We live in a time of speed. Quick this, instant that, high speed something or rather. It's easy to get caught up in. Soon your attention span is that of a gnat on caffeine and your on medication to treat heart palpitations. As an artist, you are not immune to this way of operating. Show applications, commission deadlines, keeping up with your social media, opening receptions, networking, supporting other artists, sales, shipping. All of that and that doesn't include just trying to be in the studio creating the actual artwork that is the basis for the entire thing. So slowing down has always been at the forefront of how I want to handle this art venture. I have a regular job. (A term I hate as an artist but use it anyway). That job comes with enough stress. I don't need to have art go down that same road. Yet, because we're bombarded with go,go,go, it can happen anyway. So sometimes I need to make a conscious effort to not let it. And for the most part, so far, so good.
As an artist, you get asked a lot of questions. From the normal, "How much is it?" or "How long did that take you?" to the deeper, more thought provoking ones. I was once asked in an interview, "When someone visits a gallery and views your show, what do you want them to take away from it!?" I don't remember how I answered. Probably some long, drawn out thing, much like this blog. But a while back someone sent this picture, the one attached to the header of this very blog, and that's when I knew the real answer to the question. I want them to sit down and look at it. To feel something from it. And while that seems like an obvious answer, sometimes this hectic life clouds our overall goal. But when we slow down enough to enjoy seeing someone else slow down and enjoy our work, that is the ultimate. Of all of the random gallery shots I have clogging up the memory of my iPhone, this is and will always be, my favorite. It's what I need to keep in my head as to what to strive for when creating. What I need to keep in my head as to how to go about life. What we all need to do once in a while. Slowing down.
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