​What Are My Values As An Artist?

"The Secret to Happiness" - caption reads...live simply, love generously, care deeply.

A few years back I completed a course on “Resillience”. As part of it we created value statements for different facets of our lives, including our worklife. Value statements are what we see as important in life. They help set our direction. Anyway, I’d like to share here what my value statements are for my worklife…
 
What do I want to be known for, as an artist?
 
As corny as it sounds, I’d like to be known for making a difference in the world. It is my aim to both empower others through the art I create AND through the art I help others to create. Hence my slogan “empowering you through art”.
 
I genuinely believe in the power of images (both for the viewer and the creator), and I believe in using this for ‘good’.
 
In my own art, I value focusing on the good things in life and in inspiring others to see/remember this too, so the aim for virtually everything I create is to have some sort of positive or uplifting message (even if its simply beauty). I love having the ability to create images that at the very least, make people smile, and it’s an added bonus when it also in some way inspires them too!
 
The more teaching I do, the more aware I become of the benefits for others of creating their own art.  Learning to draw opens up a whole new world for many people, not just in terms of being able to create pictures themselves, but in how they see the world and the beauty it contains.  Because it is a skill where you improve by making many mistakes, pupils learn to become more accepting, and even welcoming of them. This is an important lifeskill, much overlooked by our current schooling system.
 
Anyway, that’s a wee bit of an insight into why I do what I do. Yes I’m an unapologetic idealist and I do really give a damn about the world I love and live in!
 
Namaste
Joanne
 
PS What do you think? I’d love to know – so please comment below…

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