Beyond Europa

I’ve put together a meditative yet lively slideshow of my most recent series, Improvisations, which explores the diversity of basic, or primitive shapes. I used FotoMagico, which I totally recommend to all artists, to create the lively slideshow with accompanying music.

Here’s the youtube link.

Also, I’ve entered Beyond Europa in a Talenhouse contest. If you would like to support me, go to my Talenthouse submission page and click on support Eden.

You know the score: what goes around comes around—sooner or later.

Thank you.

Tall Tales

Ancient masters reveled a great truth: opinions, not money, are the root of all evil.

And we all know the rest of the story: ‘everyone’ has an opinion. In most cases, when you have an opinion, it is based on what you have heard from others. Your opinion is not you, but a rehash of what came before—which could be a good thought, too.

Not thinking, in the Zen understanding, is not only mystical, it is practical. When you access not thinking, you leave opinions behind for a grander purpose and awareness.

I have a covenant with my art: not thinking while creating. This keeps my opinions out, and my art original.

Yes, but how do I access not thinking, you may ask.

If you want to find out you will. See the reason in the advice.

Meanwhile, for the important things, find out for yourself. First-hand knowledge has great liberating power.

School Trip

What’s the difference between art and craft?

I hear this question often, and it also came up during my talk at the 2012 SmARTist Telesummit.

Let me preface that all comparisons in art are traps. It’s more important to know what you are doing and why, then trying to live up to someone else’s evaluation. Of all the pitfalls you may face, self-deception is the worst.

If you’re certain that you can reproduce your work, then it is a craft. And great craft is as rare as great art.

If you face the empty canvas of your work, not knowing whether it will lead to anything, then it may lead to art—not reproducible or guaranteed.

Aussie Dreams

Someone posted a question in the guest book, which needs fixing—leaving my name as the sender.

“Dear Eden,

“At which point can/should the artist’s true voice be free of conditioning and culture—In Australian Aboriginal language, there are many words equivalent to ‘we’ but no word to say ‘I’. The tribe is all there is, and tradition is law. Their artistic inspiration is what they call ‘my (my tribe’s) dreaming’ yet Australian contemporary Aboriginal Art is considered the only real original ‘art movement’ since the 80’s. Any thoughts?”

My response:

When an outsider inquired as to why the Aboriginal man made cave art, he replied: “I don’t make art … the hand spirit makes art.”

The Aboriginal man’s answer implies that his art is born out of spirit, not ego.

If there is no word for ‘I’ in the lexicon, then each person must have a name to distinguish one from another.

Tradition and culture are not the enemy. Mindless tradition and culture are the culprits. Following tradition means repetition. Breaking free from the past demands courage and a vision. Then, no longer entrapped by the opinion of others, the artist creates new work, evolved work, unique work.

“Australian contemporary Aboriginal Art is considered the only real original ‘art movement’ since the 80’s.”

Who says so?

Art is not about trends, movements, fashion, or wavering tastes.

Art isn’t an ‘ism’. All the ‘isms’ that define the various art movements over the years have nothing to do with the creation of art. Who will be the next groundbreaking artist? This isn’t up to the artist who does what he does. There is only one breakthrough in art of any value to the artist, and that is truth.

Multitasking

For those who missed the Xanadu Webinar as noted in my previous post with me as guest speaker, you can hear the audio here. I feel you will find the information of great value.

Jason Horejs, who generously hosted the Webinar, is the progressive and forward thinking owner of the successful Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Note that Jason is also the author of “Starving to Success”—a fine primer on how to best approach galleries with your artwork.