what is an artist, anyway?

Any dictionary can give you the standard definition of an artist. Most people think of artists as people born with a skill to create art, or to sing or dance, or to write. Others think that an artist is someone that gets paid for their art.

How do you define what an artist is? Is that description limiting you?

Limiting definitions

If you think that a true artist is born knowing how to paint, or how to sing perfectly or how to write with perfect grammar, you can't possibly become an artist if you weren't born with that talent. The truth is that few people are born with the aptitude of a child prodigy -- and most of the people who are successful as adults were not spectacularly successful as children.

Did you know that Mary Engelbreit didn't even take art classes in school? Her grades weren't good enough to allow her to get into the non-essential classes. That didn't stop her from reaching the peak of her profession as an artist.

So many times in life we set up criteria for success that is simply impossible to attain. There is a man that I worked with that buys a new mercedes every year, lives in a 4000 square foot home and has one of the most intelligent and kind women I've ever met for a wife. One day we were talking about success and he said "I will be successful when. . ." I couldn't believe it. He had all the 'trappings" of success and didn't feel successful. I asked him what it would take for him to achieve success and his answer was something like "when I make x amount of dollars a year, when I have x% of the shares of the company I work for, etc." Isn't that sad?

It seems to me that artists often do this to themselves. "I'm not a real artist unless I can. . ." One of the published artists on the ToleNet mailing list told me that she wasn't a "real artist", she was a "technician". I couldn't believe it! Her definition of a real artist was someone who could draw or paint realistic pieces without having to look at a picture.

In no other profession or avocation do we do this to people. We don't tell doctors that they aren't a "real doctor" because they only do dentistry and can't also do brain surgery. We don't tell tax attorneys that they aren't a real attorney because they don't also specialize in adoption law. Being an artist is about more than just creating original work or mastering every skill! It pervades every facet and moment of our life. If you've ever rearranged your furniture, you used your artistic ability. If you've ever painted a white room a different color, you've change and created. If you've ever sat with a friend who was feeling blue and made them see the situation in a different way, you've used words to create.

Proficiency

I also see artists defining themselves by their level of proficiency. Someone who takes their first painting class, for example, isn't an artist. But the teacher of that class is an artist. Here is the flaw in this: I am a lawyer. My father is also a lawyer. My father has practiced law for over 40 years. The day I passed the bar and got sworn in, I was a lawyer. I could not, and maybe never will, reach the level of proficiency that my father attained in his career -- but that does not make me less of a lawyer -- it just makes me a lawyer with less experience.

Every child learns by imitation of the adults around them. Artists since the beginning of time have learned by apprenticing to more experienced artists. It is your ego that is pushing those limiting definitions on you. Your ego wants to prevent you from being embarrassed or hurt. That is a good thing, in moderation, but if it is preventing you from reaching your goals then you must let go.

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The other limiting definition is that we tend to only validate people who make money at what they are doing. I have a friend who has written part of a play. I've known him for many years and had no idea he wanted to write. So I asked him why, in the 14 years I've known, him he never mentioned it. His answer was that he hadn't sold anything yet. *arg!* The funny thing is that I have often thought "Ken should be a writer" because he sends me the best and most hilarious letter. Because he never told me he wanted to write, I never had the chance to encourage him to do it!

When I was a kid, there was a lady in our church that could sing like an angel. She never made a single dime from her singing. She never wanted to. She sang with an passion others can only aspire to. I am a good cook. I've never been paid for it. That doesn't diminish my skill.

If you wait until you are paid for your art to define yourself as an artist, it will be very difficult for you to get to a place where you CAN be paid for your work.

Why do we do this to ourselves? These definitions are terribly limiting and create stumbling blocks to your creativity. If you believe that you aren't an artist until you do "x" -- how can you feel really good about what you are creating?

What if

What if you just decided to call yourself an artist.

Right this second, pick up a tablet of paper and write: I AM AN ARTIST on it. If it makes you laugh or feel nervous write it over and over and over until those feelings diminish. If you have struggled with defining yourself as an artist, those feelings will not go away overnight. When people in your life question you about it, you will feel those old doubts creeping back up. You will have to continue to work at it but like anything else in life, the more you do it, the easier it gets.

Artist is just a word. It is a way that others can understand what it is that we do. You are worthy of this title. You are so very valuable.

My personal definition of an artist is someone that uses their creativity to interpret the things they touch in a new way. As an artist, everything I touch is somewhat skewed by my way of seeing the world. Because I have a belief in myself as an artist, I have confidence in my artistic vision that I did not own until I could stand up and say "yes, I am an artist".

So, what do you think? What is an artist, anyway?

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