Recognizing Passion

Over the years I’ve experienced many highs and lows in my art process and through the numerous lows, I still find the passion to get out of my frustrating artistic sinkhole and find my art nirvana. The passion is found in the journey, the discoveries, and even the eye-opening tribulations which then influence me to another path and another way out of a dead-end project.

I was at a conference the other day and the key-note speaker suggested we can’t plan our destination because we need to experience each step in life to find where we are supposed to go to find our success. One door will open another and though artists often find themselves opening a door just to see a brick wall, it’s what some call a “character builder” but I see it as an opportunity to explore elsewhere.

At first glance, I thought it was odd to capture a series of pepper photos but Edward Weston followed his passion, perhaps after visiting a farmers market and coming across a table of odd looking vegetables, and discovered the possibilities. Weston found the inner excitement and explored the lines and shapes we take for granted each day though his camera lens. Artists need to be constantly exploring the joys as well as miseries of creative discovery and I keep a journal for all of my passionate musings (and unfortunate failings).

What about the suffering artist? I’ve had many tribulations over the years that allowed me to understand my limitations for example I know I cannot draw. My crude scratchings don’t even look like they were done deliberately messy and lacking all sense of proportion and I’m fine with that as I am focused on my talents and leave the drawing abilities to others who deserve my amazement. My greatest tribulation I have yet to conquer is time management as this stress not only affects my output but also my emotional well-being in finishing a project.

So whether an artist seeks a workshop to find or maintain the artistic passion, it’s well deserved for the creative soul. Even if the artist takes a few vacation days from a non-artsy job, it is the desire of every artist, including myself, to refresh the stale enthusiasm of her art. I didn't know it was such a cliched saying but back in high school my health teacher stressed this thought and it's been stuck in my head ever since then to guide me in life:
Success is a journey, not a destination.

Here is another favorite quote I keep in my purse:
When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the close door, that we do not see the ones which open for us. ~ Alexander Graham Bell.