There is no need of any competition with anybody. You are yourself, and as you are, you are perfectly good. Accept yourself.
Osho
This week's thoughts are about art - and at first glance this quote might seem to be more about life than art; but this week in particular I think it resonates about art.
I wrote this post in advance of Thursday, not knowing if I would have time to blog whilst in Sydney amongst the amazingness of the Sydney Contemporary.
Perhaps I selected it to be a gentle reminder to myself; that whilst I am in Sydney I need to not compare; to not measure my work against others; to not believe I am less when amongst such wonder.
To hold onto what I do and why I do it, and to know that there is no one else making my work. My work is unique, it is me and nobody but me could have brought it forth. And in the end I could have brought forth nothing else - it needed to be this.
Acceptance.
Such a hard thing for us all - trying to improve and be better, yet accepting who we are, where we are and what we do.
Our well-worn bowl of words. For over a decade, we have had a morning ritual of selecting a word each which we use to think bout or focus on for the day. Always an interesting exercise...
Osho
This week's thoughts are about art - and at first glance this quote might seem to be more about life than art; but this week in particular I think it resonates about art.
I wrote this post in advance of Thursday, not knowing if I would have time to blog whilst in Sydney amongst the amazingness of the Sydney Contemporary.
Perhaps I selected it to be a gentle reminder to myself; that whilst I am in Sydney I need to not compare; to not measure my work against others; to not believe I am less when amongst such wonder.
To hold onto what I do and why I do it, and to know that there is no one else making my work. My work is unique, it is me and nobody but me could have brought it forth. And in the end I could have brought forth nothing else - it needed to be this.
Acceptance.
Such a hard thing for us all - trying to improve and be better, yet accepting who we are, where we are and what we do.
Our well-worn bowl of words. For over a decade, we have had a morning ritual of selecting a word each which we use to think bout or focus on for the day. Always an interesting exercise...
Thanks Fiona an excellent and timely reminder. I would be interested to see what other words you have in the bowl.
ReplyDeleteThanks Louise - it is probably an ongoing reminder we all need! We have lots of words in the bowl - some tough; some inspiring. they include today's words - creativity and abundance (always feels like it will be great day) as well as humility, responsibility and the like. Always worth a moment's reflection and ponder...go well.
Deleteyou're in the Sydney Contemporary Art Fair & that's a very big deal, look forward to your talk on Sunday!
ReplyDeleteThank you Mo - it was quite a deal indeed. It was so wonderful to have your support at my talk - I really appreciated it - and it was excellent fun to meet!
DeleteAccepting creativity in whatever form it comes to us is an evolution, I think. To keep challenging ourselves all the while understanding the Why of our art is to keep on growing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Marti - it really is an evolution isn't it? It grows, we grow, it changes, we change - and learning to accept the variability and the level of skill we have is all part of it. Go well.
DeleteI wish I could let go of the need to meet my own comparisons of my work alongside others and should take these wise words to heart. I can't tell you how much I also enjoy the daily choice of words from my little bowl. I am constantly amazed at how apt they are to my current set of circumstances. Today's choice was 'hope' and I think a lot of that is needed everywhere.
ReplyDeleteLesley I have this quote. I put it up on my walls as one of my 'rules of engagement' when I teach: "comparison is the the thief of joy" by Theodore Roosevelt. I love it and it is so true! You can almost feel little bits of satisfaction and happiness with your own work being eaten away and disappearing when you start to compare. And yes, I love our words (looks almost time for a new set doesn't it?). Ours today were creativity and abundance - what a great start to the day!
Deleteas humans we are such a strange species. we judge ourselves harshly, so often forgetting to see the beauty in what we create ourselves. Fiona, your work is unique. It is beautiful. It can not be compared to anyone else's work. I love your work, and you inspire me. But I do know the feelings of comparison and self-judgement. Thank you for sharing. I'm going to add your Osho saying to my wall. And I'll set my sights on the Sydney Contemporary sometime in the future!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Kim - you are very kind. The quote I mentioned to Lesley just above is so brilliant a reminder NOT to compare - but sometimes I still do and I nearly always come off second best! Crazy. The way I try to reflect on things now is that I can only do my work, I can't do anybody else's - my work is about making 'my' unique mark in the world and it is what it is. I am getting better at it! Yes Sydney Contemporary is a real wow time - well worth a foray...
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