Yesterday Lesley Riley posted an article on her blog about finding validation as artists, and asking a few salient questions on that topic. I got home from work yesterday to find a card and photo in the mailbox of the quilt I made as a wedding gift to my sister and her new hubby, on the bed in the room that they have now redecorated to coordinate with this quilt. That is serious validation.
Then this morning, Robert Genn, in his twice weekly newsletter posted about self critiquing. Somehow my brain melded these two concepts, validation and self critique and now I am thinking about self validation. This is a tricky place for artists. In order to share our work, we must think it is valid enough to put out there in the world. We must also continue to grow and develop as artists in order to keep this validation current. Robert listed a number of questions he regularly asks himself as a form of self critique. I think that is my work valid, and to whom?, should be added. The answer should always include one's self as almost a prerequisite to letting the work get "out there"
Although validation is needed to keep the art making happening, Critique can easily de-validate work, and by default, the artist. This is why self validation becomes a critical issue. I know of no successful artist who really thinks they have no talent. To be successful in a fickle industry like art, you must find the mechanisms to keep up your self validation in the face of the rest of the world- whose reactions you have no control over. What is in your work that keeps it valued in your life, even if those around you don't agree? Finding this answer may just be the thing that keeps you going on a bad day. Today, for me it is this photo I got in the mail. What works for you?
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