - to get to the core of S U S A N N E ´S T O P I C ...
whom ( = Sussie ) of course ( as the fair hostess here ) sets the restrictions to our acts
as SUSSIE wants ( IF she wants ) ...
which was .... hmm.. (the topic ... ) öh
ok I got it
" B L A C K HO L E S in artistic careers "
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I can tell, as an artist myself, that if an artist does not continuously question herself, her art, her doings, her makes, her career, her intentions, her motives, her surroundings, her inner voice´s volume, etc etc,
then she is not an artist.
Black holes are designed for these questioning periods, if any.
That´s why I said here previously :
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Bla
ck holes are necessary - in fact, I have started to concider them E S S E N T I A L.
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The hostess ( = SE ) seemed to agree with me,
even after her 7 years torments, so maybe I am on to something here.
---
As an artist one should never draw too strick borders to other humans´ acts, and thus only limit herself; is my inner voice reminding my superficial surface now and then (quite often, in fact),
and (in fact) now and zen also, as I read in this thread previously
(magical call it was for me : ) so I came ) : D
---
I also have an other sidepath here for the panel, if anyone is (as) interested (as I am) in this sidekick:
We have now discussed about the mental, spiritual, emotional, physical (=how to get laid also)
portion of this phenomenon, but what about the worldly part ?
Susanne Vendsalu:
HOW DO YOU MAKE A COME BACK IF YOU "LOST IT" AS AN ARTIST?
new angle:
How do I get back on track in " The Art Field " ?
How do I know where to go after 7 years pause ?
This field of specialty changes hugely all the time (as well as any),
but in these past 2 decades there has been an enormous alteration,
and the younger generation of artists came in front during these 7 years
with their new approach to making art.
How to proceed in this sector ?
What to do, where to direct oneself in this position ?
What would be the first step ?
---
Artists are all different - I am not to put them all in one bucket.
( What an absurd thing to try to control fellow artist´s acts and thinking and conduct - and at the same time give praise to freedom of artistic expression by demanding freedom to oneself as a creative, expressive artist ...? )
Versatility is beautiful, but I myself am fond of minimalism, also.
...
I´m wandering back to what we talked before Susanne asked sex-advice.
Back to the subject matter of
HOW DOES ONE DROP IN THE BLACK HOLE AS AN ARTIST
( ==> maybe : thinking one has "failed" somehow as an artist )
(but - as I said - I do not think an artist can " fail " when dropping to the black hole
- it all is part of the process here )
and why ( to me ) it is essential ( not burden ) to be self-aware
( not precisely self-conscious, that´s another story )
about my acts as an artist.
That is:
There also has to be some kind of a personal criteria, set of values, as observing oneself (as an artist).
This criteria (of evaluation) often (to an artist / from artistic perspective) includes ethics and esthetics.
Maybe to concider oneself as having " failed " (as an artist )
is to differ from these OWN-set -values and thus "betray oneself" ( as human, as an artist ).
( maybe these values are not set self-aware.
maybe these values are subconscious.
maybe these values are superficially taken from ( let´s say ) art school / other education in youth )
Many are those individual artists, that concider themselves failed
even if in the eyes of the Public they seem to be succesful.
----
summa summarum:
so (to me) it seems, that an artist cannot ever " fail " in the eyes of the Public,
there is no such thing existing (even though the Public seems to think there is),
and an artist cannot " fail " in her own eyes even if / as / when dropping to the black hole,
because it is only part of the process of being an artist,
and also an artist cannot " fail " in trying to come / coming too slow ( or what ever) from that hell pit because there is no set of rules and regulations how / when to climb up from there, or if ever,
and an artist cannot " fail " if she unfortunately is brainwashed and beforehand programmed
in education to always conduct in a certain manner as an artist
(say: "you are to keep yourself in the topic in a discussion thread !
because I am lazy and I want to read only easy answers without any sidekicks or lingerings "
- which (lingerings) are (of course ) the juices of creativity and artistic expression )
( and if an artist cannot wake up and see this limiting hardness in her own conduct, it is not her fault
- but if she wakes up to see it, hooray ) and ... (where was I ? ) ... yes,
an artist can only " fail " ( but even here I do not really concider this "failing",
I concider defeating this phenomenon as proceeding on your path as an artist)
if she does not become AWARE (self-aware) of herself as an artist,
and what criteria of evaluation she should be using
as maintaining this INTEGRITY / UNIQUEness -as an artist -
/ (maybe as a human being, I am possibly saying)...
A N D then ( all the time, - not as a burden, but as A JOY)
maintain this observing of one´s own acts as an artist.
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