A Site for Emerging Artists
Inspiration
Take the Leap
Jan 20th
By Carolyn Edlund
On July fourth weekend of 2006, I struggled into a jumpsuit and strapped on a parachute. After climbing in with an instructor and a pilot and ascending high above southern Pennsylvania, I threw myself out of an airplane.
The thing about skydiving is that you can’t just do it halfway. You have to jump purposefully, spread eagle. And you have to arch your back, because you want to be falling with your face down, knowing where you are going. It keeps your center of gravity down and balanced in the air. If you start 
tumbling and getting disoriented, you have a serious problem, which could get messy.
I didn’t go skydiving because I thought it would be fun. I did it because I knew it would be uncomfortable. And I also knew this: If I can conquer skydiving, what it is that I cannot do?
Launching your art career can be an uncomfortable experience too. You have to be able to deliberately put yourself into situations that are difficult and scary and open to failure. It is through these experiences that you open your horizons and become more comfortable with putting yourself and your work out there. Allow yourself to be uncomfortable. Do it anyway. Then you will know there is nothing you cannot do.
Have you been turned down so much that you could wallpaper your bathroom with the rejection letters? Use those failures as a learning experience. What do you need to learn or improve this year that will help you reach your goal? Embrace those difficulties and see the opportunities that they ultimately offer. Your only limits are those you place on yourself.
In the immortal words of Frankenfurter “Don’t dream it, be it.” It’s 2010, a new year. Are you ready to launch yourself and take the leap? Jump purposefully, spread eagle. Arch your back.
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Are You an Artist? Students Answer the Question
Dec 19th
By Carolyn Edlund
Gilbert West, a British web designer based in Belgium, has launched a new website called Start Looking about art and the process at www.startlooking.co.uk . One video on his site features art students answering the question “Are You an Artist?”
Artsy Shark asked him to explain his viewpoint on the significance of this video, and how his website can benefit emerging artists.
Gilbert responds, “That was a very popular video and I think it was made by an art student. I was surprised that here were a group of young people who were about to embark on their careers who appeared to be really thrown by the question. Some of them would make choices about whether to pursue a career as an artist, go into a related creative industry or take another path and pursue their art as a pastime. I’m sure they were all accomplished as creative people, yet it appears that their college had never addressed the question of what it is to be an artist.”
- Visit Start Looking and see this video
Gilbert adds, “I think it’s a really good question for any artist to ask themselves. What struck me was that although they were all practicing some kind of art, half of them did not consider themselves artists, because I think the word artist conjures up the image of a great master. If was as if they’d been asked “So, do you think you’re as good as Van Gogh?”
One of the people being interviewed said that it wasn’t a title that he felt he could bestow on himself. Again this touches on the notion of the greatness and how we validate art, or at least how we validate art in the West; through its financial value. If that is the only measure of art then it inhibits the desire to try and to learn.
So I hope that emerging artists will watch the videos on my site and think about these questions and get inspiration for their work.”
Any students or emerging artists who have video of themselves creating art or explaining how they created a piece are welcome to submit it on his website. The intention is to have a wide range of people represented on Start Looking. Not everyone has to be an expert in their field or a recognized artist, so all are welcome. Visit and explore at www.startlooking.co.uk.
Own Your Identity as an Artist
Dec 17th
By Carolyn Edlund
Are you an artist? It can be an easy question to answer, or a difficult one.
What is your definition of an artist? Someone involved full-time in their artwork? A commercially successful person? A person with great ideas?
Defining “artist” is part of owning your identity as an artist. When we feel that we love art, study art, make art but cannot identify ourselves as artists, we limit ourselves emotionally and professionally. Cross over the line and allow yourself to think of yourself as an artist. Own that identity. What we think, we create.
Steps to try and for discussion:
- Identify yourself as an artist. Put this on your profile – on Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, your resume.
- Tell others. You may lack confidence, but this is a major step in reinforcing your identity. It inspires you to follow through.
- Take pride in your identity. Artists have a “mystique” – others appreciate and value artists who have a talent they would love to have. Observe how people react to your statement that you are an artist. This can be powerful – and affirming!
- Allow yourself to be imperfect. Take a look at how self-criticism can limit you.
- Appreciate your gifts. You are incredibly fortunate to have talent, a creative mind and means of expression. Having an “attitude of gratitude” works for everyone, and is a great energy which draws others to us.
Featured Artist Julia Hacker
