This Moment Matters

Sometimes we get so busy training to be the artist we want to be that we forget to breath, relax and just BE the artist that we already are.

Today, let's stop and remember this so we do not fall into the trap of acquiring skill after skill after skill.

The Skill Trap is just seems so out of place with the freedom and life affirming aspects of creating art. It's like going to Target and filling our shopping cart with tutorials, books, workshops, lessons, tutorials on faces, tutorials on children's faces... but where are we going with all this skill?

When do we ever leave Target and start to create our own ART. Not our teachers art, our mentors, our mothers, our friends, or even our industries artwork. When do we stand on our own two feet and say, "This is mine. This... is me."

Imagine a little girl who doesn't like her body. She thinks she is too fat or too thin. She tries on all sorts of clothing but never leaves the house. Never goes out in public because she doesn't think she is good enough.

I worry about that all the time with my daughter who is now in her pretty princess phase. Will she judge herself by her looks? Will she let other's judgement effect her?

Today, we know how unhealthy that is. In the context of a little girl we can see how damaging it can be to judge yourself by other's standards...

... but many of us artists are waiting...

... waiting till we are "right". Waiting till we are "enough" before we show the world who we are.

Well, that moment is now. It's as soon as we realize that we've been enough all along. It's enough that we are alive and that we are working towards our goals. We are not something that needs to be shut down, hidden until perfect.

We are alive and growing and every moment is our moment to thrive.

-Ryan