Sunday, April 8, 2012

Get off the couch

9 comments:

  1. I love this message. Need this reminder in my own life. Is this work for sale?

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  2. Hi Patricia. Thanks for your email. Yes, this is for sale. Why don't we talk via email: IvivaOlenick@gmail.com.

    I found your web site and really like your paintings.

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  3. Iviva , i have looked into your blog and adore this `thread poems`of your`s they touch my heart and soul.
    thank you
    mirjam

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  4. Thank you, Mirjam. I appreciate the feedback.

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  5. This is currently doing the rounds on Tumblr, has over 12000+ comments, reblogs and likes attached to it.

    I am not sure I agree with the sentiment; not all artists think and do the same thing, and come from the same school of thought.

    The artist who sits on the couch and does six things a year instead of sixty is not a lesser artist, nor is "committing emotional suicide" if they do so. After all what makes an artist? Is it the office worker who draws after they get back from work diligently every day, or the sculptor who depends on driftwood to make their work and can only produce three things a year? Is it the fan artist who can only draw Doctor Who characters, or whoever the Turner prize committee tells us who are artists?

    I don't think being an artist defines someone's complete emotional health and happiness, and it's certainly not emotional suicide if you sit on a couch and are not creating for any length of time. Saying that it is a horrible background noise to anyone who has suffered from depression. You can't draw as you're depressed, you're depressed because you can't draw.

    Saying someone to just get over that with "just start painting again," is not going to fix mental illness like depression. To say they are committing emotional suicide if they don't is not going to help.

    I do not think it's healthy to live your life if you base your entire emotional health and happiness on your creative output; no one can live like that and not burn out fast.


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  6. Sian,

    In this piece, I am not defining depression.

    I am not telling anyone how to be an artist or what it means to be an artist.

    I am not offering psychological advice, diagnosis or insight.

    I DO think artists suffer emotionally when they are unable to create, whether because of internal circumstances, external circumstances, or a combination of both.

    There is no judgment in this piece that being blocked creatively means someone is NOT an artist, nor does the text imply that NOT making art for a period of time makes someone a lesser artist or worse yet, not an artist at all.

    If anything, this piece is meant to offer encouragement. Kind of like a fitness trainer telling you to get off the couch...This "cheerleading" tone is meant to be a bit funny/satirical.

    I appreciate your point of view when reading this. Please keep in mind that it is your interpretation, and not necessarily what's written, quite literally, in the piece itself.

    Iviva

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  7. Very good,AND the comment`s,wow...

    Thanks

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  8. This is Very good! People often tell me, "I used to do art, but there just wasn't enough time." I reply, "I KNOW what that's like: I worked a full-time AND a part-time job, drove kids to activities, played hockey, took care of our horses, did housework, and STILL MADE time to do art!" It's all about how badly you want/need art in your life and what you're willing to give up for it. (I eventually sold our horses and quit hockey to devote more time to my passion).

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  9. Sold your horse and gave up hockey – wow! That must have been life changing.

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