What is An Artist?

A hobbyist will  engage in more creative activity in an individual than any of the creative professions.   That is because most of the "creative" professions are about volume sales, and the people actually doing the creative part will not share the burden.   Or, as in the case of architecture, so complicated that the creative aspect  only involves 2% of the tasks.  Lets face it, modern jobs are dull and repetitive, based on a Factory model.  (And, slaves to statistical analysts because people like to "stack the deck" and guarantee sales.  Like that's even possible.)

Traditional means of support, patronage, family money, government grants, etc. all seem to require the Artist to participate in the visions of others.  If the Artist is independent of these connections, the vision belongs to the Artist alone; and, the Artist is probably dead.  

It is possible for the Artist to have a day job, or someway of providing, separate from creating art.  Get one that doesn't have managers who demand unlimited access to your time.   Trust me, there are people, managers, clients and coworkers who are never not working and expect 24 four access to you.   

Also, some jobs are more physically demanding than others.  The Artist has to take that into account, but that is more of what an individual can handle than some broad principle.    

Supporting oneself with a day job is an old idea.  I ran across it in, of all things, the Bible.  The Apostle Paul, who was the first evangelist, supported himself as a tent maker instead of taking money from those he preached to.  

This concept is so far from the tv evangelists of today who constantly beg for money and fight for audiences.  Even in religion, the job can destroy the vision of the preacher.  

The Artist cannot ignore life.  Food, shelter, and clothing are not provided by simply having faith.  There is some effort involved.     

The words that stand out in this post are Artist (as opposed to artist), support, and vision.   There is an unsaid word, which is definitely implied, and that word is Time.

Support

That which prevents death and allows the Artist to keep exploring.

Vision 

Something that people say when they are describing the body of work of an artist.  The meaning varies from person to person.  It's also what I am looking for when I explore.

Time

The most important coin in the universe.  This musing is about how the Artist spends Time. 

Connections 

An unavoidable condition of Human Existence.   They can be cultivated or limited.  Some crave connections and others, they are more selective.  Again, connections are based on individual traits. 

Artist

The one who creates art is called an Artist by other people.  How I see it, essentially an explorer of perception.  

Study Artists like Andy Warhol and it becomes clear that what you do is not as important as how you present it.

Maybe this says it more clearly:

Painters sells paintings.

Artists sell themselves.  

 

  

Purpose

 I am fairly certain that this blog will not be anything more than my ramblings.  

This is not one of those simpering appeals to sympathy that so many people use to try and gain attention.  I would say its a trait of the current generation of kids, except that I can remember the same thing happening around my generation.  

Hopefully, without interference from my subconscious, this is a statement of this blogs PURPOSE.

Of course, when I read the sentence at the beginning of this current ramble this is not a statement of fact, but my expectations for Atelier Powell.

Why?

I am not a teacher, nor do I have a grand purpose like those evangelists that travel from church to church.  For some strange reason, they did not like rock bands of my youth.  It was almost like a twisted marketing campaign, telling teens do not listen to these groups and then handing out a list of the albums.  

Evangelists never made since to me.  Why travel to churches, literally and metaphorically, preaching to the choir?  And, didn't the Apostle Paul, the prototype for evangelists, support himself with a trade so he didn't burden those he preached to?   I can understand the tithes collected by churches, after all buildings and services cost money and churches support neighborhoods.  Or they used too.  

I'm not selling anything, at the moment.  

[Wink, Wink.  Please click. Studio Powell]

[Nudge, Nudge: Etsy Shop: Studio Powell]

[Innocent look while whistling]

I type words on "paper" and then I feel a need to share them.  The blog is faster than letter writing and if someone is not interested, they can skip it without being rude.  I think it is important not to be rude, especially if you want to throttle the person in front of you.  It's a type of passive violence that can escalate to active status real fast. 

Now you are probably wondering about the skulls I have chosen to place in the article.  That is normal.  Images in articles are usually related, although there is no rule that says they have to relate.

The funny thing about people is that if there is not connection between the words and the images, people will made connections.  We cannot help ourselves.   

I see it in my drawing and paintings that are representational, to the extent that people see things I never put in there.  I suppose that Art, if I ever reach that level of mastery, is a skeleton that people flesh out with their own ideas and memories.  

Am I thinking about my death?  That is the question that pops up every time people see skulls.  Well, the answer is yes.  I am over 50 years old. What do you expect? But, there is not much to think about.  It's going to happen sooner or later.  I spend more time deciding lunch or what movie to see.  

Skulls and skeletons are subjects artist's draw as students, in western schools.  An understanding of anatomy, muscles and skeletons, is incredibly useful to artists.