Blog Archives
Pearls from artists* # 663
*an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on.
”No one has made a list of places where the extraordinary may happen and where it may not. Still, there are indications. Among crowds, in drawing rooms, among easements and comforts and pleasures, it is seldom seen. It is more likely to stick to the risk-taker than the ticket-taker. It isn’t that it would disparage comforts, or the set routines of the world, but that its concern is directed to another place. Its concern is the edge, and a making of a form out of the formlessness that is beyond the edge.”
– Mary Oliver
…Mary Oliver was right. Masterpieces are not conceived at cocktail parties, clubs, or on crowded beaches. If you want to summon your muse and set the stage for astonishing things to happen, silence is the most essential prerequisite. It is where the real alchemy of art happens. You need to calm yourself in that fragile place that exists parallel to this one. When some intruder from the underworld of quotidian life smashes through, demanding our focus, all the glittering magic scatters, and flies away.
Kate Kretz in Art From Your Core: A Holistic Guide to Visual Voice
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Pearls from artists* # 662
“Harbinger,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 26” x 20”
*an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on.
The main thing is that you follow your work. Follow it as truthfully as you can. You know, even when you get into ditches and stuff like that, rather than holding an idea of what you want it to be, rather than trying to manipulate your life to be a particular way […] let your life just unfold itself.
Kiki Smith quoted in Art From Your Core: A Holistic Guide to Visual Voice by Kate Kretz
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Pearls from artists* # 661
*an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on.
Curiosity and wonder are essential to the art life. Curiosity drives us to look beneath the rocks that others pass by. Wonder helps us recognize the infinite potential of what we find there, so we might spin it into something remarkable. The concepts and visuals that attract me will likely not grab you, but therein lies the beauty. Your job is to keep excavating the things that intrigue you, feeding your head with new ideas. The objective is to build a singular mental stockpile of elements that make up your visual voice. Your brain then makes connections that others would never make because they have assembled a vastly different stockpile of ideas, images, experiences, concepts, beliefs, and concerns.
Kate Kretz in Art From Your Core: A Holistic Guide to Visual Voice
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Pearls from artists* # 660
Dropping off “Harbinger” at the framer!
*an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on.
While most citizens sell precious life hours to procure money, those who acquire the most wealth spend that money to buy more free time. Billionaire CEOs turf tasks to upper-level managers to free themselves for blocks of uninterrupted learning and creative thinking time, because this is how earth-shattering, paradigm-blending breakthroughs are cultivated (Simmons, 2017). Our world is rapidly dividing into two groups: those who allow their time and focus to be constantly manipulated by others, and those who seize control of how they spend their short time on earth.
Kate Kretz in Art From your Core: A Holistic Guide to Visual Voice
Comments are welcome!
Pearls from artists* # 659
*an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on.
Your only goal is to be the purest and strongest version of yourself, and to articulate that as fully as possible through your creations. Avoid any enticements that threaten to eclipse the priority of your work, to lure you off in another direction toward a different goal. You are here to spend a lifetime exploring and refining what excites you.
Like Olympic athletes, trailblazing artists do not waste a second looking around at their competition to measure how they are doing. They do not look to the sidelines to measure their applause. They just keep moving forward, in the focused direction of their vision. When you possess a quiet, solid confidence and you are completely unshaken (not even a twitch) when someone looks at your work and says, ‘I don’t really like it,’ you have arrived. If you are not there yet, keep practicing. The opinions of others are simply the ever-shifting clouds, moving across your infinite azure sky.
Kate Kretz in Art From Your Core: A Holistic Guide to Visual Voice
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Pearls from artists* # 658
Barbara’s Studio
*an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on.
A civilized society needs not only doctors, lawyers, and teachers but also artists, craftspeople, and other creatives to make our earthly existence compelling, thoughtful, and vibrant. Most people work to buy a bigger house, a newer car, or better vacations for themselves and their families. Artists devote their lives to making our world a more beautiful, truthful, and equitable place for everyone. They put their labor in service of those they might never see, for rewards that are never guaranteed. To my mind, this is a magnanimous pursuit… and about as unselfish as you can get.
Kate Kretz in Art From Your Core: A Holistic Guide to Visual Voice
Comments are welcome!
Pearls from artists* # 656
At Storm King Art Center, Cornwall-On-Hudson, NY. Photo: Susan Erlichman
*an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on.
The world needs artists more than they know, and you are entitled to be one of them. We altruistically create gifts, with no assurance those gifts will be appreciated. Like social workers, we do not make a lot of money, but we improve the quality of people’s lives through ripple effects. When our work shifts the perceptions of one viewer, the transformation often radiates to others around them. That includes dialogue and pushes the world toward more truth or justice and inspires others to do the same.
Kate Kretz in Art From Your Core: A Holistic Guide to Visual Voice
Comments are welcome!
Pearls from artists* # 655
*an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on.
My creative friends are some of the most hard-working, motivated people I know. While many non-artists have nine-to-five jobs and then relax at home, our work is never done. Yet, we are bombarded with tropes in books, movies, and television suggesting that we have chosen a ‘slacker’ profession. Even wildly successful artists can have family members who think they are self-absorbed, or that they should ‘get a real job.’ According to genius and award-winning filmmaker, Werner Herzog, his brother still routinely makes fun of his profession (Brooks, 2020). Some may call us selfish and tell us that we are only looking for attention, or feeding our egos. They may ask, “When are you going to grow up?” or ignorantly proclaim, “How nice it must be to only work when you want to.” Regardless of intention, this is not support.
Kate Kretz in Art From Your Core: A Holistic Guide to Visual Voice
Comments are welcome!
Pearls from artists* # 654
*an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on.
The cynical art world, where ‘nothing is a miracle,’ benefits from disempowered artists who have been tricked into feeling devalued, and trained to live at the mercy of the marketplace. But the exact opposite is true. The art world would collapse without our coveted holy vision. Artists are born with unconventional gifts that mark them as innovative thought leaders. Society is only beginning to understand how these gifts may be employed. We possess the power to expose what is going on beneath the surface, initiate difficult conversations, and help people process an increasingly complex world. We fire bullets of truth to pierce the ever-thickening wall of relentless lies. We see things more clearly, precisely because we are on the outside. We foster empathy and point out our common humanity. We remind people that they do not have to go along with this; there are other ways to live. We have the conviction to scream at the top of our lungs when society is veering terribly off course. That the antidote to capitalism is meaning. At our best, through a rather miraculous process, artists change the world.
Kate Kretz in Art From Your Core: A Holistic Guide to Visual Voice
Comments are welcome!
Pearls from artists* # 653
*an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on.
Watching online markers of approval climb into high numbers releases dopamine in our brains, which can become addictive. If we crave ‘likes,’ and consciously or unconsciously make more of what our audience wants, we become supply-and-demand widget makers. We start catering to the lowest common denominator, asking ourselves what kind of widget will get the most likes or shares. Would you allow a committee into your studio to dictate your next work, to tell you what goes and what stays? How is catering to ‘likes’ any different?
… Every time your work grows, you will gain and lose fans. The more followers you have, the more individuals will need to adjust to the shifts that are happening. Some are guaranteed to disapprove of any new direction, regardless of content. Those who cannot tolerate change will be replaced by supporters of a higher caliber who approve and encourage you to grow.
Kate Kretz in Art From Your Core: A Holistic Guide to Visual Voice
Comments are welcome!
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