Variety in Art - Variety in Life
“Variety is the spice of life” this is true for your artistic approach and the way you view life.
As an emerging artist I have heard many times about the importance of finding my style, and that if I pick one medium I may be more successful. As a business I’ve been advised to “niche down” so I can better identify my ideal client.
I believe I can define success in my own words.
Personally, I have found greater satisfaction in exploring multiple artistic approaches. I do ceramics, paintings, collage, some glasswork, macrame, art journaling, and the list continues. While this may seem chaotic, it allows for creativity to flow best.
When I get stuck on one project, I step away and work on another because each artistic approach offers something unique.
In ceramics, the clay shifts to your slightest movement. You must remain perfectly still when attempting to center the clay. Ceramics teaches you to align your mind and body. You must remain patient and mentally strong when your clay isn’t responding how you’d like because you are in control of it. Stay unattached to a project because your pieces may crack, fall, and require you to restart. Yet even with the possibility of failure, each time you must pour your heart and soul into the piece, or it will be lacking.
Ceramics can teach us how to navigate life better. While we can’t control our circumstances, we are in charge of how we respond to them. We have the power to shape our lives in a more positive direction. To find your purpose you must try, fall, get back up, and repeat countless times. We can’t let the fear of failure stop us from pouring our heart and soul out into the world because that is what makes life worth living.
Developing a painting involves the process of layering paint upon paint. It is a forgiving medium. If you don’t like the brushstrokes that you put down you can paint over top of it. Your mistakes do not define the painting. They bring depth and your unique touch into the work of art. Acrylic paint dries quickly and you must work urgently. However, you can apply layers quicker. Oil paint takes days to dry and you must know when to wait before adding the next color or your painting will appear muddy. But when finished, oils radiant a vibrant color that is unmistakable. Both paints require you to step back from your work and take in the full painting. If you stay too close, you will focus on things that are unimportant to the final piece.
It's easy to focus on the daily struggles of life. When we are consumed with the busyness and weight of whatever journey we are walking on, we forget to do what we need most. Take a step back and see how far we’ve have come. All those days you thought were impossible, and storms that felt never ending, they are over now. You did it! You may be in a new battle now, but you must remember you were able to keep going forward because you are here now. No matter how quick or long it took you to get here or how much more work you have left to do, you will radiate an unmistakable vibrant color that is uniquely you!
Collage is both destructive and additive. You tear and cut apart magazines, images, and papers to add them in a new way. You can use anything in your collage, there are no rules. The process can be very healing. Collage is used when making vision boards. When you are selecting images for a vision board, subconsciously you chose images that speak to you. Goals, words, colors, all symbolizing who you want to be, feel like, and what you want to achieve. Collage is an effective way to communicate with yourself.
Redefine the areas in your life that are broken or hold bad memories. Change the narrative of the story. Turn your broken pieces into a beautiful collage that tells your story.
If I chose one form of art, I would have missed out on the different ways creativity empowers. My advice for you is to not limit yourself. You don’t need to fit into the same box as everyone else. You will miss opportunities to learn about you and your place in this world. Continue your journey in ways that don’t make sense or maybe weren’t part of your plan. Because it is in those unexpected paths, that you will take off.
