How to be an Artist

Learn to envision your personal and artistic life goals, increase your creative confidence, and identify the steps needed to move yourself into a future of your own making.

Terri Balogh

• Publisher: Knowhere Media LLC
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN:
  9780979446795
• eBook ISBN:
  9780979446757
• Topic: Persönliche Entwicklung
• Subtopic: Kreativität

The little book that can spark BIG changes in your life!

Gain Creative Confidence and Build a Future of Your Own Design

"Your Art, Your Life, Your Plan"

You're about to learn how to approach the problem of struggling to create your art and make a living as an artist. More than that, you'll receive sound advice on how to handle the times that you wrestle with the very idea of being an artist. "Highly recommend to anyone searching for their artistic self." Uncertainty is a common theme among creative souls and "How to be an Artist" speaks to the ways creative people hold themselves back from living the life they truly desire.

"Full of encouragement and grounded in practical advice…"

The artistic path is not always easy, but the rewards of becoming the artist you know you are is worth all of the challenges along the way. "Based in the real world….This book offers real advice and ideas for people living in the real world, people with jobs, and families to juggle."

Your life as an artist is within reach...why wait?

Buy your copy of "How to be an Artist" today and take the journey!

Chapter 1

From One Artist to Another

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Since I was a child I have created.

I have been lucky to hold onto enough of my own self through my life to continue to create and be involved in different artistic endeavors. Through those years I have been blessed with great mentors and known many talented individuals. I have observed my own experiences as well as the experiences of fellow artists around me. By no means do I know everything about being an artist and I don’t think I ever will, but I can tell you about what I have learned in hopes that you can benefit from those observations.

Chapter 2

Where You are Right Now

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So, you are interested in being an artist or at least you want to tap into your creative side. The first thing you must consider is where you are at this moment.

Different people who read this will be at different stages of their artistic path. For some, the idea of becoming an artist may mean dramatically shifting their life and becoming someone that they, at this moment, do not fully believe they are capable of becoming. For others, it may be that they already identify with their artistic path but feel their focus and drive could use a bit of fine-tuning. Or maybe, you used to be an artist but somewhere along your life path you were sidetracked or turned away from your personal dream. I wrote this book for anyone who has a desire to be an artist and pursue a creative life.

This is not a book about specific artistic techniques or methods. It is a book about the subtle challenges that many artists face, including myself, when they try to work towards their artistic goals. Subtle challenges that can actually completely side track and block even the most talented and highly skilled individuals from living the life they want to live. In essence I wrote this to be a guide to help encourage others along their way, to let them know that challenges can be overcome, to inspire them to create, to give them a few basic life strategy tools and to remind myself to follow my own advice.

Chapter 3

How to Start – Stating What You Want

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Years ago while I helped run a group studio/gallery I noticed an odd trend among some of the studio artists. The trend was one of self-doubt and creative self-denial. Later, when I took on teaching adult art classes I ran into the same situation. Basically, many people would hold themselves back creatively and I would hear these statements: “I don’t have enough talent to consider myself an artist. “ “I'm a fraud.” “I'm not as talented as (put in name of some other student or artist). I don’t deserve to be here.”

These statements and feelings were big emotional hurdles for people to overcome and some individuals, despite having training and talent, never overcame this restrictive view. Many of these artists needed permission to be creative.

So before we continue on with this book any further I am going to give you what I call the artistic permission slip. Read it a couple of times, read it at least once out loud and then close your eyes and really take in what you have just said and how it makes you feel.

The Artist Permission Slip

Today I, ___________, give myself permission to find and follow my artistic path. I have a right to express myself creatively and to explore new methods, ideas and materials that I am drawn to. I am a creative being and I have a right to my own creativity, to tap into my creative ideas and to express myself through my own personal artistic methods and vision. By exploring my creativity and expressing that creativity through artistic outlets I naturally become an artist and I have a right to call myself one. I give myself permission to be comfortable at whatever artistic level I currently am without judging my work or myself. Today I, _________, give myself permission to be an artist and to fully accept my personal creativity.“

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There, now that you have given yourself permission to tap into your creativity and to be an artist we can start exploring how to improve your artistic skills and how to navigate through your own personal creative ocean.

Chapter 4

Establishing Your Vision

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Why did you choose to read this book? What did you want to gain from reading it?

Something inspired you to start reading this particular book. Even if your honest answer is that someone else made you read it or you simply started looking at it because you were bored, you still choose to read this specific book entitled “How to Be An Artist”. Why?

Some of you may have a clear idea as to why you started reading this. Some of you may want to be classical artists, oil paint brush or stone chisel in hand. Some of you may want to create art out of new technology, computer and hard drives in tow. Some of you may already have an established art background but you feel like fine tuning your focus. Some of you may not want to try to make any kind of physical art whatsoever but you want to tap into your own personal creative abilities.

The point is that whether you work with painting, ceramics, photography, digital media, film - whether you are a writer, a poet, a filmmaker, an actor, a musician, a fine artist, a graphic designer, or any combination thereof – whatever your medium and whatever reason you want to live creatively - it is possible to become an artist and/or a creative being who is true to yourself and who lives a creative life.

However, no matter what you want to be, what kind of art work you want to make, or what kind of personal circumstances you face, there is one common requirement that all of you will need to grasp. You must…. absolutely must…. have a vision.

Now some of you are going to say, “Of course I have vision, I want to paint a ten foot painting of a mule” or “My vision is to write a sci-fi novel about space pigs.” Or “I want to apply my creativity to my back yard flower garden”. All of those visions are great and I expect to hear those types of plans from artists, but that is not what I am asking you to envision.

What I want to emphasize here is that, no matter what type of creative path you want to take, no matter what kind of art work you want to make, you must have a vision, not for the artwork exactly, but for your life.

Your Personal Creative Life Vision Statement

It is time to write your personal creative vision statement for your life.

Take as long as you need to really think about this and include as much detail as possible. You can start by answering the following questions. If you want to expand your vision statement beyond these questions, I encourage you to do so.

First, close your eyes and think of your ideal life. What are you doing? Who is around you? Where do you live? What do you eat? What do you do when you get up in the morning? What do you do during the day? The evening? Really try to see and feel what this ideal life would be like for you. If your mind is sending you negative or judgmental thoughts like “This is a fantasy… I can never do this.” Then just sit for a bit more, breath until the negative thoughts subside and once they subside keep envisioning your ideal life.

After you have gotten a clear vision in your head, write down, with as much detail as you can...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 12
• Chapter 13
• Chapter 14
• Chapter 15
• Chapter 16
• Chapter 17
• Chapter 18
• Chapter 19
• Chapter 20
• Chapter 21
• Chapter 22
• Chapter 23
• Chapter 24
• Chapter 25
• About the Author