“The process should remain unfamiliar and full of surprises. The materials stubbornly assert their own particularity. The material is never wrong. It’s only me that can be wrong.”
Robert Rauschenberg, Artist

Dance With The Unfamiliar

I know of an artist (a sculptor) who has, been sculpting the same exact figure in the same exact pose for as long as I have known about him. Which is many, many years. He does what he does very well, and he is very well known for what he does.

In my opinion, this artist has not grown one bit as a creator. He is a stagnant artist creating uninspired work. He is not taking any risks, he is not stepping outside his comfort zone at all, and he is not breaking any new ground with his art. He is playing it very safe and his work shows it.

I mention this artist and my opinions about his art practice in order to encourage all artists to keep trying to push your art forward, by taking lots of risks, by engaging in much experimentation and exploration, and never, ever settling for what will always safely work.

It is the artists responsibility, to herself and the world, to dance with the unfamiliar.

I realize that the fear of the unfamiliar, or the unknown, can be very strong and can often lead to failure.

An artist has to risk failure in order to invite meaningful and significant growth.

I also know that the lure of finding something that works, and then settling in with that, can be safe and comforting. But, doesn’t that sound boring? I think creating should be fun, exciting and exhilarating.

Dancing with the unfamiliar requires courage. However, if you have declared to the world that you are an artist, and you are actively engaged in making art, you have already exhibited courage.

So, dancing with the unfamiliar should be no big deal for you. Right?

Best,

David

BTW, do you know that I do private coaching and mentoring for visual artists? Interested? Click here for more info.

Also, I have spots left in the upcoming workshop at my studio in Atascadero. Check it out below and click the link for “more details”. Or better yet, just click “enroll". I would love to work with you in my studio.

[CENTRAL CALIFORNIA]