Monday, December 1, 2014

On Inspiration

Recently I came across an article written by an amazing photographer......Cheryl Jacobs Nicolai; a proponent of photography as an art form, a writer and a teacher.
The actual article, on her blog, was written back in February 2014...it just rang so true and was so perfectly written.
Apart from being a wonderful photographer she is also a musician and that's where the article starts, but
her ideas, so eloquently expressed are true for all artists.
The article is HERE...so worth reading.
The two tiny collaged canvases below are mine, but all the words belong to C. J. Nicolai.

Stop looking at what others are doing.
Start looking at the world around you, and the world inside you.
Stop shooting(creating) with an eye on what you believe others will like, and stop judging the strength of an image(page, tag, canvas) by the number of comments and Facebook thumbs you receive.
Start creating photographs(art works) that are vulnerable enough that they scare you. Learn to be brave enough to share them, and to stand proudly behind them.
Start the long and painful process of learning to answer your own questions, and embrace the trials, errors, and frustrations you’ll experience along the way.
And learn that when someone tells you that you don’t sound like anyone else, it is a high compliment.
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5 comments:

  1. WOW those last words are so thought provoking, but very true.. In this age where getting more facebook 'likes' for your posts and lovely comments on your blog can mean the difference between a good day and a not so good day, and where it takes courage to go against the grain and the trends in anything really, fashion, looks, creativity, those words are really worth taking on board... what happened to being an individual and feeling self confident in ones own skin.. in the end, all we have is ourself.. Do you mind if I print out those words and put them in my scrap room.. so I can encourage myself to be true to myself, happy in my skin, and relaxed in my creations...?? thanks for sharing..

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    1. That's fine Lizzy, BUT, they are not my words....they certainly resonate with me and inspire me but they are the words of C. J. Nicolai.

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  2. Thank you for sharing - those are challenging and encouraging words!

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  3. Beautiful canvases.... and I love that quote too, art is so personal, if others like it or not is completely irrelevant...as long is it makes us happy and fulfilled, we have succeeded. (but I do love your art Gayle LOL)

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  4. So true the words. Inspiring. Thank you for sharing. Gorgeous canvases, too!

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