The "I" in Artist

The past couple weeks with Artful Success learning about the various hats or mind sets needed to get things done and facing the mental resistance to the fact that something has to be let go of, has finally made me see that the way I view myself could use some adjustment.

I cannot take the "I" out of being an Artist and am finally at a point where I realize this and it has to be ok with me. There is a difference between taking yourself seriously as a business, being too serious about life, and just being down right critical. I'm failing at trying to fail, and need to stop trying to see myself as a failure that will let everyone and myself down.  No matter how much I worry about letting all the wonderful people down that encourage, nudge me along, and just plain kick my a*s into gear, it is up to me to take action so I don't go crazy beating myself up. Or making myself more crazy. It does hurt more than me, and I truly don't want that. 

Ignore the chatter that questions this!
Just Accept it.
And keep moving.

It is deadline time again and I've still got major avoidance issues when it comes to actually sitting down and working without worrying about the outcome. Things usually turn out better than I think and if I have fun making something, other people usually have fun with it too.  I do need to schedule more time for getting lost and figuring things out though.

Someone once said they see me as a little mad scientist making things in my garage.

Finally, presenting myself with confidence and some sense of style?

 Well, I've been assured a hat helps with that too.

Reflection & Re-commitment

Selection of pieces from figurative sculpture class projects.
Ceramic clay
Michelle Loon
2012

Collage created  on http://bighugelabs.com/

Sunday, precipice of and old week and beginning of a new one.  Reminders that figurative sculpture class and Artful Success are nearing their official ends has been bittersweet this week. They both have enabled me to challenge myself and given me confidence personally with self awareness and technically as an artist more than I have ever imagined.  For sculpture class, seeing completed class assignments together really has struck me on how much I definitely love sculpting while working with ceramic clay has challenged me to work larger and build fearlessly. Of all the tools that have been shared with us through Artful Success, the most challenging and helpful ones are the least tangible. Seeing the difference between mentally knowing and actually taking the little action steps to shift my mindset to a more positive place; and the importance of breaking down goals to microscopic steps to prevent a constant cycle of overwhelm has been invaluable.

Recently I've mentally been stuck trying to define and explain the inspiration behind the pieces I have made for an artist's statement. I realized there is a disconnect to the pieces I have made and where I want to go as artist.  Instead of trying to define the things I have made (things to amuse myself or explore a technique to teach) - use what I have put together as an artist's statement as a guide to make new pieces that will fit better with things that I want to make. Impatient as I still get to immediately try changing everything once the switch is found for the light bulb in my head, this is just another push to re-commit myself to making time to take action in my pursuit of full time art-dom.

Defining passion

Killer Instinct - Humming bird with human eyes and skeletal hands.
Ceramic clay.
Michelle Loon, 2012

Killer Instinct - Humming bird with human eyes and skeletal hands.
Ceramic clay.
Michelle Loon, 2012

This week my goal had been to distill the seemingly random things that make me tick and fuel the adventurous part of my soul into a concise Passion statement.  During figurative sculpture class, I had a deja-epiphany (the kind where the Aha! moment makes sense, forget the details of the moment, then it pops up again ages later).  All the hobbies or classes I pursue are justification to explore and can be related back to something I have wanted to try in metal clay.  In the figurative sculpture class, the medium we are working in is ceramic clay, which is vaguely familiar yet completely new to me.  I love learning the technical aspects of sculpting realistic figures though as seen with "Killer Instinct," the more creative license I get, the more things end up having some kind of an imaginative twist. The process of creating things is very seductive to my imagination, and sculpting is my way of creating my own reality that can be shared with others.

My passion is to create expressions of motion and emotion through whimsical, wearable art. 

How do you feed your adventurous soul?