Teresa R. Funke's Blog: Bursts of Brilliance for a Creative Life, page 41

Are You Living Your Art?

In late September, my cousin Geoffrey Beard passed away at the age of 54. He’d been battling a disease his whole life and fought it right up to the end. This was a man who passionately wanted to live and to live his art. And he did just that.

Geoff was five years older than me, so I looked up to him as a kid. When he graduated college and became a graphic designer, I watched with fascination and respect as he honed his skills, grew in confidence, and built his business. He was my first-hand example of how a true artist should approach his/her work. He loved what he did, but he also respected his craft and understood the need to work well with his clients.

Like so many artists, he was called on often to donate his talents to nonprofits, creating materials and logos for many and giving back in other ways.

Though Geoff desperately wanted to live longer, and I so wish he had, he pursued his passions and, despite the challenges, built the life he desired. I will always admire him for that.

Are you living the life? If you found out tomorrow you had only a few weeks left, would you have any regrets? It sounds trite, I know, but every day is precious.

It’s not good enough to keep plugging away at a boring or unfulfilling job just to pay the bills.

It’s not good enough to keep putting off your true goals until you retire, because there is no guarantee you’ll have the ability to then pursue them.

It’s not good enough to keep waiting until the timing is right or there’s enough money in the bank or everyone else in your family is on board.

Life is a gift. Your art and your talents are gifts. Don’t squander them. Time may be shorter than you realize.

 

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On Reaching Milestones

Monday I was speaking to a combined fifth grade class about my author journey. I mentioned how I’d been identified as a good writer in fifth grade and how my teachers, family, and friends told me throughout my school years I should be a writer when I grew up. Then in my senior year, that all changed. “You can’t actually be a writer,” some of those same people told me. “That’s not a real job.” I was terribly discouraged. I’d been misled. So I got a history degree, knowing if I ever did write, I wanted it to be about history.

I told the students, “Those people were wrong, by the way. This week, I’m celebrating my 25th anniversary as a professional writer.” The kids burst out in spontaneous cheering. I wasn’t expecting that. And then I realized, milestones should be marked and celebrated.

The picture above is of me at age 24. I had recently quit my dead-end job to become a freelance writer, whatever that meant. My husband of six months was worried. We needed the $600 a month I had been making to pay our rent. But he didn’t try very hard to talk me out of it, and he has supported my career ever since.

In the photo, I’m typing on a crappy word processor because we didn’t have enough money to buy a computer. I could have stuck with my electric typewriter, but I wanted to feel more cutting edge.

For the next 25 years, my career meandered from freelance writing for newspapers and magazines, to short stories and personal essays, to dabbling in commercial writing, to authoring seven books, to speaking and school visits, to writer’s coaching, to a one-woman show, to blogging, to webinars and products, and so much more. Mine has not been a terribly lucrative career (though I’m still hopeful), but it has paid some bills and allowed me to stay home with my kids, and it has brought me so much joy. I hope it has also helped people connect with history and with their own inner artists.

I told those fifth graders that if writing wasn’t their thing, something else surely would be. There would be something in their lives they’d be good at and feel passion for.

I just hope that when they find it, they turn a deaf ear to the naysayers and follow their dreams.

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Should Artists Ever Get Political?

You know how sometimes a Hollywood actor speaks out about a cause, and the critics shout him down? “She gets paid to act,” people say, “not spout off about her opinions.”  There’s a double standard when it comes to artists and politics. The message we receive is that we are “lucky” the public allows us to do our art, so we should shut up and do it.

So does art have a place in politics?  Well, the political cartoons of the 1700s helped turn our young nation against an unjust king. And a certain pamphlet by Thomas Paine galvanized the cause. You could argue that Common Sense doesn’t count as art. It was a political argument set to paper. But any person who has ever picked up a pen recognizes the hard work that went into lines like, “a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right . . . ”

A novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, is widely credited with casting a new light on the issue of slavery for a public that had turned a blind eye. During World War II, propaganda posters reminded women that “We Can Do It” and men that Uncle Sam “Wants You for the U.S. Army.” Many years later, a poster would help aspiring president, Barack Obama, clinch the election. During the Civil Rights Movement, songs like, “People Get Ready,” by The Impressions, were written with the intention of inspiring people to join the struggle.

So what’s an artist to do? If we take a political stand, we risk losing fans and followers and sales, and that can be very scary, especially at the outset of our careers. Worse, we risk losing friends. We risk being labeled, and having that label carry over to views of our art. We risk people reading politics and agendas into everything we create. And if we are further along in our careers, or possibly famous, we risk people expecting us to take a stand all the time.

But if we don’t speak up, if we don’t use our talents to further the causes we believe in, we fail to influence change in the world, we stifle a passion in ourselves, we cave into fear. Artists have a unique ability to paint the world, and to help people see injustice. It is the artists who often take on the bullies, from the ones who run local police stations to the ones whose names stand tall on the buildings they own. They do it not with guns, but with pens and guitars and paintbrushes. People Get Ready:

There ain’t no room

for the hopeless sinner

Who would hurt all mankind just

To save his own

Have pity on those

whose chances are thinner

Cause there’s no hiding place

From the Kingdom’s Throne

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New Video – An Open Apology to My Creative Self

Enjoy my newest video revisiting one of my most popular posts from this blog, “An Open Apology to My Creative Self.” Feel encouraged again to embrace your creative energy and the joy it brings to your life!

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A Truly Profound Statement

I’m in the mood to say something profound. Something you will quote for the rest of your lives. Something you will turn into Facebook posts and share with your friends. Something that will so inspire you, you will print off this blog post and put it on your refrigerator.

You ready? Okay, here goes . . . Hold on . . . It’s coming . . . Wait, it’s almost here . . .  Nope, it’s gone.

There’s desire and then there’s ability. There’s passion and then there’s proficiency. There’s potential and then there’s actuality. There’s urgency and then there’s timing.  Today, I’m high on possibility, but low on originality. I’m channeling Martin Luther King and Maya Angelou and Mark Twain, but I can’t figure out how to turn off the mute button.

A friend once asked me if I’d rather be a one-hit wonder or create a solid but little-known body of work. The answer most days is the latter. And it feels like it should be. No one says the term “one-hit wonder” with anything less than disdain. But what if that one hit became the theme song for a civil rights movement or required reading in an English class or a Broadway play that altered the face of theater? That sort of changes things, right?

It’s fun to think that one of these days I might write a blog post that will go viral, moving millions of people to action or a new way of thinking, even if it’s the only such piece I ever write, but it’s more likely I will keep posting week in and week out and move one or two people who resonate strongly with my message that particular day, and maybe they will move those mountains that just won’t budge for me.

It’s ever so fun and fulfilling to be clever, but more lasting and effective to be consistent. There you go, that’s my profound statement for the day. Do with it what you will!

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In the Company of Artists – The Benefits of a Retreat

I’m up in the mountains this week on a writing retreat with a couple of friends. We hunker down and work during the day (emerging now and then for snacks or lunch) and stop in time for dinner. As writers, we are usually holed up in our home offices writing, researching, promoting, etc. But there’s a special kind of creative energy that permeates the condo when we are all producing at the same time.

I know musicians and actors get this when they rehearse together. And visual artists experience it if they have studio space outside their homes. But writers are solitary creatures. Even if we work in coffee shops, we are usually tucked away in a quiet corner. Many writers do belong to critique groups, providing us with valuable feedback and support, but most of the time, we are on our own.

What fun it is to gather at dinnertime and ask, “So what did you work on this afternoon?” We get to hear about each other’s progress or brainstorm someone’s stuck storyline or just commiserate over the struggles of writing. Eventually, when the wine starts flowing, our musings turn more personal, and we sink into those conversations that only fellow writers would understand.

I’m a big fan of retreats for any artist or professional. When you leave your familiar surroundings, your senses are heightened. When you walk away from the distractions of home or office, your mind is freed. When you set a goal and share it with your fellow retreaters, you feel determined to meet it. Best of all, the chatter of other artists drowns out the voices of our inner critics.

I sometimes do writing retreats on my own, and there are benefits to that too. I typically get even more focused writing and reading done. Other times, though, I crave the company of fellow artists. Either way, I go home with a smile on my face, and a few thousand new words in my manuscript.

If you’re serious about your art, try a retreat. Make time, find the money, overcome your hesitations, grab a friend and go!

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The Age of the Artist/Entrepreneur

I read a very interesting article recently on theatlantic.com about the evolution of the “artist.” We started out as craftsmen or artisans, back in the times of Shakespeare and Bach. We were apprenticed to master artists, we were middle to lower class, we were selling our wares.

We then moved into the period of artist as genius (albeit often a starving genius). After World War II, we institutionalized the arts, and the “professional artist” was born. Now, with the rise of independent labels and publishing and the influence of the internet, we are entering the age of the artist as entrepreneur.

In fact, the author of this article,William Deresiewicz,  argues that “the artist” may soon be dead, replaced by “the creative,” because after all, anyone can now create, and we are ALL encouraged to discover our “art,” whether that is writing computer code or building new widgets or discovering a cure to cancer. Heck, I espouse that very notion in this blog.

This could explain why there is so much confusion right now. We’re talking about a seismic shift in how the arts “work” and how artists see ourselves. And I feel like I was one of the first to ride the cusp of the shift from professional artist to artist/entrepreneur, back when I self-published my first book in 2002 and then as I went on to build my business.

I’ll admit that part of me has greatly enjoyed shaking up the status quo, breaking the rules, pushing the boundaries, trying new things. But another part oftentimes feels frustrated, confused, and unsure. And for every project I’ve launched that succeeded, there have been those that also failed.

But our whole world is turning upside down. We longer parent the way people did for generations. Women and men are no longer held to gender roles that were in place for centuries. Ancient rivalries are giving way to new alliances. Ancient prejudices are being challenged.

“You can’t fight progress,” as the old saying goes. And I embrace that, but there are some days I wish the rules were still in place. It’s all well and good that anyone can be an artist now, but how do we single-handedly find our audiences and how do we resist the temptation to make art just to suit the marketplace, and not because it’s the art we are called to create?

These are questions I can’t answer in this 400-word post. They are questions we will continue to ponder for many years to come, but the fact is, the world, it is a’changin’.

Here’s the article:  http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/01/the-death-of-the-artist-and-the-birth-of-the-creative-entrepreneur/383497/

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You Know What’s Really Good for You?

We are bombarded daily with tips for how to live longer, healthier lives. How to treat our bodies better, bolster our minds, and nourish our souls. We’re supposed to drink eight glasses of water a day, get eight hours of sleep per night, eat our greens, meditate, take time for ourselves. Blah, blah, blah.

I’ll tell you what’s really good for you. This:

Potato chips and chocolate are good for you. If you’ve been beating your head against the wall for hours trying to get that paragraph just right or learn that new song on the guitar or achieve the right lighting for that photograph, you need a pick-me-up. And, no, I don’t mean a stalk of celery, I mean something salty or sweet. Something decadent, because making art is hard work, and we deserve a treat.

Missing sleep is good for you. But only if you’re missing it because you can’t stop thinking about that story or reworking that painting or messing with that tune. We can’t control when inspiration strikes, so if it hits in the middle of the night, and it feels right, do it!

Caffeine is good for you. If you were up half the night creating, you need that cup of coffee. If you’ve got a deadline and you’ve hit that four o’clock brain drain, you need that Mountain Dew. If your artist friend calls at nine o’clock in the evening needing to vent, go ahead and make that cup of Earl Grey tea. You might be up for a while.

Bragging is good for you. When that stupid-ass piece of art finally comes together, you gotta tell someone. Sure, you could do the “right” thing and modestly state, “I finished my piece today.” Or you can declare, “I’m done! And it’s awesome. And I’m a goddamn genius.” Now doesn’t that feel better?

Alcohol is good for you. There’s a reason we have the expression, “I need a drink.” Sometimes, you just do. And I think artists and entrepreneurs need it more than most people. Why? Because we are responsible for all aspects of our work and creation, and that can be overwhelming at times. Of course, if you can’t drink, you can always have more chocolate. That works for me too.

This is not permission to lead a destructive life. If you don’t take care of your mind and body, you can’t do your best work. But sometimes, just sometimes, your creative soul knows better than the experts what is really good for you.

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40 Decisions a Day

A recent study found that mothers make 40 decisions a day! That’s 280 per week. Well heck, I could have told you that. But it got me thinking about artists and entrepreneurs. We easily make a like number of decisions in a single day. Some are big and some are small, but all seem so important.

I’m quite sure I make 20 decisions a day just based on the e-mail in my inbox. Should I donate to another silent auction? Should I agree to a discount a buyer has requested? Should I say yes to a speaking gig that is far out of town?  Should I renew my domain names for another year? Should I agree to that guest post on a blog I’ve never heard of?

Then there are the decisions we make on behalf of our businesses. What price should we put on our new product? Should we take out an ad in that local magazine? Should we agree to partner with another artist on a joint venture? Should we pay for a booth at an event?

And that’s to say nothing of the decisions we make regarding the art itself. What color should we apply to the painting next? Which director should we choose for the new show? Should we add another verse to the song or leave it as is? Should we massage that troublesome story line or get rid of it?

Even the “simple” decisions are sometimes surprisingly hard. Naming a character in a book, for example, sounds easy but can take hours. If you give your characters the wrong names, they tend not to cooperate with you. I sometimes think there is no such thing as an easy decision when you are an artist.

So if you are an artist/entrepreneur and a mom, you are likely making over 100 decisions a day! So the next time you are beating yourself up for not getting enough done, cut yourself some slack. Even on a bad day, you’ve made 50 decisions! That’s more than a full day’s work.

No wonder we are all so exhausted.

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You Make It Look Easy

Beginner’s luck is defined as “unexpected success for someone who has taken up a new pursuit,” and we have all experienced it. For example, the first article I wrote after quitting my job to become a freelance writer was picked up immediately. The second article landed on the front page, and was quickly acquired for reprint by a regional magazine. Hey, this is easy, I thought. And I was hooked.

The same thing happened again with my first short story. It was picked up, despite being poorly written. Granted, I had sent it to a little-known magazine probably desperate for submissions, but that didn’t matter. I was convinced I must be a good short story writer. The next four stories I wrote, though, remain unpublished to this day, and for good reason. They were even worse than the first.

Beginner’s luck even applies to the business side of art. Say you decide to sell your paintings in galleries. Maybe the first owner takes one eagerly. This is easy, you think. But the next several galleries turn you down. Are you truly a good painter, or was your sale just beginner’s luck? You go to ten more galleries to find out.

Here’s what I think . . . I think this particular phenomenon is the universe’s way of coaxing us into trying something new. It provides us an opportunity to gain just enough confidence to believe we could really do this. It offers a taste of the high that comes with success in order to get us hooked. It puts the right people in our path to say exactly the right things to make us believe. And once we believe, we are captivated. This is suddenly all we want to do.

And that little taste of success lingers. It continues to tempt us no matter how many disappointments we encounter. We long to recreate our initial triumph. We ache to feel once again that we are worthy.

And that’s all good, because that longing pulls us forward. Ideally it spurs us to learn more, to try harder, and to work with more care and diligence. And it tests our willingness to stick with something. If we never experience beginner’s luck, we are more likely to quit too soon.

So take a chance, and if you succeed wildly, don’t just write it off as beginner’s luck and move on. Consider that maybe that early fortune is leading you toward what you are meant to do.

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