Five Needs
Lend me your ear ...
I’ve been compiling a list of all the things that I know I should be doing in order to be successful as an artist as a writer. I am usually not a fan of self-help steps. In fact, I think they are destroying the country. But given the chance, I sell out. And so I present my list of the Top 5 Things Every Artist Needs. You have to pay me for looking at this, by the way.
5. Moleskin. If you do not know what a Moleskin is, google “Hemingway” and “notebook”. You’ll be offered the opportunity to purchase a wide variety of these little notepads. For awhile there, they were a way for urban hipsters, in their never-ending war against conformity, to strike a blow against the tech set. Who needs a blackberry when you can jot little notes in a tiny leather book, just like a reporter in the 1950s? Most hipsters used their moleskins to write down addresses that they would later put in their blackberries. I am not sure if the emergence of the iPhone has killed the Moleskin, or only made it stronger. I’ll have to find some hipsters to make that determination.
The reason I bring up Moleskins is that I have one. I actually have had it for several years, and I got it before I knew it was cool. Scouts honor. The reason I got it was actually quite practical: to jot down little notes — not about my hipster friends, but about the world around me. You never know when an idea will hit. So you need your trusty moleskin … or notes app on your blackberry, or iPhone, or Palm, or whatever. The important thing is the practice.
4. Time. It’s on your side. Yes it is. It might be the most valuable commodity on the planet. Time, oxygen, and dihydrogen monoxide. Those are my big three. Simply put, the artist needs time to do his or her work. Now, before you say, “duh”, please consider that most artists — and I do mean a vast and endless majority — spend most of their creative life not being able to make a living off of their art. That means that while we tell everyone we’re a poet, writer, sculptor, or filmmaker, we are actually a waiter, barista, costumer service representative, or assistant. That being said, we don’t have the luxury of spending ten hours a day persuing our craft. We spend ten hours a day making lattes before we get to pursue our craft.
The artist must make time to pursue his or her craft, and this requires discipline. It means they have to go to bed later, get up earlier, spend a bit less time with friends, have fewer hobbies, and make fewer plans. And they have to commit that time to doing their art whether they want to or not. Whether it’s an three hours, or thirty minutes a day, they have to make that commitment and fight for it, just as much as they fight to watch The Office with their friends.
3. Quiet. Stillness, contemplation, listening, prayer, solitude, and escape. All these words work, but “quiet” works harder than the rest, because quiet might be the hardest to achieve. I am not talking about merely turning everything off. I am talking about going somewhere where the world has to work just a little harder to catch you. Somewhere beautiful and simple, where you can hear your muses. I am talking about listening to God. I have been thinking about this a lot lately.
2. A creative space. Whether it is a corner of the house, a garage studio, or an old desk in a sunny room, an artist needs a place to work. It should be distraction free, and safe. By safe I mean free of pirates. I also mean it should be an escape. Tell the fam to respect the boundaries, suckas. It also helps to have the tools of the trade. Even if you don’t have the right computer, or the best gear, or the prettiest canvases, etc, learn to make due. Borrow. Beg. Commission. Sell out. Paint that cheesy church mural if it will get you some more brushes. Just don’t sell too much plasma. You need energy to create.
An ideal creative space is ideal to you. It has the things that best facilitate your ability to create. If you find you need loud music to get the juices going, then you need loud music. If it has to smell pretty, then buy a peach candle. If you need lots of cats, then you’re weird. But hey, whatever floats your boat.
1. Support. Sometimes we don’t have the support of our family and friends when we pursue special things. Sometimes we have their complete support. Sometimes we have a great mentor. Often times we don’t. The important thing is to search for it, and when you find it, cling to it. But you have to ask. If there is one thing I have learned, it’s that support doesn’t always come to you. You have to put yourself out there, and sometimes that means you have to create it from scratch. The truth is, the support is always there. The Creator supports His created. So you can count on the support. You can believe it will come, even though it will probably take some patience.
Trust. It can be so hard when you are in the business of pouring your heart and soul out onto some form of canvas for the world to see. People will laugh at you and shoot you down. You may never get respect. You might be worse off than Van Gogh. But that is not your concern. Your concern is to complete the task given to you. You have to take those ideas in your moleskin, and make time for them. You have to pursue quiet to listen to where they take you. You have got to set yourself up for sucess. And then you have to put it out there. And you’ll find a friend. You might find someone who will help you walk through it all. But you’ll always be supported if you are obedient to the task.
The Five Things. Sweet. A couple hundred more words to fill this in, and I just wrote a self-help book for artists! You owe me.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:58 pm
At least with your moleskin, you’ve achieved the image of an artist. And that’s halfway there - about what most hipsters achieve. Good luck with the rest!