A Great Article

A Multi-Faceted Life

by Trent Gudmundsen

Today's guest author is artist, Trent Gudmundsen. This article has been edited and published with the author's permission. Find out how you can become a guest author.


In Clint's recent post, "Why do you Create?", he quoted Hugh MacLeod, who said, "The Hunger [to create] will give you everything. And it will take from you, everything. It will cost you your life, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it."

I'm sure we can all relate to that "hunger" in our own way; and while I completely agree with Hugh's sentiment that our art can cost us everything we have, I'd like to talk a little bit about the other half of that equation, which actually can be harnessed to improve our art! And that is our relationships with our families and our friends (including collectors, but I'll focus on very close friends here), as well as some other worthy pursuits.

Art CAN take everything from you (if you let it), but it doesn't HAVE to...instead, it can be a powerful aspect of our lives that can add abundantly to the depth of our existence as humans.

When I was single, I definitely experienced the phenomenon of being completely taken-over by my art. I literally painted all day every day, dropped out of school, quit many jobs (some after just weeks...or even days in a couple instances), and moved back home with my parents several times. Art was more important than just about anything else.

What's interesting is that I still have that same drive to create, but I decided when I got married that I would never let that passion for art come before my passion for my family...rather, those passions work together to help the other aspect succeed. My wife and I made an agreement when we first got married: she would support me in my struggle to become a full-time artist, and in return I promised that I would never allow my family to go hungry, even if it meant that I had to work at McDonald's until things got better. Luckily, I've never had to work at a fast-food restaurant since making that promise (although I had to work in a mall kiosk for several years while improving my art in the evenings). I'm very pleased to say that my wife has more than kept her end of the bargain...she pushes me to improve my art even when I'm sometimes about ready to give up.

For the purist in all of us, I'd like to say that since dividing my attention between my art and my family (and several other equally lofty pursuits), I have come to find that my art has actually greatly improved as a direct result of my caring about things other than my art! How can that be?! Is it possible that dividing our attentions can actually have a positive influence on each individual pursuit in life?

THE ANALOGY OF THE GEMSTONE:

When I was buying an engagement ring for my soon-to-be fiancee at the time, I discovered that some of the most expensive diamonds were those that were cut most precisely. A precision cut in a diamond is one that "cooperates" with the other cuts or facets. Each facet in a diamond is designed to reflect light back inside the stone; that light, in turn, continues reflecting off as many surfaces as possible before leaving the gem as a more beautiful light than what it was before. If one facet is cut slightly off, it can hinder the distribution of light to the other facets of the diamond, thereby diminishing the quality of the diamond as a whole. In essence, a perfect diamond is one whose facets shine light on the other facets.

In life, there are many possible aspects, or facets, to our existence; each of which is as important to the quality of our lives as the next.

Just as a single-faceted diamond would have little brilliance, the life of an artist can hold little to be envied if not carefully crafted to balance with other natural aspects of human existence, not the least of which is the love of family and friends. I've always questioned the image of desperate, lonely, tormented artists who live on cigarettes and booze in dungeon-like studios and never seem happy. Good grief, I don't want that! I love creating my art...Painting, as it is in my case, brings me happiness; but I don't paint exclusively, 24 hours a day with no breaks for sleep or fun or food.

Speaking of which, good sleep and food are a couple of the things that make me happy; my family also makes me happy, my friends make me happy, nature makes me happy, creating art makes me happy...the list could go on for me, and I'm sure it could go on and on for you. We wouldn't want to embrace a single-mindedness that cuts us off from all of life's experiences that make our art deep and meaningful. A multi-faceted life is actually an asset and not a hindrance to our art.

Having said that, I admit that sometimes I can feel myself slipping towards that total-immersion approach to my art. I can tell when my life is off balance; and when those times come, I know that no amount of suffering for my art will bring me true happiness until I've given the needed attention to the other parts of my life. Now, I'm not suggesting that we necessarily give equal amounts of time to each part of our lives; rather, that we give the right amount of attention (whatever the amount of time it takes) to the necessary parts of our lives...the parts that add to our existence as a whole.

Each of us has a different life story, filled with it's own struggles and successes; but I think it's safe to say that if we give the proper attention to each important aspect of our lives, then each of those aspects will be better off. For me, art is a passion that's had to be controlled carefully so as to not outweigh the other things that are really important...I want to be one of those artists who enjoys happiness at home AND in the studio his whole life. :)
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http://clintwatson.net/blog/16527/A-Multi-Faceted-Life

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