I’ve been working on affirmations lately with Alyson Stanfield, at artbizcoach.I’ve worked with Alyson before, taken classes and gotten LOTS of good information. I really appreciate her support and the community she’s built up around the coaching she does.

You might have read some of the affirmations on my facebook postings. Not posted yet, one of them is: “My art work is brilliant and fun.”

I chose to focus on this one for a bit because of a statement from one of the art foundation teachers I had while working on my BFA in the century before this one. She was teaching a class in two-dimensional art, essential for graphic design, and for simply understanding color/value/line/shape relationships. She repeatedly insisted that none of us or the works we produced were brilliant enough, at least that’s how I heard her words. “More brilliant, more brilliant!” was her mantra, or nag, depending on one’s perspective.

In the end, the class did it’s job, making us all think about how visual elements come together, and to make the leap from simple to brilliant. BUT I will never feel comfortable in range of someone who teaches this way — teaching by complaint never creates confident artists.In total contrast, my mentor and advisor, Elizabeth Hopper, said many things to me — the most memorable within the point of this little post was, “Well, you’ve found your voice.” Thank you Liz.

Oh my — DUH! I have to change my affirmation!! “My art work is brilliant and fun, and I have my own voice.”

I remember this as I contemplate the next steps of what I will do as an artist.


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