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Artists spend a great deal of time alone. Whether or not one is naturally inclined to enjoy solitude, some is necessary to develop talent, instill discipline, and hear the creative muse. Beside the requisite for aloneness, to achieve success as an artist and a human being, seeking the society of others is also necessary.  It is interesting that this duality which offers contrast and variety, is also responsible in part for varying degrees of anxiety in some artists, including myself. On the one hand, showing up to practice your art form on a regular basis, will not alone get your work before the public and potential collectors, but a good portion of waking hours have to be devoted to the process. On the other hand, spending too much time on the marketing aspects of an art career is a potential hazard to your practice. Because of the hours and hours put into output, and the intense focus required, it is sometimes very difficult to attend to the other aspects of an art career, such as going to openings, having open studios, giving talks, demonstrations and so on. It is easy to get stuck in a rut in your ivory tower and the ideal balance is constantly in flux and different for everyone.

 I attended a very special and unusual opening last week. Special because of the kindness and warmth of the gallery owners Carol and Glen Skooglund, the staff and art lovers; and unusual because the norm of wine, cheese, crackers and fruit were replaced by homemade ice cream and cookies. It was refreshingly different. First Street Gallery and Frame Company http://www.firststreetgalleries.com/ is in Turlock California, Stanislaus County about an hour and a half from our place in Mariposa County. The sweltering heat of July so good for the amazing produce and other crops produced in the San Joaquin Valley, wasn’t there the night of the opening. The ambient temperature was in the 70’s, and there was a breeze. The featured show was “California Paintings Mountains to Sea” and I was the featured artist. I came not knowing a soul and left tired, happy and with a sense of connection.

Sometimes openings are painful and awkward. You come not knowing anyone, and leave not knowing anyone. That is likely the main reason wine is served: to reduce anxiety, and encourage mingling and sales. Of course alcohol at art events could backfire as well. I have participated in art fairs where free wine tasting was featured on Saturday, and beer on Sunday. I did not notice an increase in art sales. I did notice an increase of crowds milling in front of artists booths, blocking access, leaving empty plastic cups and paper napkins on tables next to and sometimes on top of artwork on display, and had to conclude that they were there for the free booze, and not the art.

No matter what a person does, I think it is important to push the boundaries and get out of their comfort zone. Sometimes it is self-initiated, but often change is thrust upon a person. I have heard it said that the best leaders are those who don’t seek power, but of necessity are compelled to assume leadership. It isn’t much of a jump to apply this to pursuing dreams. Sometimes things show up in a life that are not seemingly connected to furthering goals, but in retrospect may have been an important step in a direction that a person needed to go to grow. In my life I can say that teaching has been a catalyst for growth for me. When I first made a decision to pursue my art, and be an artist, come what may at age 21, I had no idea where it would lead me, and what it really meant. I had the romantic notion that I would paint and be in nature to my heart’s content, and everything else would fall into place. In a sense that has come to be, but not in the way I had imagined. It is through teaching that Life is revealing itself to me in so many ways. When the opportunity to teach art for a college first presented itself, I was scared to death and very reticent to accept. I did go on to teach and have been doing so for 25 years, and I think it has made me a better artist if not person.