Thoughts on Art

It seems to be a bad combination that I am a person who thrives on "art," and letting the mysteries of the creative juices flow through me, and yet constantly I want to figure out why those juices work the way they do. So many great artists don't care to explain where it all comes from because they know they don't have the answer.

But then maybe this mental mash of art and scientific method isn't such a bad thing. After all, so many artists sizzle out when they make it big and are forced to wonder what made them so interesting and loved in the first place.

Part of the answer to where it all comes from is greatly described by Carl Jung as "taking your shadow out to coffee." One of the pitfalls about being self-analytical about your creative process is that it can get you hopelessly stuck in a rut if you are asking the wrong questions: "Why am I not a good artist?" "What did Picasso have that I don't?" But one of the best parts about being self-analytical is that, when asking the right questions, it can give you a wholly different approach to the creative process and open up a far deeper understanding of yourself. "What am I blocking that's keeping the juices from flowing?" "What inspired me to make art in the first place, and what do I naturally return to for inspiration?" Most importantly, perhaps, is "Why am I getting in my own way?"

No one will ever come to a single conclusion about what makes great art. If history has proven anything, it is that great art can be created from all different mediums, from any point of inspirational departure, in any corner of the world without regard to sex, class, race, sexuality, set of circumstances or any other determining factors of which you can think.

What is important, and what can perhaps be answered, is "What makes a good artist?" The answer, simply, is someone who is not afraid to be him(/her)self.

As the new year dawns, I have taken it as a sort of sign from the universe that I stumbled upon this website: The Artist's Way. I will be taking this simple exercise to heart as the inevitable apocalypse of 2012 begins.* Happy New Year, everyone!

*Side note: as it turns out, the Mayan calendar never predicted some catastrophic apocalypse. What the Mayan Calendar says about 2012 basically amounts to: "This one's done. Flip to the next system." It's the equivalent of switching your Sports Illustrated 2011 Swimsuit Calendar for your Sports Illustrated 2012 Swimsuit Calendar. But then if I'm wrong we'll all die a horrible fiery death as the bowels of the earth open up and comets rain down upon our most picturesque cities, and then maybe you'll be sad you didn't get that supply bunker ready.