Karen LeGault – Fall Dahlia

http://www.karenlegault.com/

Marianne Hornbuckle – Meditation II

http://www.contemporaryabstractpainter.com

Eva Lynn Loy

http://www.eva-lynnloy.com/

Lisa Riehl – Garibaldi Lake

http://www.lisariehl.com

Phyllis Stapler – Startled Deer

http://www.myartspace.com/PhyllisStapler/

Lyne Marshall

http://artclique.com.au/

Deborah Raichman

http://www.rolnikraichman.com

Reactive/Responsive is when circumstances are the driving force in your life. You either react against or respond to the situation. The circumstances, rather than your aspirations and values, are the driving force.  Most of us were raised to be reactive/responsive. In fact, we are told that we have made progress if we move from reacting against to responding to the circumstances. But there is little difference when the circumstances are in control.

The Creative/Generative orientation is vastly different. Here the driving force is not the situation you are in, but your desires, your aspirations, your vision, and your values.

Most artists are in a creative/generative orientation when they make their art.  They organize their actions around the vision they have for the piece they are making.  They compare their vision with the current state of the work, and then they take strategic actions to bring the current state of the work to the desired outcome they envision.

But when it comes to career and business, they fall back into a reactive/responsive orientation.  It doesn’t occur to them to use the very same creative process that is so effective in their art in the rest of their lives.

The great advantage artists have is they have mastered their own creative process – the most successful process for accomplishment in history.  Most non-artists have little understanding of what it takes to bring a creation into being.  But this is the stock in trade of every artist.

Ironically, artists often don’t know what they have.  The creative process may be a result of unconscious competence and innate talent.  They know how to create intuitively, so they are not consciously aware of their own creative process. Yet, all artists strive to grow their talents.  The reason for this is that their artistic vision often outpaces their technique.

This motivates learning, discipline, innovation, creativity, experimentation, and, in the end, what was once only intuitive, becomes both intuitive and conscious awareness of the creative process.

For an artist to move from a reactive/responsive to a generative/creative orientation in his or her life-building process is profound transformation.  Suddenly the division between your artistic life and your personal and professional life is gone.

Everything, including your own life, becomes the subject matter of the creative process: a work in progress.

Is your art career sitting on the fence because you are?

Register for the smARTist Telesummit 2010. (It starts in 2 days!)

Your art career will thank you—and that’s a promise!

The two artists who co-host the show – Catherine Foster and Sheryl Allen – have been doing a great job!

On Monday, they interviewed two more smARTist keynote speakers:  art-marketing guru Barney Davey, and compassionate organizing expert Jen Hofmann. (You’ll hear me there too, doing the introductions and talking about smARTist.)

Creating a second income stream from the art print market and inspired, compassionate organizing?  Interesting combination – and they made it work beautifully!

You’ll want paper and pencil in hand before you click the audio player and listen!

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There’s even more to come from Jen, Barney, and 9 other art-career experts at the smARTist® Telesummit 2010, January 21 – 29.  It’s the only professional development art-career conference anywhere, online or off.  Give your career the attention it deserves!  http://www.smartist.com

Over the years, as I’ve listened to hundreds of artists, I began to understand that finding and nurturing collectors had to do with making a paradigm shift from “me” to “them.”

Mosaic artist, George Fishman, talked with me on his “Mosaic of Art Radio Show” about just this topic: “Who is Your Audience: Making the shift from me to them.”

You can listen to our 30 minute broadcast right here!

Argh! The cat’s driving me crazy! I wonder what’s on Twitter? (opens Twitter)

Argh! Quit farting around! (closes Twitter)

I wonder why those bees are hanging around outside my window…

What’s in my email inbox?

Wait – what was I doing – oh yes…

It’s normal. Bouts of distraction happen. Everyone has different symptoms, but the outcome is the same: you’re busy but not purposeful.

What’s distracting you?  Once you realize what’s pulling you off track, you can manage your experience by removing the attention-grabbers.  For me, it was the sun’s glare, the cat’s repetitious grooming, and open project folders on my desk.

I closed the blinds, moved the cat off my lap, cleared the folders off my desk, and then closed more blinds because the sun moved (well, technically, the earth moved).  And sat down to work.

But even that doesn’t always help.  I got distracted. Again.

And I humbly realized: I can’t bend focus to my will. Even in the clearest, most refreshing spaces, sometimes people still can’t concentrate.

Once upon a time, people moved around. They walked places, moved their bodies for work, rode animals, collected their own food.

Today, I know a lot of people who sit at desks for a large portion of the day.  Me, for one.  In itself, that’s not such a bad thing.  But for many people that natural, vital movement is gone.

Taking movement breaks is vital to creativity.  Who hasn’t gotten a good idea in the shower? Or out walking?

If you’re distracted, and making adjustments to your space hasn’t helped, move.  Get up and get away from your desk. Do something you like.

You’ll be surprised how much better you’ll concentrate when you get back.