Art junkie by Robert Genn
Yesterday Marilyn Bonnett, an artist from Ottawa, Canada, wrote to
say: ?Success as an artist to me is when you go to sleep your last
thoughts are about creating. When you wake up in the morning your
first thoughts are about creating. It comes from the gut, from your
insides.?
They say that if you wake up in the morning looking for a cigarette,
you?re addicted. Quite a few creators--not all--fit the profile
that Marilyn describes. Further, it seems there?s often a
relationship between our feelings of success and some sort of
addictive behavior. But unlike other habits that may threaten
health and happiness, this condition might just be good for you. As
one friend put it: ?Art?s the dope, and I?m the junkie.? I?ve
always noticed that the artist?s life is chock-a-block with mind-
bending contradictions. Here are a few ideas how you might sniff
more of the good stuff:
Work secretly. Don?t let the cat out of the bag.
Share the joy. Enjoy the high with others.
Work quickly. Speed speeds inventiveness.
Take your time. Get it right. Take pains.
Be focused. It?s just a habit.
Multitask. Do something else while the paint dries.
Be self-trusting. Follow your nose to your bliss.
Be strategic. Plan your work, work your plan.
Be compulsive. This dope won?t kill you.
Be beguiled. Let enchantment happen.
Calculate. Take time for enchantment.
Pace yourself; rest, relax. Know your limit.
Take trips. Great things come from altered states.
Be obsessed with the pursuit of perfection.
Know that perfection can never be achieved.
Laugh. Fly. Go naked. Dance in the snow.
Get hooked. Art is its own magic mushroom.
Love. Love of creation. Love of process. Love of others. Love for
another. These are the great addictions. Success comes when you
can?t stop serving that which you love. ?Love, love, love, that is
the soul of genius.? (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
?For art to exist, for any sort of aesthetic activity or perception
to exist, a certain physiological precondition is indispensable:
intoxication.? (Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche)
Esoterica: It could be in the DNA. Some folks may be simply wired
to connect their hands and brains almost automatically, obsessively,
to keep themselves learning and making. Recent research has
indicated that certain life activities and values are built into
us. Feelings of religious certitude, for example, seem to be
related to missing DNA in some individuals. Is it possible that
creators may also have a little blank spot, or perhaps a rogue gene?
...more articles by Robert Genn: http://www.painterskeys.com/lettersarchive.asp?2004