August 2018

"Everyone who makes any kind of art knows that blissful feeling of falling into the zone: The internal chatter stops, the doubts become so fascinated by what you're doing that even they shut up." Susan Colon.
 
I believe most of us could say that is our experience. We can be having a rough day or dealing with pain and we sit down to create and it all fades to the background.

I think the only time when we can't get into "the zone" is when we begin telling ourselves that we are not good enough. You know the voices. They say, "Why aren't I selling my art? I didn't get juried into that show, so I guess I'm not as good as I thought." And on and on.   We defeat ourselves as artists and take away the joy that it brings to us when we demean our work and ourselves. We lose the whole point of why we make art-for the satisfaction and fulfillment we experience when we drop the paint on the paper, or capture an incredible scene with our camera, or work the clay between our hands, or whatever art medium we work in. And often it results in our slow drift away from this creative outlet.
 
So, let us conquer the inner demons and celebrate our art! We create to express ourselves. Some will like it, some won't. But what really matters is that we immerse ourselves into this love of ours. To create is to be alive!    -Anne
 

---