I’ve spent several weeks pondering this question and the incessant response has been “I think an artist should allow art to flow freely out of their life and not so much about molding it and trying to fit it into a box.” When I think of the word mold it makes me think of something stretched to fit into a shape or to conform to what would not necessarily be found in nature or otherwise. It is not something that is organic. Art is an extension of the individual. It is like air, water and food for the artist, one cannot exist without the other. The person and art share a symbolic coexistence. Without art the individual would suffer and without the individual art would not be created.

So how can you separate the two? You should try it…? For me, art is a way to create balance and resolve internal conflicts in my mind that I may not currently understand. At first it’s a way to explore ideas and concepts that may never have occurred to me. It also provides me with a method to work through things that can be anxiety-producing or offer the opportunity to shine the light of clarity on things that are fear-based. It allows a symbiotic process to explore and gives me permission on many levels to play and explore. Without worrying about the final results.

There are times when I feel like my life is shaped around making art and then other times when making art seems to consume every element of my being… this is more of a fluid concept and there are no absolutes. It is a still serene lake with strong currents just below the surface.

How do you feel this applies to you as an artist and in your creative process? Are you able to separate the two or do they merge at some point? We all know that this can manifest in many ways; creating art is often something literal or figurative. Painting, writing, dancing, teaching and even accounting. They each have their own unique media in which they specialize and excel. What capacity does art occupy in your life; a career, hobby or just something you’ve dabbled in? How would you answer the question “Should an artist shape his life around art, or art around life?”