Don't Disregard Your Gifts

My friend, Adam or as he is known in the art world, Adco, has a show tonight (Quixote Studios in West Hollywood). Can't wait! We had a conversation recently where I said something - I don't know what now but it had to do with believing in one's self - and he told me about an article he read where the artist Marilyn Minter was asked what she would have advised her younger self: 

"Don’t disregard your gifts. The art world is going to challenge you enough, don’t make it any harder on yourself; stick with your strengths. If something comes easily to you, don’t dismiss it, explore and expand on it rather than trying to force it into the prevailing zeitgeist." -Marilyn Minter

We see finished pieces of art, writing - we hear music on the radio, on the stage, and we are astounded by greatness. We stand awestruck at the museum and see the sculpture or we read the writing and get chills. The finished piece. It all seems so seamless. So smart. So exactly right. Perfection. How it inspires us but also at times, arrests us. Getting to the finish line and not being intimidated by the finished works of our idols is our battle and half of that battle is won by appreciating what we already come to the table with on any given day.

Just because something seems easy or natural to you doesn’t mean it is weak—listen to your inner voice. -Marilyn Minter

Please, appreciate your gifts. Utilize them. Write down what your strengths are and put it where you can see it. Do use what you've got. Relish in it. Own it. Celebrate it. Improve upon it! If you don't, the world might be hard-pressed to notice what you want to say while you struggle to be a square peg wedging yourself into a round hole. It's one thing to challenge ourselves and stretch creatively. It's another to ignore what we came into the world with.

Why discount what you can do simply because you can do it? That doesn't make much sense. 

I suppose that's why they call it a sin. Too Catholic for my taste but it would be a shame, for sure not to let the world see that which makes you strong. 

Bestow your gifts!

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-13-artists-advice-younger

-CGD