I have been “doing” art for about 15 years now, but have only been identifying as an artist for about the last two. If you have never heard of it, there is something called “impostor syndrome”, and it is a condition that a lot of people, but particularly artists, suffer from on and off. You can find many definitions online, but basically, it is the fear that you are really not competent at what you do, and that it’s only a matter of time until you are discovered as an impostor. This fear has made me read a lot about what it is to be a “real” artist, and a recurring theme is that an artist is driven and has a mission. I have been giving this a lot of thought, and until recently couldn’t really pinpoint what my mission was. Not having any formal art training didn’t help, as I blamed that for not knowing where my drive comes from or what my mission is. Be forewarned that the road to the discovery of my mission is a meandering one, so try to bear with me while I take you on a little adventure... My first tagline or elevator pitch-- that short answer to the question “So, what do you do?” asked by a stranger on a fictional elevator ride-- was: ”I capture beauty on paper to help brighten up people’s lives.” A good first step. Some further soul searching lead me to realize that a lot of what I do is for recognition. I was a very quiet child, the fourth of five children. The youngest was sick as a child, received a lot of attention, and apparently could do nothing wrong. I am not sure how much this influenced my character, but I certainly resented this, and, being quiet, I didn’t express it much. Even later in life, at work, for example, things I would say quietly would be taken (i.e. stolen) by others who would then get the laughs or recognition. In writing descriptions of my works for my online portfolio, I noticed that the word “shadow” would come back repeatedly. I do like strong contrasts and strong shadows. So a few months ago I realized this was no coincidence. I had lived much of my life in the shadows, and art had given me a way to come out. So my tagline is now: “I have come out of the shadows to capture beauty on paper to help brighten up people’s lives.” It still needs work, but it’s closer to the truth. I have had an art booth at a local Farmer’s Market almost every week this summer, with very limited “commercial” success. I have tried a variety of ideas to improve my visibility and outreach, none of which has really worked, but artists are persistent apparently! One of the things I tried was to set up a small corner of my booth to promote ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) and to encourage visitors to participate by making an ATC (at home) and then come back and trade it. No one has yet taken me up on it, but a few people did find the concept interesting. My latest effort, which I hope to try out this week (rain is in the forecast, unfortunately) is to have a “participative painting” event. My plan is to have an easel set up with some watercolor paints and to ask people to participate in a group painting. I will draw the resulting painting among the participants, allowing one of them to now own a piece of original art. I am also working on developing a project to submit to a local museum, which would have a participative ATC component, to get people involved in making and owning original art. This week I watched a couple of videos of conferences given by Simon Sinek. (I told you the road was winding!) I had never heard of him until last weekend when his name was mentioned in a Zoom meeting of an art marketing group I belong to. His message can be summed up as follows: “People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it”. I therefore had to stop and think “Why do I love what I do?” “What is my purpose, cause, or belief?” And that is when it hit me! That was my mission! To ensure that everyone can own at least one piece of original art! Why? Because in a world overwhelmed by technology, where virtual and artificial things can be conjured up in an instant, humans are losing their humanity. People will ignore the people sitting right with them in order to talk to another on their phone. We may be more connected, but we are losing touch! I highly recommend another talk by Simon Sinek about this very issue. A piece of original art (don’t get me started on NFTs or Non-Fungible Tokens!!!) is magical! It is genuine, handmade with care and attention by another human being, and is a way to connect to another human through time. Books also allow this connection, but you normally can’t get to hold and feel the actual object that the original creator also held and felt, like you can with an art object. There is only one of this artwork, and you are holding it in your hands! You can see the brushstroke, or the chisel mark, and know that the artist saw the exact same thing. And that is a very powerful connection! You could say the same is true about almost any physical object. Someone made it, someone touched it, and now you are touching it. But the difference with art is the purpose. Someone created the artwork with the sole purpose of communicating with another human. Communicating their feelings of awe before the beauty of Nature, of horror from the devastation of war or disaster, of admiration for a person of stature or a beautiful form, of curiosity of the effects of certain media or colors on substrates, or of rejection of the status quo in art itself. You could argue that some art also serves a “practical” purpose, such as a chair or vase, but you would have to agree that most art does not. And that is unique. Perhaps you knew all this. Remember that my formal education was mostly in the Sciences, and although I have always liked Art, I never really considered it as “important” until I started producing it myself. I am glad I have this blog to write each week because it forces me to stop and think about what I do and why I do it, and expressing it in writing helps to clarify it for myself. I am glad you are reading it, and appreciate your feedback! It took me a while, but I am glad to have made these discoveries, and will pursue this mission to spread the message and convince everyone I know that they too, should own a piece of magical, original art!
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AuthorMy name is Claire Bureau. Archives
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