(Collage Board from Syd Mashburn, D3OL, 2023)

Before I start the blog, I want the reader to keep in mind that this blog post was suppose to come out during the first week of October. Obviously, that didn’t happen so, I just wanted to give a brief explanation before you read the rest of the post.

It’s the first week of the month, which means that the artistic competition has officially started! I’ve been thinking of a couple of names but right now, ‘The DanD project is really sticking out to me. I chose this name for a few reasons. I no longer wanted to try competing with other people because everyone is on their own path, and it may lead to either artist stopping their creativity as a whole. So, this is a competition between me and myself. The Daniel and Daniel project or the ‘DanD Project’.

I don’t think I will be releasing any artwork during the first week of each new month (with the exception of blog posts and podcast episodes possibly). I am doing this because I want to take the time to iron out all the details for the work I will dedicate myself to.

One thing I have recently noticed myself doing is repeating myself or talking about the same things over and over again. I caught myself doing this when I was doing my morning notes. As I was writing my entry for yesterday, I stopped and asked myself “Haven’t I written about this issue before?” Since I am not allowing myself to see my previous entries, I can only assume that I probably have. At first, realizing this made me think that it was bad to repeat previous thoughts. However, the more I thought about it, I was able to see repetition in a more positive light.

About two weeks ago, I was speaking with a fellow artist and they expressed that they had attended an art exhibit. They mentioned how they loved being surrounded by people with such a deep appreciation for art. However, they shared that they did not like that they themselves couldn’t find the words to describe how art makes them feel. When I heard this, I shared that the idea that it may be possible to find that deeper level of appreciation by mindfully observing artworks over and over again. With each observation, they must focus on finding something new about the work they are viewing.

I’ll use the example of viewing a painting in a museum. When one approaches a painting, they are most likely to view the painting, and then walk away once they “get it”. However, I want to challenge readers to take a different approach the next time they find themselves in a museum. First, the viewer is meant to walk up to the artwork and try to understand what the premise of the artwork is. What is going on in the painting? Of course, I am hoping the viewer attempted to understand what is happening in the painting without reading the artist’s statement.

After the viewer is able to deduce what is happening in the painting, they should then take a few steps closer to the painting and try to understand how the painting was made. Is it obvious what brush technique the artist used? What about the way they mixed the color? These are questions that should be asked internally by the viewer. One may be thinking after they do that, they should then read the artist’s statement to get more information. However, I believe the viewer should resist the urge to do that, and move onto another piece of artwork. Later, they should revisit that artwork and do the same thing. This time, asking themselves more abstract questions about the work.

“What was the artist’s purpose for making this painting?” or “Is there a certain message they are trying to send to the viewer with this artwork?” One may be thinking that it is impossible to figure what the artist was thinking when creating the piece of work. While I do not fault them for thinking that way, I do think that the viewer may come to appreciate the piece more if they are able to come to their own conclusion about the artist’s purpose for creating the piece.

Life is a series of repetitive actions. For someone to drive to the gas station, the wheels have to turn in one direction continuously until the driver gets to their destination. For someone to be able to walk up the stairs, they must put on foot in front of the other until they get to the top of the staircase. To properly digest a meal, one must bring the food to their mouth, where they chew the food until it is able to be swallowed. If one commits to doing these repetitive tasks everyday to sustain their lifestyle, why not do the same to sustain their creative life?

With some of the ideas I have shared, it may be happen that someone has some push back regarding these points. Citing that “It isn’t that deep.” My response to that is “But it is that deep.” When something or someone is important to you, appropriate actions will be done to reflect it’s level of importance.

Blog’s a bit on the shorter side, but I have been holding onto this for such a long time for no reason. I have been researching the business side of creativity more recently, and I am pretty confident that those avenues could bring me the lifestyle I want. Sticking to the theme of short and simple, we are appreciating the new album release from Mike Bonema, ‘Burning Desire’. The song recommendation for today’s blog is “Baby Jesus”.