Welcome to my blog. If you have been following me for a while, by now I'm sure you are familiar with my style of art. For those of you who are new, I want to welcome you. Thank you for taking the time to browse through my art and to read this post. I will that you will take away something that is edifying for the soul. 
 
I want to speak about the spiritualty of art. The idea of art being spiritual and not just something  you do for a hobby. Growing up,  often times I was told being an artist was not a realistic "job" and that I needed to plant myself into something that was more realistic and concrete. Well, clearly I did not take much heed to that advice. I guess for me, being engulfed in art took me away from the realities of the world. Art became a way to deal or to not deal with emotions that were kept inside. 

Eventually I found myself making art that some would call "Larger Than Life". The thing is, often times the art was centered around myself. What I discovered later is that spiritually, I was suffering. I had taken a gift that the Creator gave me and used to in a way that did not reflect a higher calling nor felt fulfilling.

How often do we find ourselves misusing our gift of art ? Well, let me tell you, art can be used in ways that can help not only yourself, but others too. I have witnessed people open up their hearts and share their stories and secrets just from looking at a piece of art. Some have had "aha-moments" that gave them clarity on internal challenges they were facing. I have seen people be moved to tears of joy and even the coldest of people, turn warm in an instant after creating art. Some times the colors and or images used in a piece of art causes people to be moved spiritually. Sometimes the art can spark a memory that allows a person to travel back to a specific place and time. The most important thing to recognize is the intention behind creating art. The exploration that you experience when creating is what makes art spiritual. All of your thoughts, ideas, feelings, fears, and experiences are all going into that piece of art. It is an opportunity to commune with the Creator. 

I've recently found myself being called to create new art that would reflect the will of the Most High YAH and seek ways to build his kingdom. So what does that look like for the future of Margie Marie Art ? Well, it means the intentions of the new art will change. Maybe I wont use acrylic paint. Maybe I will no longer paint portraits of myself and my life. The most important thing is being grateful for the gift that allows me to exploring all of the possibilities that art can provide spiritually. Stay tuned ! 

For tonight's topic, I want to speak on the idea of misusing the gift of art. Art in all forms rather it is musical or visual, is a gift. It is something that we alone could not mustard up inside of us, but a power higher than us alone impregnated us with. What is that power? Our gifts were given to us by The Most High YAH. It is an honor and a duty to cultivate our gifts and use them to build up the Kingdom. What better way to honor The Most High than by offering those gifts back ? 

This was  something that was told to me as a child by my father who would always say, "Margie, the LORD gave you so many gifts and talents, don't forget to give Him some of your time". Now, I'm sure we have all, at some point, veered away from this. We become engulfed in our egos that we start to seek self glorification for the works we create with our gifts. I want to ask you, have you ever found yourself utilizing a gift carelessly through vanity ?  Well, after a while of doing this, you realize that you are never really happy after the "show case" is over.

I found myself in that space. Sometimes we have the tendency to hide our true selves behind our art. For some artists, they spend the beginning stages of their career studying themselves. I mean, It seems to be the easiest subject to study. But, what I have learned is that there is some much more outside of yourself that is worth exploring and creating. I do believe that if we misuse our gifts, life just wont work out in the best way. No matter how much money you may acquire, how much fame, how much access you have to resources, it will never compare to a feeling of fulfillment with the Most High. 

If you have found yourself at a point where you were misusing a gift, when did you recognize it ? Did you change the way that you were approaching the gift ? Share your thoughts. 

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

James 1:17

Artist Block is something I've heard people speak about for years. I hear this from non-artists mostly.  I've used the term "Artist Block" at times. Not as often as you might imagine. I guess when thinking about it, the term means there is something blocking you from creating art. Well, I would ask the question "What's blocking you ?" This would be an opportunity to explore a way to dismantle the very thing that’s keeping you from creating. Some might say they're looking for inspiration and that’s why they have not been successfully creating. 

There is a quote that I deem useful in moments like this to combat that mindset. It is by artist, Chuck Close. He says, "Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself." I asked followers from my Instagram page to share their thoughts on the topic. @triplowerey said "I feel like it can be a blessing in disguise sometimes more often than not. I think artist block is just our brains telling us that we need to pivot in our problem solving and maybe push yourself creatively."

So now that we've discovered artist block, what do we do about it ? Well, I would say change your perspective. Chuck Close quote and @triplowerey comment are both great perspectives to adopt. Next, explore something new ! Seek knowledge on a subject that interest you. Maybe that's something historical, social political, spiritualty, mathematics, a specific material, or the human body. Whatever it is, really delve into it and explore it through your art. 

So for this week's discussion I wanted to approach it a different way. I wanted to delve into understanding both Consistency and Inspiration by breaking the words down to their core and then pulling the two together by sharing a story. Of course this topic piggy backs off of last week's discussion surrounding Artist block. We could even reference the quote I shared from Chuck Close. Let's get into it ! 

Consistency is defined by Websters dictionary as an agreement or harmony of parts or features to one another or a whole : specifically the ability to be asserted together without contradiction. So what does that mean ? Well we know that an agreement is coming to a mutually approved arrangement. If something is asserted together then it is firm. Inspiration is defined as the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative. The drawing in of breath; inhalation. 

I think about a time when I was in middle school and my father kept me in the house a lot. I wasn’t allowed to attend parties or really go out with classmates from school, and I spent a lot of time alone. So I drew a lot. Well, one year I spent the summer drawing. I would get up in the afternoons, get a magazine that I begged my father to buy, turn the radio on, and sit in the back room on the floor drawing portraits and figures of people. Sometimes I would forget to eat and drink. I was so into what I was creating. Before I knew it, time passed and it would be 5 in the dawning and I would still be drawing. I may have taken a nap in-between, but for the most part I was fueled with a desire to see the finished product of these drawings. By the time I got to high school, which was a performing and visual arts academy, I had developed an exceptional ability to draw portraits and figures. A lot of the upper classmen would ask me for tips. It appeared that I was so far advanced and they often pointed it out, being that they had been taking art classes at the school much longer than I. Every medium that was given to me, I was executing assignments so well. I was one of the top 3 students in my class. What I realized was that my consistency in practicing every single day that summer, had pushed me to developing a better understand of how to draw. I had begun to understand the structure of the face and the body. My consistent exploration of how to create shades ad tones is what allowed me to stand out amongst my classmates. This is an example that I consider often. Talent alone is not enough. There is a need for consistency in order to  fully develop your potential. Think of a seed, if you consistently water that seed, give it sun light, then eventually it will grow and develop into a flower. The same goes for art. 

Inspiration . As I am growing and learning, the way that I look at this term changes. At one point I looked to this unknown being I was praying to in the sky, for inspiration. I would be left with nothing. I did, however, utilize the stimulation of emotions to fuel a lot of my past art pieces. But once I came to a place in life where those old emotions had to be addressed and checked, well, I found myself uninspired. So where did that leave me ? Like most artist who are serious about their craft : seeking knowledge. As I have been learning under my covering, Inspiration is the man,  it is masculine energy, and it is knowledge. It is what we do with the knowledge that we encounter, that produces understanding of that thing we are exploring. Let's say we are curious about a particular social issue and we want to explore it and find possible solutions through art. Well, how would we do that ? We would start by seeking the knowledge of that particular subject. That’s what creates the Inspiration. I like what @tripylowry stated on my Instagram page, he suggested reading new books to spark that inspiration. But remember, if we sit around and wait for something to fall out of the sky and hit us in the head, we will be waiting forever. 

So, how does the two, Consistency and Inspiration work together or apart ? The way I see it, you should be consistently seeking inspiration. Meaning, you should constantly seek knowledge every day. I've learned the hard way wasting time feeding into emotions produces monuments of nothingness. Just waisted time you could have spent creating. Explore sacred text, a new country, a different culture, the human anatomy, the mind , symbols, ideas surrounding family structure, etc. This is life and it is meant to be explored. That is how we create art, by consistently seeking inspiration.  

I recently shared a post on my Instagram page of a still life drawing from 2016. It read, “The eyes can be tricky. As we draw, we summarize what we perceive when light is bouncing off of an object. It is through the manipulation of our mediums and the use of technical skills, that we create an optical illusion of a three dimensional object displayed in two dimensional form. The truth is, our eyes can’t see the total of what’s in front of us. But through the knowledge of an object and perspective from the stance at which we are observing that object, we can create a piece of art based on what our minds comprehend. This is a box case. This is a glass bottle. This is a leaf. How powerful is the mind?” This is the art of drawing.  

Have you ever wondered why is it that when we look at a drawing, we are able to identify what we see ? We know that what we are looking at is not the actual object in front of us, but rather a rendered expression. How is it that an artist is able to create something so “exact” that we can identify it? Well, you see, drawing is an art. It’s not so much the gift of drawing, but it is also having the knowledge of drawing that allows an artist to create an identifiable rendered expression. For instance, it is not enough to just place a number 2 pencil to a piece of paper, doodle, and call it a master piece. Although some may say this is a form of abstract art, keep in mind that there is an “art” to abstract. When I say “art” I mean there is a process of  arranging fundamental elements, principals and utilizing techniques in order to extract a drawing that allows the human eyes to fully digest and comprehend. If you use a number 2 pencil, you must have knowledge of the anatomy of that pencil in order to utilize it at full potential and draw. What happens if you hold a pencil at the base of the body and drew a circle vs if you held the pencil at its ferule and drew a circle ? Well, you might find that at the base, you have a tighter grip and less movement of the wrist, thus creating a smaller circle with a harsher line as appose to a looser grip, with more movement creating a larger circle with a lighter line when held at the ferule. This knowledge allows you to decide how you will render what you are looking at when you are drawing. This is just one of many examples.  

The art of drawing takes time and is an ongoing process. When our focus is on creating a perfect drawing, we miss the opportunity to learn. We learn in the process of drawing. We pick up on settle cues as our bodies gestates to the gestures that allow us to create. Yes, you should strive for perfection as my covering has taught me. Yet, zone in on what you are looking to perfect. Is it a certain style of drawing ? Are you interested in perfecting optical illusion ? Or maybe you just want to explore various mediums through drawing. Whatever it is, strive towards the knowledge of it and in the process you will bring forth an understanding  of what you are producing. The art of drawing is an exploration, not a destination.