What is an Artist?

This is a pretty common question, one that gets discussed a lot. And answers can vary, depending on perceptions and background. So, I guess this is my answer, not necessarily the right answer.

Who is the artist? the one who makes the paint or the one who uses with the paint?

The obvious answer is the painter.

A paint make come home one day and tells his wife,

"I saw this colour today! It was amazing! I can't stop thinking about it!"

"thats nice dear, are you going to make it?"

"God yes! It's amazing! I have to make it!"

So the paint maker goes about his task, looking at photos, staring at the colour wheel.

He boers his friends with endless conversations about colour variance and spectral differentiation.

He dumps batch after batch down the drain that weren't quite right.

His wife becomes accustomed to his endless ramblings, and learns to humor him.

Days and weeks go by: he has trouble focusing, outside his workshop he makes clumsy mistakes, forgets what day it is, misses appointments, and takes a hiatus on personal hygiene.

Finally the day comes, he bounds into the house with a colour swatch

"This is it! I've done it! Do you see!"

"Wow, that's really nice dear"

The paint is sent off to a factory where it is mass produced and sent to a house painter who applies it to a wall with only as much effort as it takes to not get fired.

An artist is driven by the creative process. Dominated and consumed by it. I think of 'Artistness' as a mental illness. It doesn't show up in the DSM, but if left unchecked can be as damaging as any other mental condition. But an artist doesn't try to treat their condition, they feed it, nurture it, and try to control it.

I was designing a sculpture for a proposal. I spent hours looking at reference pictures, doing sketches, and cutting and pasting to create a small diorama (because doing a drawing of a 3d object for someone who doesn't draw very well is a nightmare). My mind was so preoccupied with this project, that when I was pulling my truck out in the parkade, I didn't notice the column next to me and I tore off my side mirror.

I struggle with controlling my creative drive, outside of my studio I need a steady flow of distraction and stimulation. Searching the web for 'metal sculptures' is very risky for me, and can lead to my mind spinning out of control as ideas begin to burn holes in my psyche..

Too much time in the studio leads to burn out, isolation and exhaustion.

Too much time out of the studio leads to irritability, anxiety, and depression.

So this is who I am, and my work reflects this.

everything from, "Thats pretty!" to "Who would want THAT in their home?!?"

Every piece is an instanciation of my existence.