Wednesday, February 1, 2012

uniqueness and crowds

last week, i received this sweet comment from my new blogger friend, margie. it was written for one of my new mixed media posts.

"I love your new style too. Uniquely you and unlike any I've seen, which is always hard since there is so much out there."

first of all, it is no secret that i love comments, i adore them. for me, it isn't about praise, because i even like the not so nice comments. it's about the dialogue, and meeting new people, learning new things, the back and forth.

anyway, this comment struck a particular chord because uniqueness is what i strive for. when i see what other artists are doing, i do not say "that's beautiful, how can i remake it", i say "that's beautiful, strike another thing off the list that i can't touch." i have come to realize that it is a bit self-sabotaging to think this way, but that is how my brain has always worked. i shut the door on a lot of things before i even put one foot over the threshold. this causes a lot of artistic downtime for me and a lot of freezing up of thoughts.

my website and booth setup used to contain a lot of beautiful yellow and white chevron prints, but once chevrons became all the craze, i am now working on removing them because i don't want to seem like i jumped on the bandwagon. i LOVE all the somerset magazines, but you see a lot of art made from cremes and tans and a LOT of music note paper. don't get me wrong, the artwork showcased is very beautiful and i would cherish any piece should i own one, but you will rarely find music notes in my art because i am tone-deaf and they are not unique to ME.

having said that, i do believe the saying that there are no new ideas, but i am trying really, really, really hard to find them. so thank you margie, for recognizing my efforts to be unique :)

what are your thoughts on this? are you as self-sabotaging as i am?

4 comments:

  1. There is such a fine line! I think we are ALL influenced by the work of others, no matter what. It's really hard to be original these days, with so much access to immediate media. But, I do think *you* shine through when you stick to styles and themes that you truly love... you know, the things that just make you go all tingly?

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  2. I speak from my heart my friend. You're welcome.

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  3. I am a bit self sabotaging myself when it comes to art. I do believe that there are no new ideas out there but once you find your voice, you don't have to worry about any of that because it shines as uniquely you. It has taken me a LONG time to figure that out...and I am still searching for "look". I almost have it, I think. :) Here is to you for knowing what is uniquely you!

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thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment. i love reading each and every one and am thrilled you decided to visit linwood avenue!

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