Artists are alchemists. Wizards. They take whatever experiences and resources they have and transform them into something that has greater value and meaning. The Artist should be judged on their ability to transform the material of their lives… not the material itself.
For example, there is a lot that I have no control over. I don’t have control over where I was born, who I was born to, or what my background is. I don’t have control over my innate physical abilities. I don’t have control over many of my circumstances.
I do have control over what I do with these elements. This is why great art is so inspiring. We see the artist take the material of experience and circumstance and transform it into something brave, powerful, crazy, surprising, or meticulous. We are inspired not by who they were born to but by what they did with what they were given.
I remember walking up the dirt path of my home in the Connecticut woods as a child. I thought, “One day, I will not be known as someone who had it all but as someone who did much with what she had been given.” I don’t know where this thought came from or what it was in response to. It seemed to come from my future self - an echo in reverse. It was an outline of an approach…one I never forgot.
Instead of wishing for every advantage, I wished to use whatever was at my disposal to make something extraordinary.
I want to remind our community that the artist has a real role to play - to show us the magic of transformation. Run your experience through your special process of alchemy and inspire us with your ability to turn the lead of your circumstances into the gold of your brilliance.