by TASI Executive Director, Greg Busceme, Sr.
What is most important about your art? Is it the pure satisfaction of doing something well? Being in the present moments as the brush, loaded, delivers the paint to precisely where it needs to be. Your eyes follow the application of paint until the final hair of the brush leaves the canvas, a breath and you dive in for another pass. So it goes with the movement of clay on the wheel. The whole world falls away and the point where your fingers touch the clay is all that exists. You reach the top of the vessel; you breathe and dive back for another pull. Each moment is an eternity of time yet a fleeting moment when it’s over. We all live for that experience and that experience is the significant moment. If the art is impressive so much the better. Yet, and this is important, the art is secondary to the experience of creating.
In his book “The Art Spirit” Robert Henri stated,
“Art is a byproduct of a state of mind”.
Let that soak in. Say it a few times. It is proven that going through the motions of creating art without creating anything is pumping your endorphins as if you created the next Mona Lisa. The mind does not equivocate about the quality of work, it is the act of creating (big on the “act”) that brings the subconscious mind to a happy place. So, do you have to be good? No. Not in the beginning. But while you go through the motions you are accidentally developing skills with your hands and your mind in how best to draw that line and pull that pot.
We worry too much about our artistic product, much like we worry about the future of our children. Will they be okay? Will they be appreciated? Will they be loved? We want people to love our work and the great fear is that our work will not reflect the passion that we experience when we work. Just remember that it is a byproduct of a state of mind and that state of mind thinks in ideal notions and no artist can achieve that ideal. That said – never give up on the passion you feel about your work. It will grow like you did. By giving nourishment to yourself, you grew as a byproduct of the act of feeding.
Art can be the most significant act on the road to being human. There are so few things over which we have control in our lives. Making art is the nourishment that will inevitably make you grow as an artist. Never give up making byproducts.