ART AND AUTHENTICITY

Hello everyone and welcome to new subscribers!

As artists we often look for connection, relationships, and ways to express ourselves that feel personal and reflect our sensibilities. This is the essence of being authentic – being who we are in whatever we engage with, be it a conversation or a painting.

In this month’s blog post I’m considering a part of myself that I have a complicated relationship with. At times it has been a barrier to my art-making, so much so that I could not face the work at all. When we look outside ourselves for our identity and acceptance, we suffer…and so does our creative work. Many of us struggle with letting ourselves be seen, and I hope this month’s blog post offers you a space to consider how you could be more truthful in your work, and trust that you are enough…in fact, you are truly unique.

And just a reminder that my monthly blog post is also offered as an audio recording, allowing you to listen rather than read. To listen to the recording just click on the READ MORE OR LISTEN button in the ‘FROM THE BLOG’ section of this newsletter and you’ll find the MP3 file on my website at the bottom of my written post.

If you have any feedback for me, I always love hearing from you. Thank you for reading and sharing this newsletter…it truly is appreciated.

PS: For those of you that are new subscribers I have included a link to find previous issues of my newsletter – full of additional resources for you!

WHO ARE WE TRYING TO PLEASE?

A few weeks ago I came across a quote from @the.holistic.psychologist on Instagram that caused me to pause and really think about who we are trying to please as artists, and why. The quote shone a light on a truth about “people pleasing,” which is something I have been working on my whole life…trying to understand what is at play and how to not let it direct my choices and actions, especially as an artist.

While I have written about this before in a previous blog post from 2021, ‘Who Are We Creating For,’ there was something about this quote that asked me to revisit this. 

“People pleasers are not trying to please other people.
They are trying to avoid their own feelings of shame when they disappoint someone. Every people pleaser has one core goal: to control how another person views them.”

My first response in reading this was just how much people pleasing was actually a deeper  need for self-preservation and acceptance. I recognized myself in it. I recognized the shame I can feel when I have to say no to someone, set a boundary, or choose my needs over another’s. 

People pleasing started early for me. As a painfully shy child, it was the safest way to not get hurt. I wanted everyone to like me, to never have a conflict, and to make others happy…many times at my own expense. But on some level it worked for me…so I continued to focus on pleasing others.

The flip side of this, and perhaps the confusing part as well, is that I am a kind and generous person…and I will always do my best to help when and where I can. I am proud of that aspect of my personality and would never want to change that about myself.

And I have, at times, said yes when I really needed to say no. I have made unhealthy choices for myself out of the need to feel loved and to avoid the shame of others' judgments about my need to be myself and honour my truth. I have self-abandoned more than I can bear to think about.

Years of counseling and personal work led me out of the stickiest part of this way of being, to a healthier place…thank goodness. I am forever grateful for therapy and the lessons that life brought me that allowed me to heal and trust myself more fully.

Then came art. I came to art-making later in life, after abandoning it as a self-indulgent and unreasonable choice, and one that no one saw as having true value. My early people pleaser could not forge a path in art-making simply because it meant going against the grain and societal conventions, bucking others’ expectations of me, and truly standing in what I wanted.

INSPIRATION FOR YOUR ARTIST’S MINDSET

YOU ARE THE SUBJECT : RICHARD SERRA

This past March, the American sculptor Richard Serra passed away. Over his sixty year career he was celebrated as one of the most significant artists of his generation, producing large-scale, site-specific sculptures that were both monumental and mystical in how they were experienced. Serra made us, the viewer, the subject of his work. Our experience of disorientation and disbelief was important to him. He wanted us to meet the work with a willingness to be with it and move through it – compressed, expanded, and consumed in the deep rich colour of rusted steel.

I remember seeing one of his pieces installed at the Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle many years ago. While I had seen much of his work in videos and images, it was a truly different experience to stand next to a wall of steel, leaning towards me and meeting the sky simultaneously. I became aware of my smallness and the significance of my role in this work…my experience was what it had been created for. Art can do that.

In this quote we can see his understanding of obsession and repetition…following where we must go, where we are being led in our own work.

Obsession is what it comes down to. It is difficult to think without obsession, and it is impossible to create something without a foundation that is rigorous, incontrovertible, and, in fact, to some degree repetitive. Repetition is the ritual of obsession. Repetition is a way to jumpstart the indecision of beginning. To persevere and to begin over and over again is to continue the obsession with work. Work comes out of work. In order to work you must already be working.
—Richard Serra

The video documents the installation of his 656,000 pound sculpture at the Glenstone Museum. Serra’s unrelenting vision for his work is captured in this film and through his sharing.

ATTACHMENT AND AUTHENTICITY : GABOR MATÉ

What gets in the way of us truly being ourselves, being authentically who we are?

As artists we know how important it is for us to access our authenticity to make our creative work. And yet, it can be a challenge for many of us. Much of the work I do with clients is around finding their inner resilience and ability to trust that who they are is enough, and by bringing all of themselves to their work, they have the greatest potential to express what is truly meaningful to them.

When we can understand why it can feel difficult to express ourselves authentically – to trust our truth, our instincts, our emotions and sensibilities – we can do the necessary work to empty ourselves of the thoughts that don’t serve us and find the courage to speak in our full voice.

When we can make and share our creative work from that place, we find more ease in the process and the ability to make the work that reflects our vision.

Dr. Gabor Maté is a renowned speaker and author. His life’s work has been to bring awareness and healing through his Compassionate Inquiry approach. In this short video he explains how our early attachment needs and experiences can be a barrier to our need for authenticity throughout our lives.

ADVICE TO YOUNG ARTISTS : DAVID BOWIE

“Never work for other people” is the opening advice given in this interview with David Bowie, the English singer, songwriter, musician, and actor.

This video made the rounds in many of the artist communities that I am connected to, as it seems to be just what we need to hear. How can we stay true to our creative vision and work from our position as an artist, without concern for what others may think about our work?

It seems we just can’t hear this message enough. What part of his advice did you most need to hear?

OFFERINGS FOR ARTISTS

REFLECTIVE . INSIGHTFUL . POWERFUL

A BEAUTIFUL, INSPIRING FALL OFFERING IS COMING

In recent months I have been busy co-creating with artist and coach, Kerry Schroeder, something truly wonderful, and we can’t wait to share it with you very soon!

Together, Kerry and I are creating a unique and inspired online program that addresses many of the core concerns artists face.

You’ll feel inspired and empowered to move your art-making further than you have before, working with passion, conviction and clarity.

Vision + Voice will be offered in September 2024.

As an Insight Creative subscriber you’ll get all the details and first opportunity to consider our invitation. This offering will take the place of The Artist’s Mindset Program for 2024…offering my signature mindset support, with so much more.

–THE 30 DAY SKETCHBOOK CHALLENGE COURSE–

Looking for a boost for your art-practice?

Have you been wanting a sketchbook practice that supports your art-making and creative process, but you don’t know how to begin?

The 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge Course is an affordable, content rich, self-guided course that can be started at any time, and is always available for purchase on my website.

Once purchased, you’ll have lifetime access to the course and can repeat the Challenge at any time in the future, giving your art-making the boost it might need.

This course also touches on many of the essential aspects of the Artist’s mindset – the ways we can think about and approach our creative work to move past fear and limitations, opening to what is possible for us.

You can find out more about The 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge Course HERE.

You can also email me at info@insightcreative.ca with your questions or for more info.

THE GIFT OF SHARING

For new subscribers – please enjoy these previous issues of my monthly newsletter.
Links to additional back issues can be found on the right sidebar of my blog HERE.

Thank you for subscribing!

If you know of any artists that could benefit from these monthly newsletters, blog posts, or my 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge Course, please share this email with them and invite them to have a look. They’ll receive my free PDF download on ‘How to Make a Creativity Journal’ when they subscribe.

STRONGER TOGETHER

Art-making is such a personal experience, always calling us forth and asking us to be more of ourselves, to trust more deeply and to show up for the work.

When we develop a healthy and resilient attitude towards the struggles we may be facing, we feel more balanced and set ourselves up for success.

I hope this newsletter gives you some tools to help guide yourself towards more trust and awareness around your creative process.

Thanks for being here…wishing you abundant creativity today and every day!
Warmly,
Cheryl Taves
info@insightcreative.ca