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In a perfect world artist would always be able to create things they love and have an endless supply of eager buyers. Unfortunately it doesn’t always work out that way. It seems that we either have starving artists or artist that give over everything just to please potential customers. Our culture also has a tendency to spin both of these artist types in a negative light. If you create only what you love and become the starving artist, then you must also be crazy or a looser. If you create only to please the market and actually sell things, then you must be a sell out and not a real artist any way. Why do these ridiculous opinions invade our culture?

What happened to the act of creating being thought of as something sacred by everyone? Why isn’t the person that hand carves a bowl to eat from held as high as the person makes something beautiful to look at? As a creative person and a coach I really dislike society’s belief that some forms of creating are better than others. My Aunt was an award winning artist but the galleries in town wouldn’t show her work because she had never had a major showing in some big city. They didn’t care that her work was beautiful or that she even had pieces hanging in the vacation home of the president at that time. What is the benefit of this type of attitude in the art world? There isn’t one! I think that this harms not only creators but to all of us. Think of all of the amazing things we miss out on.

This part of how the art world, our everyday world, is something that I have never been able to understand. I realize that everything an artist creates will not be loved by every person, that isn’t the point. We as human beings with our internal drive to create things should be able to do so with being both loved and outcast by society. Does this seem odd to anyone else? I know this post has turned into a bit of a rant, but it is my blog and I can do what I want! Lol.