(Yes, that’s You! Whether you’re an Actor or Doctor. Musician or Banker. Sculptor or CEO. Singer or Stay-at-home Mom.)
We’re all artists. Every one of us on this planet. And what makes you an artist is your life.
Your LIFE Is Your Art.
Your artistry extends beyond the jobs. The events. The bookings. The titles. The notoriety. Those things don’t make you an artist. Being an artist has nothing to do with what you do for a living. It doesn’t matter whether you’re in an acting class in Los Angeles or have your art shown in a gallery in Brooklyn.
It’s an expression of your self in all things. In any given 24-hour period, you have an opportunity to start being the artist you truly are. Stop waiting for the phone to ring or the agent to sign you or someone to give you the job to confirm that you have something of artistic value to contribute to the world. Give yourself to the world now and watch what happens.
So, as I’m setting forth to create a blog that has come out of the work I do daily at my acting studio in Los Angeles, I hope it will help the artist in each of us to live a more empowered life and change the way we think (and look) at ourselves and creativity.
There’s gonna be homework. Do it! Sometimes, I’ll use the blog to share thoughts or philosophies or ideas to help bring about change and other times there’ll just be something to do. But all of it is working toward re-shaping and re-thinking your life!
# 1 – Declare You’re An Artist (an Actor, Musician, Writer, Poet, Dancer)
Homework: When someone asks you this week what you do for a living (and invariably that will happen because we’re living in America where so much of who we are is defined by what we do) proudly say that you’re an artist. Don’t say, “Well, I’m kind of an actor.” Or “I’m trying to paint.” Or, “I’m just bartending right now but what I really want to do is…”
Declare what you are. It doesn’t matter that right now you’re slinging hash at the local diner. You’re an artist! Say it. Feel what its like to claim that ownership. Without feeling guilty or shameful or weird about it. So what if you haven’t booked a TV show yet. So what if you don’t have an agent. So what if you haven’t sold a painting or written a hit record. So what if the largest percentage of your income doesn’t come from your art yet.
You’re an artist. Say it.
It feels good, doesn’t it?
“Life is what happens while you’re busy planning other things.” — John Lennon?