Ministering to artists ministering through the arts.
I was listening to The Accidental Creative Podcast and came upon this gem that every one of my readers needs to hear. It’s about the lies creatives hear, believe and let hold them back. This is a MUST listen! Take ten minutes and change your thinking. Maybe even your life.
http://www.accidentalcreative.com/podcasts/ac/ac-podcast-lies-lies-lies-yeah
For more on Todd Henry and The Accidental Creative, read the book.
The Accidental Creative: How to Be Brilliant at a Moment’s Notice
I made a new friend over the weekend. I was doing A Night AMOK:Pix of JC and afterwards she told me that I inspired her to pick up her brushes again. She had laid them down after a great loss but after hearing the message and seeing the paintings she knew it was time. I love when God uses me like that.
As she told me more of her story and a piece that had been vexing her, I could feel her inner critic was keeping her blocked. So I reminded her of this quote from Picasso. ”Every child is an artist. The problem is to remain an artist once we grow up.”
I wanted to remind her that we all hear voices that tell us we’re not good enough. When we were children, we ignored those voices and created anyway. I’m convinced that it’s the same way for adults who want to remain artists.
I always think of artists like Jackson Pollack. Some people see great depth in his pieces, others just see splattered paint. At one point though, I’m pretty sure there had to have been gatekeepers in his life who couldn’t see beyond the spatters. How did he get past them and become an artist? For that matter how did Picasso? Because I’m sure there were a lot of people who didn’t get cubism when he started. True he proved himself a great painter before he delved into it, but even so, there are a lot of people who still don’t get it, imagine when it was new. I think both these artistic legends and many more faced inner and outer critics, and they silenced them and created. Then they hung their art on the wall, and said, loud and proud, “this is my art.” I’m sure some laughed and frowned and some will treat your work the same way. That’s okay, you’re not creating for them so ignore them. Some will look at your work and say wow and some will be touched and moved. Those are the ones you were created to reach. Love and appreciate them and keep going.
How can you solve the problem of remaining an artist, now that you’re all grown up?
