It’s almost Fall in the Carolina’s…tis the time of year when festivals of many line the city streets inviting wanderers from afar to taste new sweets, dance to new beats and participate in the presentation of visual artists who’ve placed paint on a canvas once blizzard white.
Stop! Stop! Turn off the Tinker Bell chimes and put away the self created fanfare one feels when reaching a point of presentation then walk from its array of colors because who in God’s name would want to see what you create?
Um….me.
Closet artistry is fear fed by rivers, oceans, mountains and universes still undiscovered. Once you’ve exposed, “I think I can” to your process…the right side of your personality quickly becomes jealous and pulls from its trunks of funk priceless relics called, “Loser, freak, disconnected wanna be” and every other name you think people call you but have never physically watched their lips put it into motion.
It sucks to be creative! If you think speaking Japanese and Korean is difficult, I challenge you to gently explain to family and friends why you’ve got a constant urge to visit Michaels, Home Depot and Hobby Lobby. The support is brilliant in the beginning because it’s human nature…but how many countless nights do musicians spend alone in bedrooms, living rooms and hotel rooms locked onto a sound only they hear and the night passes too quickly before a single note is left on a device designed for recording?
Until you begin the journey of grasping a better view of where art comes from…you face the daily ache of I don’t know what’s wrong…it just hurts.
Taking the time to study another voice, handshake, finely tuned finger capable of putting pictures on rice should always serve as a great inspiration. If everybody was born to be great…what would great be? Therefore it takes a lot of nearly greats and almost ok’s to invite light the corners of your personal canvas.
Stop racing through flea markets and off campus Targets and begin to allow your inner creative self to recognize a single ingredient of commonality. Luck has nothing to do with putting your abilities on display. If that’s the case why dream? I’ll start collecting rabbit’s feet and football jerseys with the number seven.
Why do some people locate the confidence required to put their work on display?
I’m going to be quite blunt…creative people are known for surrounding themselves with jealous negative people. Ouch! No way! Who are you trying to fool?
In 2002, while taking my first steps into a 2,000 year old art called Karate…instantly I was greeted by individuals that didn’t fit within the heavily promoted view of what Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan shot through theater eyes; where were the high flying kickers? What do you mean brick breaking doesn’t begin until red belt? Are you serious, I can only focus on the front and side kick for the first six months of these studies? Where are the pretty people?
From the outside, martial arts has a certain brand to it that either inspires you or gives you something else to toss into the back of the closet. In my new book Another 1021 Thoughts I write: If you want perfection, don’t take up martial arts. I’m learning about how the mind and body are supposed to be confused. Learn to take it slowly and don’t let anyone know of your personal disappointment. In radio, failure never leaves me with a loss of words. Karate is costing me! Anytime I’m caught beating myself up…I’m forced to do more pushups. Sensei put me face first into the mat and told me to look into the mirror. His words rang out, “Trust that self you are or be defeated before you begin.” Which proves that I am nothing but a frog in a nearby pond—the master of my kingdom until danger nears…then I leap from sight.
All shapes of art should be looked upon as being an avenue of self abuse. We want so bad to express until it’s time to take what we see on the inside and give it away.
September 12, 2002
My first martial arts test
The view is that of a new path, an open window toward better controlling speed, temperament, success and strength. Turning toward my heart and lungs, I no longer see the self I used to be, but rather a changed bird, one that can almost fly. I don’t search for entanglement; I divide everything into pieces, deciding within seconds if what is presented is worth the energy it’ll take to completely change the course of my connection.
What I learned then continues to live today through my other avenues of display.
When was the last time you spoke to the artist inside? How often do you allow yourself to be surrounded by jealous negative people? An email the other day makes its way through my computer page, “I don’t have time to deal with this…I’m swamped.” To which I replied, and please keep in mind I was only trying to help change the path the artist was walking, “I too am swamped but you never hear me bragging about it.”
Not a negative. I could’ve easily written back, “I’m sorry, guess that’s why you make the big bucks.”
If you constantly tell the creative person how busy you are…you’ll never find time to enjoy that unforgettable invisible feeling when a one time thought has become your current reality. The way you treat yourself is how you treat others. Or as my third grade favorite teacher in the whole wide world Mrs. Stephenson once said, “I look into your desk daily not to snoop but to look for ways to help you locate a more organized way to live. A messy desk says a lot…it’s my job to listen.”
Guess that’s why I display daily blogs…although it features bad grammar, misplaced thoughts and words and sometimes I come across crass, too positive and overbearing on the support for the underdogs…it’s just my way of looking through this computer screen to do nothing more than study your desk called life.
You only need one fan of your work to feel like an artist…let that fan be yourself.
arroecollins@clearchannel.com
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