I was excited just now to see a regular doodler on twitter made a doodle inspired by one of mine, heart flowers growing in the ground. she acknowledged me in a tweet which I appreciated, and I was flattered, excited I contributed to someone else’s creative fire. I answered: Let the love grow! And that is what this is about to me. Dream – Love – Grow!
And what if by collaborating and sharing we can go much further than if we were alone?
The lines between self:other have been the theme this week from a number of incidents….
Late last year I had a very clear vision — the words Dream Love Grow cut out with icons below the text — bright watercolors peeking through like below but much better. 🙂 And then I googled the words to see what else was out there, and lo’! someone else with a similar vision to me had those words as their business! It was really remarkable.
So I have really mixed feelings about things like copyright… on the one hand, we all belong to the art we create, we inspire each other, and in fact I would wager we are all following some of the same muses in the ethers — none of it owned by any of us. Ideas crave to be born. If I do not run with an idea, it will be given to another person very much the same. I remember discovering this in the mid-80s when I bleached my jeans before anyone else. I thought I discovered it and it was “my” idea! This has happened to me over and over, and I can feel I reach up metaphorically into the sky and find ideas wanting to be born and I help them (or I don’t). Either way the ideas will get born.
Symbols and messages are much like waiting for any of us to be the messenger, to be Mercury. that none of us really create anything. I worry at times that I will steal ideas unwittingly. I have avoided following
and finding artists online for this very reason. And then I set the worry aside wanting to be inspired by others, appreciative, and part of a larger collaboration on this planet. None of us creates in isolation.
On the other hand, having one’s work recognized and part of legacy must be very rewarding and “right”. Finding our voice, working very hard, and then having it stolen for money and profit and greed by another is wrong. And for most experiencing it must be very painful. and yet, and yet, if the message is of value, the imagery stirring the heart, is it not better to be shared more greatly?
A lovely class I am taking by Alena she mentioned the same thing. That as artists we shouldn’t be afraid to copy other people’s works to be inspired.
I saw an artist doodle flowers like I have this week, and I felt pained. I sat with that and continue to wondering why. I felt ignored and left behind for something that was mine… but I could not be sure. And in fact, I think she painted them on her own accord! What do I bring with me to the table? What’s true?
There is that definition of art vs craft — art cannot be easily reproduced. Maybe my work is more like a craft I thought….
Then just yesterday, this artist talked about how awful it is have ideas stolen! And I laughed to myself realizing we are all on similar paths, she isn’t stealing, the “other” but walking along expressing her he(art). And I wonder what it takes to create a truly collaborative walk that the internet has made available to us, open research where competition is traded in for collective development.
I would say this: we all have a furnace for a heart which cannot be turned off unless we let it. The ideas will keep coming and cannot be stolen.
All art copyright me despite my post. 🙂 And these are part of the heart series in the past two weeks. Prolific simple heart.
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