Asking "Why?" When You Make Art: When To Use It, When Not To.

Asking "Why?" can be very dangerous.

This question has changed the world, for whenever someone asks "why?" about a tradition taken for granted, a whole system of values brought to awareness for debate.

Asking "why?" can strengthen you because you examine what you believe and can defend it. But there is another side to the question "why?" that can get you stuck.

I like to think of the question "why?" like glue. It can hold you together or get you stuck.


When you have a tendency towards depression or are otherwise discouraged in your art, asking "why?" might get you stuck.

You may find it brings out purposelessness and pointlessness to your pieces. Don't ask why someone needs X. Not yet. Don't ask why we place colored mud on walls and make a living from it.
 One of the reasons for this could be because you are judging your art for the market that exists now, not for the people who actually need it. No one needs an invention until after it had been invented, and then they realized how much we needed it all along. So it is with art, and marketing to the future buyers and purposes that don't seem to exist at this very moment. But art has other purposes too.

Sometimes when I ask "why" I get very discouraged because I want to help the poor, feed the hungry, or cure cancer and here I've been pushing colored mud around on a canvas. "When I could be doing something constructive."  How do you deal with that?


Here are some ideas on asking "why?" in ways that will help make your art stronger and not get you stuck.

• Ask "why?" about the process, not about the product.
• People buy art for all sorts of reasons, and the story behind it is one of them. 
• You are the one spending your life's time making art, have a purpose to your life! 
• Have reasons for the processes and techniques you use and your art will be much stronger.
• Figure out why first before you decide on the how or the what.
• The rest falls into place, and all your work is aimed towards the purpose and message you want to create with your art.

Being an Artist: What Media Do You Work In? All of Them

How many times have you been asked "Are you an artist? What media do you work in?"

Do most artists only work in one media, really? Do you?

Isn't being an artist so much more? Sure there are visual artists, preforming artists, musical artists, writing arts, etc. But who says your art is defined by only one way of expression? 

What is art all about? Expressing something, usually abstract through a physical means.   Emotion through sound, honor and justice through heroism and plot, beauty and dignity through jewelry, etc.

I don't like working in one media only. In fact, I can't. My brain and inspiration won't let me.

 One of the things I DON'T like about the multifaceted aspect  of my work is that

• 1. it becomes harder to market when people don't know what to expect, and 
• 2. I feel like I will never become a master craftsperson at anything.

And both of these objections can be circumvented.

But what is so great about dabbling about in so many mediums? WELL. I'm glad you asked.




 Invention. Expression. Sometimes the means carry the message, sometimes the processes merge together to create a new medium, sometimes you're poor and can't afford all the supplies so you use what you have and are more creative for it.

No art form was created without borrowing something from another industry or craft. 

Paint needs pigment and minerals, chemistry and geology. Music needs the physics of materials, math, and notation. Fiber art needs animal husbandry, fashion skills and the chemistry of dyes.

And so, mixed media, which has become another sort of media on it's own, is a creation of more art forms. Performance painting! I would love to do that, mix theater, painting, and digital arts.  Maybe I will someday and make a video. Hm. I'd need a dancer and a great camera for that.

Another thing about moving around in your media is that you won't get as stagnant about your subjects, your skill set with one of your media will strengthen and broaden. You can learn new brush strokes for your oil painting through calligraphy.


Mixed media is more than mixing media, it's about using what is best for the expression of your message, and inventing the future of expression for someone else. You can hone your skills and be a master at what you invented! Explore the possibilities of mixing oils and watercolor! Can't think it can be done?

I'll take that as a challenge. 

My handmade traveling art kit.

Why the World Needs Your Art

                        

  In this world there are 8 billion of us and counting; inundated with countless mediocre artworks that drown in a sea of social media and overpriced galleries. And yet the few and brave of us admit that we want to create even more. 


And this short article is why you really need to create, even with everything else that's similar to your idea, even with the people saying you won't be successful, and especially when you don't think your idea is very good.


           Have you seen the world lately? It kinda sucks. 

          Each thing that you create will 1) relieve you of the tedium and 2) give someone a redeeming quality to this world. 



         When you create artwork with a message of any kind, you speak it in your own language, and it might just be the language that a person needs. Maybe the same message through a different perspective never really got through to them. That's why we need you. And with 8 billion people, that's a lot of languages, visually and verbally. 

         What if "they" say you can't create? Time is going by without you, and unless you start, you won't get better. Art is funny that way, just by attempting it, and by multiple attempts alone makes you an artist. Just do it, there really is no excuse, and time is passing anyway, whether you did even a single line more today or not. Baby steps. Even one line, one sentence written today is more than the person who has nothing. 

Persistence in trying is what makes you an artist, and the subjective judgement of customers that makes you a living. 

The world needs your art, and not as a product, but as a tool for coping with the world. Maybe a tool for enjoying the world and appreciating it. 

There's power in stories: borrowing strength from fiction to fight monsters in reality.

And until you write that story, and until someone SEES it, they may be lacking the sword they need to slay their dragon. 

So don't be afraid to show your artwork. We need your art. Enjoy it, and make the world a better place.  


Peace out.

Anna.


  I've been thinking more about the purposes for making art.