The last couple weeks I've been asking myself a lot of questions... soul searching kind of ... But I think what Im really wanting to know is Am I An Artist?
So I guess what Im asking you is.... What is an Artist to you ?
I've come across answers from different sources over time. Here is a brief list. I am not saying that any of these are true or false; they are just different perspectives on the question. These are answers based on wondering if I am an artist, or singer, dancer, or writer, or whatever. On the other hand, you might be an artist with severely restricted ability to get it done and have to satisfy yourself with doodles.
1. If you can quit your art and move on to something else, then you are not an artist.
Comment: this makes sense if you think being an artist is based on what a person is and not what a person does. If you do a lot of art projects, then you might be an artist. If you don't do any art projects, then is that person an artist? Surely what we do matters, not what we think.
2. If you are very creative, then you can call yourself an artist.
Comment: this makes sense if you have a romantic notion of being an artist. In practice, though, an artist absorbs ideas from many sources and often adds his or her own small spin to the work. There's no such thing about being entirely original; it's all been done before, but given a different spin. Inspiration feeds on inspiration.
3. If you work for money, then you are not an artist.
Comment: this makes sense if you have romantic notions of being an artist. Nevertheless, it's perfectly acceptable to use your skills and get paid for it. Artistic merit does not depend on money flow. The amount of payment does not make one an artist, only a well-paid artist or not, but one is still an artist in either case.
4. If you have to work hard at your artistic pieces (if it doesn't come easily), then you are not an artist.
Comment: this comes from the idea that those who are "gifted" are true artists while the rest of us are wannabe's. My take on giftedness is quite simple. Some people have sharper auditory senses in music and can quickly mimic a tune on the keyboard, while many of us need lessons to read and play music. Others have greater abstract intellectual development which is great for philosophy, coding and math. Others are gifted physically so they can run or climb or swim faster. Some have the ability to memorize pages of chapters or numbers. Even so, some minds are tuned to graphic design patterns and can more quickly put things together in an eye-pleasing way while the rest of us need to learn the basics of design patterns over time. If both groups of people can produce eye-pleasing work, then why can't both be artists? One will be the "gifted artist" and the other will be the "artist." But both are artists.
5. If all you have to show are practice pieces, then you are not an artist.
Comment: An artist wants to create, but an artist also needs to learn. Practice and warmups are part of an artist's work. But I think an artist makes finished or nearly finished works, even if they are never shown to anyone. If all you have to show for years of effort is a pile of exercise sheets with practice letters and sentences, I'm sure of one thing: you'll be hard pressed to call yourself an artist with any conviction.
