Marisa D. Aceves. Object 180. Digital Photography.
Check out the rest of my series at http://www.acevesart.com/
Our success depends largely on how we define it.
How we define success is based on how well we know ourselves.
If what we are trying to say with our artwork fails to resonate with others, perhaps it is because we are holding back who we truly are……..
…or who we truly are has yet to be discovered.
In any case, we shouldn’t let society determine our self-worth. When we do this, we fall into the people pleasing game. Therefore, we please no one. We are never satisfied with what we say or what we do. Our whole identity is dependent on what others think or believe. The tragic result is that we live our whole lives according to someone else’s flawed definition of excellence. We hate every moment of it. Soon we find we lose the joy we once had in connecting with others through our unique creative expression. We would rather be the genius of others we admire. Over time, we find we have unceremoniously given away the wonderful childlike trust we had in our natural ability to problem solve creatively. One thing that I have learned over the years is that if it doesn’t feel genuinely “YOU,” it probably isn’t. Yes, we can and should respect and nurture the talents of others (as well as our own), but we should never try to be them. At the most it will backfire on us and everyone will discover we have been lying to ourselves and others; at the very least we will live our entire lives as the person we wished we were believing that others only want the “persona” we agreed to create.
You can hide behind and sell a “persona”.
Many have done this successfully, but at what cost. Some say it can be done as easily as you can create a “pin name” and sell a different kind of work under that name.
It is possible to sell a different type of work under a different name and not lose yourself, but only if you know yourself. The challenge for many artists and creative marketers is to know who we “truly” are. Once we are comfortable with ourselves, then we will eventually find the audience that appreciates what we do and the services we offer.
If you have any comments or questions about this post, feel free to contact me. I’d love to hear from you!
ABSTRACT RECEPTION 