I have decided to start writing this blog as another form of art. I have always created in visual forms and I love to read but I was also once a great writer. I have learned a lot and I need to sort through my concepts in words. Not just in my head, or spoken with a friend. In writing, on paper (or screen) to be read, shared, discussed or even changed by the process of creation. Maybe some of these thoughts will resonate with someone or help someone, or maybe I will just feel better getting it out.

I will sort through this topic by beginning with a question…

What is an artist?

I take pride in calling myself an artist, but I can honestly consider most people to be artists in some way, so what’s so special about being an “Artist”? Well I went to art school and paid my dues for that title. I have worked steadily in my studio and in creative job and art galleries. I have worked as an artist and with artists and for artists of all kinds. I can tell you it takes a special kind of person to be an artist of any kind.

Artists are the ones who create. In a world filled with hardships and destruction, surrounded by pressure to consume, buy, and spend, artists choose instead to create.

Things we create by hand or on a computer. Things we create alone or with others. Things we look at, use and love for their uniqueness. These things are what I call art.

In order to make art it is often a sacrifice to spend time, money and energy creating something new without knowing exactly how it will go. You sit at a blank canvas with a million possibilities and begin making decisions to create. Each decision with a resulting action becomes the process. You keep going from that point making new decisions about the project either according to plans or sheer intuition. The most difficult part in any project is admitting it is done. There is always something else you can do, but there is also a time when you have to call it done.