ARTS and CULTURE -- This week on social media I shared a quote of Edmund S. Lee, a philosophy I have tried to live by in my life, and it goes like this: Surround yourself with the dreamers and the believers, and the thinkers, but most of all, surround yourself with those who see the greatness within you, even when you don’t see it in yourself.
Support is a funny thing.
As an artist, 96 per cent of our career is spent dealing with rejection. Making a living from art can be a very long and lonely, misunderstood journey, having a decent support system can help make that early journey a little better. As artists begin their journey, discovering how best to accomplish their goals, those who strive to support them, also learn as they go. We thank you for your support and encouragement, we need you.
Understand that this is what we do.
The time you spent devoting yourself to learning your craft, whether it be accounting, nursing or even actual rocket science, we’ve devoted to learning ours too, please don’t diminish our ability by saying your kid could do what we do, or you yourself could probably do the same thing if you just had a little extra time.
We have spent years in study, within our art form and for most of us with other art forms that relate to ours. Anatomy, business courses, legal courses, computer programs etcetera, the list is long.
I certainly couldn’t carry out nursing duties, mechanic duties, teaching mathematics, nor farming for a full day. And you could shoot an entire wedding, run an art exhibit, conduct a group of children in harmonious voice, and create a dance piece from start to finish. Every profession has a learning curve that people spend years to overcome, ours is no different.
But by working with each other and respecting each other, the world around us becomes a better place to be.
I am part of organizations that have been developed to nurture and help those new to the business, or to any business. I enjoy helping those around me to grow and develop as a mentor and teacher. Collaborating with a variety of community-based activities gives both myself and those I work with a sense of pride within the community – sharing resources, and knowledge and passion for what we love, now that is the best.
When those in our community, our province, our country, our world, find themselves in need, we jump to help.
That is just the way it should be.
As an artist for over 40 years, I’ve been fortunate enough to find many like-minded artists in different industries and culture, who like me love their art, and strive to be their best, do their best and help create the best. Now with social media we can be in contact with each other globally, so even in times when those in closest proximity to us are unable to offer the support we desire and require, we are able to reach out and feel the best of wishes from our peers … the world over.